GAME SEVEN: #7/8 Old Dominion at #18/19 Towson

GAME SEVEN: 
Saturday, October 20, 2012 - 7 p.m. (EST)
Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas Stadium - Towson, Md.
#7/8 Old Dominion Monarchs (5-1, 2-1 CAA) vs.
#18/19 Towson Tigers (3-3, 2-1 CAA)

TV: None

RADIO: ESPN Radio 94.1 FM (Hampton Roads);WZEZ-FM - EZ 100.5 FM (Richmond) 
(Ted Alexander - Play-by-Play; Andy Mashaw - Color; Rich Radford - Sideline)

LIVESTATS:Live Stats

VIDEO: TowsonTigers.com (subscription required)

CAA WEEKLY COACHES TELECONFERENCE AUDIO: 
- Old Dominion: Bobby Wilder
- Towson: Rob Ambrose

ODU WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO: Available on Monarch Media

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THE QUICK HITS:

•  Old Dominion Football is in its fourth season overall and final year in the Colonial Athletic 

Association.  The Monarchs are coming off their first loss of the year, a 38-14 homecoming defeat to Villanova.

•   The Monarchs lead all FCS schools in Scoring Offense (49.2), Total Offense (603.5), and Passing Offense (427.3) and also rank in the top-10 defensively in Sacks (2.8) at No. 17 and Tackles for Loss (8.0) at No. 5.  Additionally quarterback Taylor Heinicke leads the nation in total offense at 464.8 yards a game, while wide receiver Nick Mayers is 13th in receiving yards at 97.5 yards per contest.

•   Sophomore quarterback Taylor Heinicke has received national attention following the game with the Wildcats which saw the signal caller set an NCAA All-Division record in Total Offense in a Game, a Division I record in passing yards in a game, and FCS records in Total Offense in a Half, Passing Offense in a Half, and Total Offense and Passing Yards in a Quarter.

•  The Monarchs have won nine of their last 11 games dating back to October 22nd of last season.  There losses were to Goergia Southern in the second round of the FCS playoffs, 55-48, and to this week's opponent, Towson, in a 39-35 setback at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium

•  Including the last road contest on September 29th at Richmond, nine of Old Dominion's 11 games will be played in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  In fact, the Monarchs will not even have to leave the state until the October 20th contest at Towson.  

•   With the loss to Villanova, ODU slid back in the polls this week to No. 7 in the FCS Sports Network poll and No. 8 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

COMPARE & CONTRAST:

RISING UP THE RANKS:  

It took the ODU Football Monarchs until year three and 27 games to receive its first Top 25 ranking on October 3, 2011, coming in at No. 21 in The Sports Network Poll.  Looking at other recent start-up programs, it took Coastal Carolina 32 games to achieve a national ranking when they came in at No. 24 in The Sports Network Poll in their third year on Nov. 8, 2005.  That season the Chanticleers finished 9-2 and were the Big South co-champions.  The Monarchs enter Saturday ranked at No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 8 in The Sports Network Poll.

WELCOME TO THE TOP 25:

The Football Monarch have been a member of the Top-25 for the last 15 weeks in the The Sports Network Poll and the last 14 weeks of the FCS Coaches Poll dating back to last season.  ODU has been member of the Top-10 for the last 10 weeks dating back to last season.

ODU FOOTBALL IN THE POLLS

The Sports Network FCS Coaches

Week One: RV NR

Week Two: RV NR

Week Three: RV NR

Week Four: RV RV

Week Five: RV RV

Week Six: 21 RV

Week Seven: 18 22

Week Eight: 21 22

Week Nine: 15 16

Week Ten: 12 12

Week Eleven: 11 11

Week Twelve: 10 9

Post-Season/Final 10 10

2012 Preseason 8 6

Week Two: 7 5

Week Three: 6 4

Week Four: 5 5

Week Five: 4 4

Week Six: 4 4

Week Seven: 3 3

Week Eight: 7 8

- Complete TSN Poll

- Complete FCS Coaches Poll

IN OPENERS:

Old Dominion improved to 3-1 all-time in season openers in week one:

Old Dominion In Season Openers:

9/5/2009 - vs. Chowan W, 36-21

9/4/2010 - vs. Jacksonville L, 25-35

9/3/2011 - vs. Campbell W, 41-14 

9/1/2012 - vs. Duquesne W, 57-23

Old Dominion is currently 4-0 all-time in road openers including the week two win at Hampton:

Old Dominion In Road Openers:

9/19/2009 - at Jacksonville W, 28-27

9/11/2010 - at Campbell W, 35-21

9/10/2011 - at Georgia State W, 40-17

9/8/2012 - at Hampton W, 45-7

Old Dominion improved to 1-1 in CAA Opener with the the week four win over New Hampshire:

Old Dominion In CAA Openers:

9/24/2011 - at #7/6 Delaware L, 17-27

9/22/2012 - vs. #18/19 New Hampshire W, 64-61

Old Dominion improved to 2-0 in CAA Home Openers with the week four win over New Hampshire:

Old Dominion In CAA Home Openers:

10/1/2011 - vs. #20 UMass W, 48-33

9/22/2012 - vs. #18/19 New Hampshire W, 64-61

Old Dominion improved to 1-1 in CAA Road Openers with the wek five win at Richmond:

Old Dominion In CAA Road Openers:

9/24/2011 - at #7/6 Delaware L, 17-27

9/29/2012 - at Richmond, W 45-37

BY THE QUARTERS:

Old Dominion is currently outscoring its opponents 156-105 in the first half of contests and 139-75 in the second half. 

