Minium: ODU Football Players "Have Their Jaws Set and Are Ready to Go" For Home Opener Against ECU

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – It was nearly midnight Saturday when the Old Dominion football team prepared to depart from the chartered plane that just carried the Monarchs from Columbia, South Carolina to Norfolk.

And as they rose from their seats, most of the players chatted amiably and smiled. Placekicker Ethan Sanchez was with several of his teammates laughing and joking.

This certainly did not look like a team that was wallowing in self pity, although, by every right, the Monarchs could have been.

Hours earlier, ODU had outplayed South Carolina on the Gamecocks’ on their home field. Playing in front of 78,946 fans, the Monarchs were more physical than the home team and outgained the Gamecocks, 305-288. And they were not intimidated by an SEC atmosphere.

"We won the battle up front," defensive coordinator Blake Seiler said of his D. 

The difference was two turnovers inside the ODU 10 that led to South Carolina touchdowns. South Carolina, a three-touchdown favorite, eked out a 23-19 victory.

Head Coach Ricky Rahne said that kind of attitude is what he expected from his team

“No one was sad after the game,” he said. “Our guys have their jaws set and are ready to go and prove that we can play better as a team.

“That was one thing I noticed very quickly, is that guys weren’t hanging their heads. You could see anger and determination in their faces. They’re ready to go out there and earn the right to win this one.”

The next one is ODU’s home opener Saturday at 6 p.m. against East Carolina and while the Pirates and Monarchs don’t play every year, when they do, the games are emotional and physical.

ECU is 4-0 against the Monarchs, although ODU came tantalizing close to winning in 2018 (37-35) and 2019 (24-21).

ECU is 125 miles from Norfolk, which makes it the closest FBS program to ODU. The schools recruit against each other and because of ECU’s proximity to Hampton Roads, many of the players know each other.

Wide receiver Isiah Paige, who caught eight passes for a career-high 115 yards at South Carolina, took a recruiting trip to ECU with D’Anta Johnson, a defensive tackle from Dinwiddie County near Petersburg.

Johnson is a senior starter for the Pirates. Paige turned down the Pirates. “They wanted me play defense and I didn’t want to pay defense,” he said. ODU recruited him as an offensive player.

“I found a home here and I’m very happy to be here,” he added. “D’Anjta is my homeboy. It will be fun to play against him.”

ODU is a slight favorite by oddsmakers and that perhaps may in part be because no one yet quite knows what to make of the Pirates.

In spite of having a strong defense, ECU was 2-10 last season, the school’s worst record since it became Division I in 1965. But ECU had an outstanding recruiting season, bringing in 51 newcomers, six less than ODU.

The Pirates have 12 returning starters, including many of its best defensive players.

ECU was picked to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference and looked strong in a 42-3 season-opening victory over Norfolk State.

ECU outgained the Spartans in offensive yardage, 506-114. Jack Garcia, a transfer quarterback from Missouri, completed 23-of-36 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns.

But he also had three interceptions, and the Pirates lost three fumbles.

“That’s a really good football team,” Rahne said. “They have all returning starters on the defensive line.

“They brought in some transfers at key positions.

“On offense they were executing. They just turned the ball over. They were doing what they wanted to do.

“They threw the ball to six different receivers, played four different running backs, played four different tight ends.

“They played really well. They just happened to turn the ball over. I know that’s going to be a focus for them to eliminate that.”

Paige said the Monarchs are looking forward to returning home. Only 1,600 tickets remained for the game as of Saturday afternoon and a sellout is possible at the 21,944-seat facility.

 “I think we have the best stadium in the Group of 5 and we have a great game atmosphere,” Rahne said.

“I know this is going to be a pretty passionate game. They have a lot of alumni that live in our area and a lot of Virginia guys on their team."

Paige, meanwhile, said he appreciated the 1,000 or so ODU fans who made the trip to South Carolina. He caught a 72-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and fell into the end zone right in front of the ODU section.

After hugging some teammates, he took a few steps toward the sideline and waved to the Monarch faithful.

“I feed my energy to our fans and they feed it right back to me,” he said. “The way they treat us us, it makes us want to put on a show for them. We know they’re going to be in here this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to playing at home.”

NOTES: Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for ODU’s home game against Virginia Tech on Sept. 14. The only way to purchase tickets from ODU is to buy season tickets or a mini plan. The mini plan also includes a home game against either ECU or James Madison and one more home game of your choice. Season tickets begin at $200 per ticket. A mini plan can be had for $115, or about $38 per ticket. The cheapest price offered by online wholesalers is around $100, not including fees ... Jason Henderson, the All-American linebacker, is healthy but is obviously having to play his way back into game shape after offseaon surgery. He wasn’t cleared for full-speed practice until mid-August. He had three tackles at South Carolina, but Rahne said he thought Henderson gave it all that he had. “I thought he played pretty well,” Rahne said. “He hasn’t been able to practice quite as much as he normally would. He probably got a little gassed. He’ll continue to improve and play better each and every game.” ... Koa Naotala, the former walk-on from Newport News, played when Henderson was on the bench and had seven tackles ... This is a big week for the Sun Belt to re-establish itself as the nation’s best Group of 5 league for the third year in a row. In addition to ECU-ODU, Troy goes to Memphis, Texas State hosts UTSA, ULM hosts UAB and Arkansas State hosts Tulsa in games against the AAC. Marshall travels to Virginia Tech and App State goes to Clemson in games against Power 4 teams.

Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram