By Harry Minium
The goals are the same for most Football Bowl Championship teams as they approach a new season. Win the conference championship, and if you don’t, win six or more games so you can get to a bowl.
Old Dominion University’s football fans certainly had the same goals when the season began. But as the Monarchs travel to Marshall Saturday afternoon, ODU’s No. 1 goal should simply be to show improvement on offense.
Even if they don’t win, and Marshall is a 15 ½-point favorite, the Monarchs need to show that they can sustain drives and put double digits on the scoreboard. If they are able to do that against one of the best defenses in the league, then that’s progress.
Coincidentally, that’s just what head coach Bobby Wilder has been preaching all season. His team is young and without a lot of depth on offense. He’s said from Aug. 1 on that the Monarchs needed to focus on getting better every week and if they did that, the wins eventually would come.
ODU wide receiver Nigel Fitzgerald has been a bright spot for the Monarch offense in recent games.
That thinking suddenly went out the window for the media and fans after the Monarchs threatened to upset Virginia and Virginia Tech on the road before losing both in the fourth quarter. ODU would likely have won both games were it not for critical mistakes.
That gave me, and a ton of ODU fans, hope that the Monarchs would win six or seven games and finally return to a bowl game. After all, if you can almost beat ACC teams on the road, it would seem that you would do well within Conference USA.
But the offense hasn’t looked the same since. ODU (1-4 overall, 0-1 C-USA) has lost four in a row and absorbed its worst loss of the season last week against Western Kentucky, 20-3.
ODU generated just 163 offensive yards and had only two sustained drives. Statistically, it wasn’t ODU’s worst performance ever, but the others came against Virginia Tech and North Carolina State. WKU, with all due respect, isn’t Tech or State.
I won’t dissect all the reasons why the offense the offense is struggling. But I knew coming into the season that ODU could not afford more than an injury or two to key starters.
Alas, four key offensive players were hurt against Virginia and did not play in a 24-21 loss on Oct. 5 to East Carolina. And while running back Lala Davis and wide receiver Jake Herslow played sparingly against WKU, neither is at nearly full strength.
ODU’s best offensive playmaker is wide receiver Eric Kumah. Every team he’s played against has double-teamed him, which allowed other receivers to get open. And we don’t know if Kumah is returning anytime soon.
We do know that ODU lost a lot of talent from last season’s team – some key linemen, three standout wide receivers and an outstanding quarterback.
Wide receivers Travis Fulgham, Jonathan Duhart and Isaiah Harper combined to catch 192 passes for 2,607 yards and 19 touchdowns. Quarterback Blake LaRussa was second in the conference in passing and was third in voting for the best quarterback.
Center Nick Clarke was a four-year starter.
Quarterback Stone Smartt has been ODU's leading rusher in recent games.
Some offensive attrition was expected, but not as much as the Monarchs showed last week.
The schedule is not kind to ODU the next three weeks. After traveling to Marshall, the Monarchs then head to UAB and host Florida Atlantic for homecoming at Oct. 26.
Marshall was the preseason favorite to win the East Division. UAB is the defending C-USA champion and is 4-1. After a rough start, Florida Atlantic has won three games in a row and is looking again like one of the league’s best teams.
ODU will be an underdog in all three games.
Marshall is talented, as it showed in a 14-7 loss at Boise State. The Herd haven’t looked as good recently – they are coming off of a 52-14 thrashing from Cincinnati at home and a 24-13 loss at Middle Tennessee.
As with ODU’s offense, Marshall has lost because of major mistakes. Fumbles were the issue at MTSU.
Marshall (2-3 overall, 0-1 C-USA) will be desperate to win a game, and the Herd has one of the best home-field advantages in the league.
“All our guys need to be energized, Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “We have to find a way to get a win. These kids will find a way to play extremely well and to work hard this week.
“They’ll be ready to play.”
The same ODU offense that played against WKU can’t beat Marshall, UAB or FAU.
It has to get more productive. It needs to show improvement at Marshall if for nothing else, for the morale of Monarch players. Progress would bolster their self-confidence.
A victory against Marshall would obviously be a huge shot in the arm for the program. A stout offensive performance, even in defeat, would be a major step forward.
Since Old Dominion began playing football in 2009, a lot of people have pointed toward East Carolina as the program ODU should emulate.
That was a worthy goal at the time. ECU has played football a lot longer than ODU, has a bigger fan base and a bigger stadium.
But while the Pirates are 3-0 against ODU, it could be argued that poor calls from game officials cost the Monarchs the last two games. In many ways, the schools are already at the same level.
Respectfully, I think Marshall should be the program ODU aspires to become.
The Thundering Herd has the best football program in Conference USA, and that's what ODU wants to be.
Marshall has been playing football since 1895 and has a fan base that is fiercely loyal. That's in part because of the horrific plane crash in 1970 that killed most Marshall football players and staff. Marshall managed to play football in 1971, and the arduous task that coach Jack Lengyel undertook to rebuild the program was chronicled in the movie, "We Are Marshall."
The emotional bond created by that terrible night has extended to generations born after the plane crash.
Marshall went 13 seasons before it again had a winning record, and then became a power house in what was then called Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision). Marshall won I-AA national titles in 1992 and 1996 and moved up to FBS in 1998. In the 22 seasons since, Marshall has played in 14 bowl games, including six since Doc Holliday became the coach nine years ago.
Marshall's best team in recent memory went 13-1 in 2014, and was a play or two away from appearing in a New Year's Day Bowl. Marshall has a find
Marshall has the advantage of being able to sign NCAA non-qualifiers, but also has the disadvantage of playing in a small market.
ODU caught up quite a bit this season by spending $67.5 million to rebuild Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The 21,944-seat facility is among the finest in the Group of 5. The school eventually will eventually catch up with Marshall in other areas, too.
A great way to continue that path would be to beat the Thundering Herd on Saturday.
Where to watch the game
Saturday's game is being televised by Stadium, an over-the-air network that fans can watch for free or on local cable networks.
To see if it's available in your area, click on the link below:
Then go to the top right of your screen and enter your zip code.
The game is available in Hampton Roads over the air at channel 33.2. It's also available on Cox Digital Cable at 111.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu