GAME EIGHT: No. 6/7 Old Dominion vs. No. 20/16 Delaware

Oct. 24, 2012

GAME Eight: 
Saturday, October 27, 2012 - Noon (EST)
Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium
#6/7 Old Dominion Monarchs (6-1, 3-1 CAA) vs.
#20/16 Delaware Blue Hens (5-2, 2-2)

TV: NBC Sports
(Todd Harris - play-by-play, Anthony Herron - Analyst, Carolyn Manno - Sideline)

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: ODU In-Game

VIDEO: ODU All-Access (subscription required)

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

ODU WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO: Available on Monarch Media

STAY CONNECTED:
Follow ODU Football on TWITTER
Become a FAN of ODU Athletics on FACEBOOK

THE QUICK HITS:

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

  Association.  The Monarchs stayed undefeated on the road this season with a 31-20 win over No. 23 Towson.

    The Monarchs lead all FCS schools in Scoring Offense (46.5), Total Offense (575.0), and rank second in passing offense (404.0) and also rank in the top-15 defensively in Tackles for Loss (7.2) at No. 14.  Additionally quarterback Taylor Heinicke leads the nation in total offense at 446.2 yards a game, while wide receiver Nick Mayers is 16th in receiving yards at 92.1 yards per contest.

    Sophomore quarterback Taylor Heinicke has received national attention following the game with New Hampshire 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 are 5-1 in games after coming off a loss, having lost back-to-back games just once.  In the inagural season ODU started off 3-0 and then lost to Monmouth (31-28) and Fordham (34-29) and did not lose the rest of the year.  ODU beat Towson last week after falling to Villanova the week before.

   Taylor Heinicke rushed for two touchdowns in the win at No. 18/19 Towson which was a single-game high for the sophomore quarterback.  He leads the Monarchs with five rushing scores on the year. 

  With the win over Towson, ODU moved up in the polls to No. 6 in The Sports Network and No. 7 in the Coach's Poll.

  The opening quarter shutout of Towson was the fourth time this season ODU held its opponent scoreless in the first quarter, and the first time doing so since shuting out Campbell in the first quarter.

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 No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 7 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

Week Nine: 6 7

- 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

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 326-200.  The Monarchs have outscored its opponents 89-26 in the first quarter, 90-38 in the third and 63-51 in the fourth.  ODU has been outscored 85-84 in the second quarter.

ACTIVE TOUCHDOWN CAREER LEADERS:

With his 24 touchdowns on the year, sophomore Taylor Heinicke is currently 14th among active quarterbacks in career touchdowns.  Heinicke is the youngest member of the list.

Name, School: Year Career TDs

1. Mike Piatkowski, Drake Sr. 68

2. Matt Brown, Illinois St. Sr. 67

3. Casey Brockman, Murray St. Sr. 63

4. DeNarius McGhee, Montana St. Jr. 61

5. Zach Lewis, Morehead St. Sr. 61

6. Sean Patterson, Duquesne Sr. 57

7. Brad Sorensen, Southern Utah Sr. 56

8. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Ill. Jr. 55   

    Derek Carr, Tenn.-Martin Sr. 55

10. Mason Mills, San Diego Jr. 52

11. Jeff Sinclair, Robert Morris Sr. 50      

  T.J. Pryor, Eastern Ky. Sr. 50       

  Brad Attaway, Stephen F. Austin Jr. 50

14. Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion So. 49

15. Kurt Hess, Youngstown St. Jr. 48

ACTIVE TACKLE CAREER LEADERS:

Redshirt senior linebacker Craig Wilkins captured six tackles in last weekend's victory over the Wildcats and is 11th 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. 415

2. Aaron Archie, Indiana St., LB Sr. 394

3. Jordan Ridley, Butler, LB Sr. 383

4. Robert McCabe, Georgetown, LB Sr. 364

5. Jacolby Washington, Indiana St., LB Sr. 363

6. Keith Pough, Howard, LB  Sr. 336

7. Paul Worrilow, Delaware, LB Sr. 329

8. Blake Peiffer, Southeast Mo. St., LB Sr. 324

9. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion Sr. 297

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

11. Darius McMillan, Richmond Sr. 295

ACTIVE SOLO TACKLE CAREER LEADERS:

Name, School, Pos: Year Solo Tackles

1. Matt Evans, New Hampshire, LB Sr. 235

2. Keith Pough, Howard, LB  Sr. 198

3. Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston St., DB Sr. 196

4. Robert McCabe, Georgetown, LB SR 175

5. Kenneth Jenkins, Sam Houston St., DB Sr. 171

6. Paul Worrilow, Delaware  Sr. 168

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

8. Aaron Archie, Indiana St., LB Sr. 165

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

10. Michael Martin, Fordham, LB Sr. 162

11. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion, LB Sr. 160

     Blake Peiffer, SE Mo. State Sr. 160

10. Jacolby Washington, Indiana St., LB Sr. 158

12. Nathan Wade, Furman, DB  Sr. 156

ACTIVE TACKLES FOR LOSS CAREER LEADERS:

1. Keith Pough, Howard, LB  Sr. 70.5

2. Brent Russell, Ga. Southern, DL Sr. 52.5

3. Joseph Lebeau, Jackson St., DL Sr. 39.0

4. Ben Obaseki, Indiana St., DL Sr. 38.5

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

6. Frank Beltre, Towson, DL  Sr. 34.5

7. Craig Wilkins, Old Dominion Sr. 34.0

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

   Anthony Brown Jr. 32.5

10. Devan Walker, SE Louisiana Sr. 32.0    

11. 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
Game Seven - Towson - Erik Saylor 

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