NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University football returns home from two-straight away games to host Rhode Island on Saturday at 2 p.m. This will be the second ever game between ODU and the Rams, with the Monarchs winning the matchup in 2011 in Kingston, R.I., 31-23.
• Jarod Brown kicked a 24-yard field goal with no time left to defeat Norfolk State last Saturday.
• Taylor Heinicke passed for 325 yards and on his 22-yard touchdown pass to Larry Pinkard in the second quarter became the first Division I quarterback in the state of Virginia to pass for 10,000 career yards. Heinicke has 10,186 career passing yards.
• True freshman Gerard Johnson became the first ODU running back this season to rush for 100-yards, as he ran for a career-high 101 yards on a career-best 17 attempts.
• For the sixth-straight game the ODU offense produced more than 400-yards of toal offense, grinding out 465 yards in the win at Norfolk State.
• A week after playing running back against Pittsburgh, Antonio Vaughan split time at RB and receiver, and led the Monarchs with six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. Larry Pinkard caught five passes for 54 yards, including a two-yarder to tie the score in the fourth quarter.
• Taylor Heinicke completed 31-of-52 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second 300- plus yardage game against an FBS opponent. It was the sixth time this season he has thrown for more than 300 yards. The two TD tosses give him 85 for his career. Heinicke is 139 passing yards away from 10,000 for his career. The junior from Atlanta would become the first Division I quarterback from Virginia to reach the 10,000 career passing yard plateau.
• Junior Antonio Vaughan moved to running back for the first time in his career, carrying 15 times for 70 yards including a 17-yard touchdown run. Vaughan had carried six times prior to the Pitt game, but played most of the game at running back for ODU, except for when the Monarchs went with five wide receivers. Vaughan caught eight passes for 30 yards for 100 total yards of offense on the day.
• ODU senior offensive lineman Jack Lowney will start his 40th straight game on the offensive line today. Lowney has started the last 21-straight at left tackle. During his streak, he has started five games at righ guard and 13 at right tackle. Taylor Heinicke has the next highest start streak at 29 games. Saturday will be Heinicke's 30th straight start. Heinicke made his first career start in 2011 at Rhode Island.
• Sophomore safety Fellonte Misher had a team-best nine tackles at Norfolk State, leading ODU in tackles for the second-straight week and the sixth time in eight games this season.
• ODU kicker Jarod Brown kicked two field goals in the win over NSU, including the game-winning 24-yard kick with no time left.
• After playing three FBS teams on the road, ODU won their first road contest of the season last Saturday at Norfolk State. Prior to this season, ODU had a better road record than at home, going 16-3 in 19 road games, including being unbeaten on the road in 2010 and 2012.
• ODU is 43-13 under head coach Bobby Wilder, appearing in the FCS playoffs the only two years they were eligible for a postseason bid.