ACTIVE TOUCHDOWN CAREER LEADERS:

With his 23 touchdowns on the year, sophomore Taylor Heinicke is currently tied for 11th among active quarterbacks in career touchdowns.  Heinicke is the youngest member of the list.

Name, School: Year Career TDs

1. Mike Piatkowski, Drake Sr. 66

2. Matt Brown, Illinois St. Sr. 65

3. Casey Brockman, Murray St. Sr. 63

4. DeNarius McGhee, Montana St. Jr. 61

5. Zach Lewis, Morehead St. Sr. 59

6. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Ill. Jr. 55    

Sean Patterson, Duquesne Sr. 55

8. Derek Carr, Tenn.-Martin Sr. 54

    Brad Sorensen, Southern Utah Sr. 54

10. Mason Mills, San Diego Jr. 49

11. Kurt Hess, Youngstown St. Jr. 48

     Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion So. 48    

Jeff Sinclair, Robert Morris Sr. 48 14.

T.J. Pryor, Eastern Ky. Sr. 47

15. Brad Attaway, Stephen F. Austin Jr. 45

ACTIVE TACKLE CAREER LEADERS:

Redshirt senior linebacker Craig Wilkins captured six tackles in last weekend's victory over the Wildcats and is 10th on the all-time active career tackle leaders list and sixth on the all-time active career solo tackles list.  

TOTAL TACKLE CAREER LEADERS

Name, School, Pos: Year Solo Tackles

1. Matt Evans, New Hampshire, LB Sr. 404

2. Aaron Archie, Indiana St., LB Sr. 383

3. Jordan Ridley, Butler, LB Sr. 369

4. Jacolby Washington, Indiana St., LB Sr. 353

5. Robert McCabe, Georgetown, LB Sr. 347

6. Paul Worrilow, Delaware, LB Sr. 329

7. Keith Pough, Howard, LB Sr. 326

8. Blake Peiffer, Southeast Mo. St., LB Sr. 312

9. Jody Owens, Montana St., DB Sr. 296

10. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion Sr. 287

11. Darius McMillan, Richmond Sr. 278

ACTIVE SOLO TACKLE CAREER LEADERS:

Name, School, Pos: Year Solo Tackles

1. Matt Evans, New Hampshire, LB Sr. 230

2. Keith Pough, Howard, LB Sr. 195

3. Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston St., DB Sr. 190

4. Robert McCabe, Georgetown, LB SR 169    

   Kenneth Jenkins, Sam Houston St., DB Sr. 169

6. Paul Worrilow, Delaware Sr. 168

7. Jody Owens, Montana St., DB Sr. 167

8. Derek Rose, Northwestern St., LB Sr. 164

9. Aaron Archie, Indiana St., LB Sr. 162    

   Michael Martin, Fordham, LB Sr. 162

10. Jacolby Washington, Indiana St., LB Sr. 157

11. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion, LB Sr. 155

12. Nathan Wade, Furman, DB Sr. 152

     Blake Peiffer, SE Mo. State Sr. 152

ACTIVE TACKLES FOR LOSS CAREER LEADERS:

1. Keith Pough, Howard, LB Sr. 70.5

2. Brent Russell, Ga. Southern, DL Sr. 51.5

3. Ben Obaseki, Indiana St., DL Sr. 38.0

4. Jody Owens, Montana St., DB Sr. 35.0

4. Joseph Lebeau, Jackson St., DL Sr. 35.

5 6. Frank Beltre, Towson, DL Sr. 33.5

7. Preston Pemasa, Gardner-Webb, DL Jr. 32.5

8. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion Sr. 32.0

     Devan Walker, SE Louisiana Sr. 32.0

    Anthony Brown Jr. 32.0

10. Paul Worrilow, Delaware, LB Sr. 31.0

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS:

Taylor Heinicke put his name all over the game passing records in the week one win over Duquesne.

- Heinicke's 492 yards passed the previous high of 407 yards by Thomas DeMarco at Monmouth on September 25, 2010 and his previous high of 373 against Richmond back on November 5, 2011.

- Heinicke's 41 completions passed the previous high of 34 which he had set against Richmond on November 5, 2011.

- Heinicke's 63 attempts replaced the previous high of 57 attempts made by Thomas DeMarco against Cal Poly in 2010 and his own previous high of 47 against Richmond on November 5, 2011.

- Henicke also set school mark with 530 yards of total offense (492 pass, 38 rush)  with a record 74 plays.  He surpasses his previous record of 421 yards of total offense against Richmond back on November 5, 2011 and the previous high of 73 plays set by former Monarch Thomas DeMarco against Cal Poly on October 9, 2010.

