ODU Football Team Rallies from a 17-0 First-Half Deficit, but Falls to UTEP, 28-21

By Harry Minium
 
EL PASO, Texas – As it did a week ago against Buffalo, Old Dominion's football team staged a furious second-half comeback and then lost a heartbreaker.
 
Trailing UTEP, 17-0 with just 51 seconds left in the first half, the Monarchs stormed back to take a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter.
 
But then UTEP staged a comeback of its own, driving 63 yards in seven minutes in the fourth quarter to claim a 28-21 victory in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
 
UTEP took a 26-21 lead after Deion Hankins carried from the three for the touchdown. The Miners went for the 2-point conversion and quarterback Garvin Hardison, who had plenty of time, found Justin Garrett on a pass to make it 28-21 with 6:59 left.
 
ODU (1-4, 0-1 Conference USA) then drove to its own 43 and on third down, Dy'Vonne Inyang intercepted a D.J. Mack pass with 4:16 left.

ODU had two more possessions.

The first started at their 31, but four plays later, ODU quarterback D.J. Mack Jr. was pulled down while scrambling at the 36 and the ball turned over on downs with 3:15 left.

ODU's defense, which generally played well, forced UTEP to punt and ODU had the ball at its 5-yard line 1:23 left and no timeouts. 

The Monarchs then gave UTEP a major scare, driving to the UTEP 31, where they had a first down with 1:07 left.

But on fourth down, Mack's heaved a pass toward 6-foot-8 tight end Zack Zuntz in the right corner of the end zone, but overthrew him.

UTEP (4-1, 1-0), which has won more games now than any season since 2016, then ran out the clock.

After an uneven performance in ODU's first three games, Mack and ODU's wide receivers generally played well. 

Mack completed 20 of 34 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown and ran for another. Kuntz, the transfer from Penn State, caught a career-high eight passes for 54 yards.

But ODU was outgained, 333-282, and rushed for just 88 yards.

"He's playing much better," ODU head coach Ricky Rahne said of Mack. "The wideouts are playing better.

"There were still some open plays we need to make. But in general, I thought those guys are playing much better."

Rahne credited UTEP's defense for stepping up in the fourth quarter and shutting ODU out. 

ODU's offense had generated just 81 offensive yards and trailed UTEP, 17-0 with 51 seconds left in the first half, when the Monarchs did what they did in the second half last weekend against Buffalo – their offense got their act together.
 
ODU trailed the Bulls, 35-7, last weekend at halftime and rallied for 27 points, one short of what they needed to win.
 
ODU drove 75 yards in five plays in just 40 seconds. 
 
Mack keyed the drive with a 28-yard run, then with 15 seconds left and no timeouts, launched a pass to Ali Jennings III that he caught on the goal line and lunged across with 10 seconds left.
 
Rice's point after touchdown trimmed the lead to 17-7 and gave the Monarchs momentum heading into the locker room.
 
UTEP scored first in the second on a drive keyed by a 51-yard pass from quarterback Gavin Hardison to standout wide receiver Jacob Cowing. But the defense stood firm and forced the Miners to settle for a 40-yard field goal.
 
But ODU then took over. ODU then drove 75 yards on a drive in which the Monarchs gambled and went for it on fourth and one at their 33. Blake Watson carried for two yards to keep the drive alive. Mack threw 21 yards to Zack Zuntz to set up first and goal and then scored from the three and ODU trailed 20-14.
 
Then, after holding the Miners on downs, the Monarchs blocked their fourth punt of the season, this one by Isaiah Spencer and AC White scooped up the ball and returned it 11 yards for the touchdown.
 
Rice then kicked the point after to give ODU its first lead of the game, 21-20, with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

"We talked all week about how we needed to scoop and score and that's what we did," Rahne said, adding that special teams coordinator Kevin Smith saw an opening to block the kick.

"Credit to them for seeing it and fixing it," he added of UTEP.

Linebacker Jordan Young said the attitude in the locker room remains positive in spite of the loss. 

"We know we did a lot of good things tonight," he said. "It's just been us beating us."

Added Rahne:  "We've got to execute earlier, but we've got execute and believe right from the beginning."

ODU next plays at Marshall Saturday at 2 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the CBS Sports Network on Facebook. Marshall (2-3, 0-1) lost at Middle Tennessee, 34-28.

The Herd have lost three in a row.

"It's a proud program," Rahne said of the Thundering Herd. "I know the coaching staff and they know how to get the ship righted.

"We're going to plan for it and execute it and go and get that win."

NOTES: Captains for ODU were Kuntz, Harrell Blackmon and Darius Savedge … This is the third time ODU has played in El Paso. ODU lost in 2014, 42-35, and won in 2016, 31-21 … ODU hosted UTEP in 2015 and also won by a 31-21 score … Jason Henderson and Devin Brandt-Epps started their first career games at linebacker and defensive line, respectively … Linebacker Steven Williams started his first career game on the defensive side of the ball … Ali Jennings' first half touchdown was the third of his career and first as a Monarch … Jennings' touchdown was the first this season by a wide receiver … Mack rushed for his team-leading sixth touchdown of the year … The blocked punt returned for a touchdown was the first of White's career … In his first career start, Jason Henderson had a game-high 10 tackles.