ODU Football Makes Too Many Mistakes and Falls to Marshall, 42-35, In Final Home Game
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion’s football team at times played well and played hard throughout in its final home game of 2024. But as so often happened this season, it wasn’t quite enough.
Marshall drove 75 yards for a touchdown with 4:03 left, and then held the Monarchs twice in the final minutes, to claim a 42-35 victory Saturday night before 18,083 at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
ODU (4-7 overall, 3-4 Sun Belt) needed a victory to salvage hope for a bowl game. The Monarchs conclude their season next Saturday at Arkansas State.
The victory was huge for Marshall (8-3, 6-1), which could claim its first Sun Belt Conference title by either winning at James Madison next weekend or if Georgia Southern loses at Coastal Carolina.
ODU has played more one-score games the last two seasons than any other FBS program in the country.
ODU’s offense rolled to 24 first downs and 513 yards, after just producing just 173 yards in the first half, and scored on their first four possessions of the second half.
But with Marshall holding a 42-35 lead, ODU’s fifth possession of the half ended with a punt. Quarterback Colton Joseph fired a third-down pass intended for Isiah Paige, but was knocked away by defensive back Ian Foster.
ODU hoped to hold the Herd to a three and out, but Marshall got two first downs before finally punting and the Monarchs ODU got the ball back at its own 12 with 22 seconds left.
Four plays later, the Monarchs were tackled at the 28 while trying to lateral the ball to each other in hopes of breaking free for a touchdown.
“I thought our kids fought hard,” said Ricky Rahne, ODU’s head coach. “We kept battling and battling.”
Asked why he punted with 2:39 to go, he noted, that Marshall was in field goal range, and if the Monarchs didn't get a first down, the Herd could have put the game out of reach with a field goal.
Rahne said mistakes, including two turnovers, and poor special teams play, were too much to overcome. And special teams have been strong during nearly all of Rahne’s four seasons at ODU.
Foster returned three kickoffs for 118 yards for Marshall, including a 55-yarder, which gave the Herd excellent field position.
There was also a fumbled punt that led to a Marshall touchdown.
“Those are things we had not done this year,” Rahne said. “That unit has been excellent all year long. And I mean, the farthest we'd let somebody get out before that was the 30 yard line.”
Rahne said his players were bitterly disappointed.
“They wanted to earn a bowl game so they could have three more weeks together, and they understand that that's not an option anymore,” he said. “They’re hurt.”
Joseph, the redshirt freshman from Newport Beach, California, ran 25 times for a game-high 158 yards and two touchdowns and completed 19-of-31 passes for 227 more yards and a TD.
Tailback Aaron Young, the transfer from Rutgers playing in his final ODU home game, rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns. It was his third game in a row with more than 100 yards.
Paige and Pat Conroy, both seniors, each hauled in seven passes.
ODU ‘s offense struggled mightily in the first half as the Monarchs had just 173 yards and scored only seven points and trailed, 17-7, at the half.
But both offenses picked up momentum in a second half that at times seemed like a tennis match, with the lead changing hands four times in one seven-minute stretch.
The Monarchs opened the second half with an impressive, 5-play, 75-yard drive that was keyed by a 48-yard pass from Joseph to Paige, who caught the ball at the eight and dragged a defender to the two.
Young then carried for the touchdown on the next play to narrow the lead to 17-14.
Marshall appeared to answer on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Braylon Braxton to Charles Montgomery for a touchdown, but after a video review, officials ruled he caught the ball out of bounds.
The Herd then had to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Rece Verhoff that expanded the lead to 20-14.
ODU’s offense then marched down the field again, with Joseph reeling off a 39-yard run to give the Monarchs a first and goal at the 10. On third down, Joseph found Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, a freshman from Brooklyn, New York, in the back of the end zone for the TD. It was Gladding's first career catch and touchdown.
The extra point by Ethan Sanchez gave the Monarchs their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 6:47 left in the third quarter.
ODU’s defense then held the Herd on downs, but a fumbled punt gave Marshall a first down at the 22. Braxton passed 22 yards for the touchdown to Charles Montgomery and the Herd led, 27-21.
The Monarchs quickly erased the lead with Joseph rushing eight yards for a touchdown. The Sanchez extra point gave the Monarchs a 28-27 lead they carried into the fourth quarter.
But Marshall again answered, in spectacular fashion, as Carl Chester leapt high over a defender and hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass. Braxton then passed to DeMarcus Harris for the two-point conversion and Marshall led, 35-28, eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
ODU’s offense responded again, scoring its fourth consecutive touchdown on a drive Joseph kept alive with a 35-yard run on third down at the Marshall 36. That set up his one-yard touchdown run and with 8:23 left, the score was tied at 35-all.
Marshall’s Ethan Payne gave the Herd a 42-35 lead with 4:03 left in the game on a one-yard run, and the Monarchs could not respond.
Rahne said his players were very emotional after the game and linebacker Koa Naotala agreed.
“Anytime we lose, we’re going to be sad or be down,” he said. “That’s how we react to any loss.
“But we knew we had to win this game to go to a bowl and we didn’t, so obviously, we’re going to be down about that.”
He said the Monarchs will show up next weekend determined to win their final game together.
“I think our mindset going into this game is that we want to win this for us,” he said pointing to his heart. “We know what we’ve been though, we know all of the work we put in.
"So we want to do it for us, do it for our seniors and just finish out strong for them.”
The game was the 74th annual Oyster Bowl sponsored by the Khedive Shriners Temple and benefitted the Shriners Children’s Hospitals, which care for injured or sick children around the country.
Marshall’s Braxton, who passed for 210 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 148 more won the Mel Blassingham Trophy given to the Oyster Bowl MVP.
Notes
Ashton Whitner made his first start of the season at safety and the third of his career … Cornerback Khian’Dre Harris made his first career start … Aaron Young’s 24-yard touchdown run was his longest career touchdown run … Aaron Young’s multi-touchdown game was the first of his career. Young recorded his third-straight 100-yard rushing game, notching 18 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns … Colton Joseph had a career long 39-yard run in the third quarter. He rushed for a career high 158 yards on 25 attempts and two touchdowns. The 158 yards are the second most in ODU history by a QB, second only to Thomas DeMarco’s 224 yards against North Carolina Central in 2009 … Isiah Paige caught seven passes for 103 yards, his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season … Pst Conroy tied his career high with seven receptions … Koa Naotala recorded his fourth double-digit tackle game of the year, with 12 tackles … Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding’s third quarter touchdown was his first TD and catch of his career … The 513 yards of offense were the second most this season by ODU. The Monarchs had a season-high of 560 yards against Georgia Southern … Joseph and Young became the first duo to go over 100 yards rushing in the same game since Blake Watson and Elijah Davis each did it in 2021 at FIU.