In week three against Campbell, Heinicke found another place to put his name.

- Heinicke reset his own school record for touchdown passes in a game with seven in the victory over Campbell. Heinicke surpassed the previous record of five TD passes in both of last year's playoff games vs. Norfolk State on Nov. 26, 2011 and at Georgia Southern on Dec. 3, 2011. 

- The quarterback's passing yards were the 10th-highest total in CAA Football history, while his seven TD-passes were one shy from equaling the league mark last done in 2004.

Then in week four against New Hampshire in the CAA Opener, the ODU, FCS, and Division I record books blew up.

PASSING YARDS IN A QUARTER: Heinicke's 293-yard fourth quarter eclipsed the FCS record of 284 set by Western Illinois' Sam Clemons in the second quarter versus Indiana State in 2001.

PASSING YARDS IN A HALF: Heinicke's 480-yard second half dismantled the FCS record of 383 set by Marshall's Michael Payton in the first half against VMI in 1991. The Division I record is 517 by Houston's Andre Ware against SMU in 1989.

PASSING YARDS IN A GAME: As noted Saturday, Heinicke's 730 yards bests the Division I record of Houston's David Klingler, who threw for 716 against Arizona State in 1990, but just misses the all-division record of 736 by Sam Durley of Eureka College (DII) in a 62-55 comeback win over Knox College earlier this season. The FCS record was 624 by Weber State's Jamie Martin against Idaho State in 1991.   

PASSES IN A GAME WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION: Heinicke's 79 breaks the all-division record of 77 set by Justin Peery of Division III Westminster of Missouri against MacMurray in 1998. The Division I record of 76 was shared by Eastern Michigan's Andy Schmitt (versus Temple in 2008) and Houston's Case Keenum (against UTEP in 2009).

TOTAL OFFENSE IN A QUARTER: Heinicke's 293 yards in the fourth, all through the air, breaks the FCS record of 278 set by Mississippi Valley State's Willie Totten in the second quarter against Kentucky State in 1984.

TOTAL OFFENSE IN A HALF: Heinicke had 496 after intermission (480 passing, 16 rushing), lapping the FCS record of 404 set by Stephen F. Austin's Todd Hammel in the first quarter against Louisiana-Monroe in 1989.

TOTAL OFFENSE IN A GAME: Also as noted Saturday, Heinicke's 791 yards (730 passing, 61 rushing) are an NCAA record, besting Klingler's 732 (716 passing, 16 rushing) versus Arizona State in 1990. The FCS record was 668 by Jackson State's Robert Kent (595 passing, 73 rushing) against Alabama State in 2001.

LOOOKING AHEAD: Through four games, Heinicke is averaging 456 passing yards. The NCAA record is 467.3 by Klingler in 1990. The FCS record is 455.7 by Totten in 1984.

BLOCK THAT KICK:

Special teams has 25 blocks to its credit in its four seasons, including a pair of blocked PATs this season.

The first of the 2012 campaign was a blocked PAT by senior Erik Saylor in the season opener with Duquesne.  It was Saylor's second blocked PAT of his career.

Chris Burnette captured a blocked extra point attempt at Richmond in week five mid-way through the fourth quarter.  It was the first blocked PAT for Burnette who previously had denied five field goal attemps during his Monarch career.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:

The captains for the Football Monarchs for the 2012 season are senior linebacker Craig Wilkins, senior defensive lineman Chris Burnette, and sophomore quarterback Taylor Heinicke. A fourth captain will be named each week during the season selected based on his leadership skills displayed leading up to each game.

Game One - Duquesne - Alex Arain
Game Two - Hampton - Devon Simmons
Game Three - Campbell - Nick Mayers
Game Four - New Hampshire - Robbie Duncan
Game Five - Richmond - none
Game Six - Villanova - Carvin Powell

12th MONARCH MOMENTS:

There may be 11 Monarchs on the field, but the 12th Monarch is in the stands. Thanks to all the noise of being "Loud and Proud" from the 12th Monarchs at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium, the opposition was charged with 15 penalties so far this season, 58 in 2011, 51 in 2010, and 41 in 2009 for a total of 165 penalties.

2012 12th Monarch Stats:

Duquesne: Six Penalties
Campbell: Three Penalties
New Hampshire: Six Penalties
Villanova: Three Penalties

2011 12th Monarch Stats:

Campbell: Six Penalties

Hampton: Ten Penalties
UMass: Eleven Penalties
Towson: Three Penalties
James Madison: Six Penalties
Richmond: Four Penalties
Norfolk State: Eighteen Penalties

2010 12th Monarch Stats:
Jacksonville: Seven Penalties
William & Mary: Eight Penalties 
Gardner-Webb: Five Penalties
Cal Poly: Seven Penalties
Georgia State: Nine Penalties

2009 12th Monarch Stats:
Chowan: Seven Penalties
Virginia Union: Eight Penalties
Monmouth: Three Penalties
Presbyterian: Four Penalties
Campbell: Eight Penalties
Georgetown: Five Penalties
N.C. Central: Six Penalties