By Harry Minium
I won’t begin this story by dissecting a critical call made Saturday night by game officials, because in the end, you just have to live with their mistakes. They’re only human and every mortal being screws up once in a while.
So I’ll start out with what we know after ODU’s discouraging, 24-21, loss to East Carolina:
ODU didn’t play particularly well against the Pirates, but for the third game in a row, lost a game it probably should have won.
ODU fell at Virginia Tech, 31-17, after trimming the Hokies’ lead to 7; took a 17-0 lead at Virginia before falling 28-17 and cut a 14-point deficit against ECU to three before running out of time.
The losses to Virginia Tech and U.Va. were much closer than expected, and honestly, I thought ODU outplayed them both.
Against ECU, the Monarchs won the turnover battle, had 15 more plays, converted more often on third down, had possession of the ball 13 more minutes than ECU and with the exception of a couple of long pass plays, the defense shut down the Pirates.
And yet the Monarchs didn’t win.
Monarch coach Bobby Wilder said ruling a Stone Smartt run a fumble rather than a TD was the biggest play of the game.
ODU could be 4-0 but is instead 1-3. It has to be discouraging to the Monarchs to have played so hard and well in three games and lose them all.
Bob Tata, my football coach at Norview High School, once told us to “suck it up” when we lost a tough game to Princess Anne. We did and finished 8-2.
This is a young team and for that reason may be more resilient than most. Regardless, it has to suck it up and keep playing hard.
ODU plays the first of eight Conference USA games Saturday with a home game against Western Kentucky. ODU must win five of its last eight to become bowl eligible.
"I'm not thinking about bowl eligibility right now. I'm thinking about going 1-0 in Conference USA,” coach Bobby Wilder said.
"I told the players in the locker room that the non-league is over, that right now we are 0-0. All that matters to this football team is beating Western Kentucky. If we beat them, that changes everything. Then we’re 1-0 in the league."
Is it possible for ODU to become bowl eligible? Indeed it is. The Monarchs could actually win six or seven games. C-USA hasn’t exactly distinguished itself in non-league play.
But there’s little margin for error.
Stone Smartt completed 20 of 30 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 76 more.
ODU made a ton of mistakes against ECU. There was a 72-yard touchdown pass that occurred when a defensive back should have tackled the receiver instead of trying to knock down the pass.
There was a punt blocked and recovered for a touchdown, and Wilder acknowledged a young player should have called for an adjustment in blocking responsibilities and didn’t.
ODU was without four offensive starters, and for now, doesn’t have enough depth to compensate. ODU didn't have Eric Kumah, it’s best receiver; LaLa Davis, it’s leading rusher; Jake Herslow, third on the team in receptions; and Nick Saldiveri, the right tackle.
That’s why quarterback Stone Smartt had a difficult time finding open receivers, and why he was constantly on the run trying to escape blitzing defenders.
Geronda Hall returned this interception to the ECU 10 yard line.
But now we come to the game officials, who for the second year in a row in an ODU-ECU game, appeared to blow a huge call that likely was the difference in the game.
On third down and goal from the 1 late in the second half, Smartt appeared to sneak the ball into the end zone and then fumble. I was in the south end zone in a luxury suite, and had a birds-eye view. I saw him hit the ground as he was extending the ball over the goal line and then fumble.
And when you break the plane, you’ve scored.
When asked if he crossed the goal line, Smartt said he did. “My knee was down before I extended the ball,” he said.
He then followed with a comment that speaks volumes about his selfless attitude.
“It’s on me,” he said. “I shouldn’t have even risked the ball like that. So that was completely on me.”
Classy thing to say, but no, this wasn’t on you, Stone.
The replay was shown repeatedly on the TowneBank Video Board, and most of the 18,643 attending the game had to be certain the play would be overturned.
When it was announced over the loudspeaker that the play stands as called, the crowd let out a torrent of boos that went on for a few minutes.
Last season, when ODU played at ECU, a crew of Conference USA referees ruled a late interception by Justice Davila an incomplete pass. Replays indicated he likely caught the ball. But because refs ruled it incomplete, the replay ref was hamstrung.
Derek Wilder, son of coach Bobby Wilder, preparing to rush the edge.
He had to see conclusive evidence that the ball was caught and the play was oh-so close.
ODU lost the game on a late ECU field goal. Had the interception stood, the Monarchs could have run out the clock. ODU finished 4-8 last season. Had the Monarchs won against ECU, I think they would have been bowl eligible.
Conference USA officials admitted the refs made a mistake by ruling the pass incomplete. When you make a play, be it an interception or a reception, you rule it’s good and then see what the replay refs see, officials said.
This crew was from the American Athletic Conference, from ECU’s league, and while I thought the refs were evenhanded, I expect they will regret this call when they begin reviewing the game film.
“I watched the replay three times,” Wilder said in his post-game press conference. “I thought the ball was across the line.
“It has to break the plane and I thought it did. I was standing with the line judge. He said 'we’re just waiting for confirmation coach.' ”
And then came the stunning ruling.
“I thought it was a touchdown,” Wilder said. “And there was enough video evidence.”
Virginian-Pilot reporter Ed Miller brought the issue up later in the press conference, and Wilder was even more emphatic.
“I think that was the biggest, most critical turning point of the game,” he said. “It was third down, so even if they had ruled he went down (before he got into the end zone), we had another chance.
“I thought if anything they were going to rule his knee was down.
“Unfortunately, it’s been two years in a row that that’s happened to this football team.”
Tobias Moss celebrates a defensive play.
Fans are obviously frustrated by the 1-3 start, coming after two losing seasons. And many vented their frustrations on the Monarchs in the second quarter. As ODU left the field at halftime, players were treated to a chorus of boos.
I’ve always felt that booing college students because they’re not winning a football game was poor form. But I thought Wilder dealt with it appropriately.
“They got a little bit shook in the first half when the boo birds came out,” he said of his players. “That was a little hard on them.
“I had to address that at halftime and explain to them that when the crowd is booing, they’re booing me. They’re not booing you.
“It usually happened when we were running the ball. Last week we ran the ball on third and 12 and Kesean Strong gained 13 yards.
“It’s not as if we’re not trying to get a first down. (Focusing on the run) is a calculated decision because without Salvideri, the quarterback was getting hit a lot.
“When we started playing better in the second half and got the game close, the crowd was awesome. They got into it, they got loud.
“Our biggest challenge right now is to keep giving them reasons to cheer. That’s what we’ve got to do, give them reasons to stay behind us.”
That and go 1-0.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu