Undone by Uncharacteristic Mistakes, ODU Football Falls at Marshall, 48-24

By Harry Minium

HUNTINGTON, West Virginia – Old Dominion made a ton of uncharacteristic mistakes and ran into an inspired Marshall team that drubbed the Monarchs with surprising ease, 48-24, Saturday afternoon at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

ODU (4-2 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt) had won four games in a row since a 27-14 season-opening loss at Indiana, and all four had been blowout victories. 

But ODU set up three Marshall touchdowns and a field goal with an interception, fumble and two muffed punts. In all, ODU had five turnovers.

“You can’t make those kinds of mistakes and expect to win,” said Ricky Rahne, ODU’s head coach. “We’ve got to take care of the football, and we didn’t do that today.”

Marshall (3-3, 1-1) continues to be an albatross for ODU, which has not beaten the Herd since 2016. ODU is 1-10 all-time against the Herd and has never won in Huntington.

ODU does not have to wait long to make amends. The Monarchs travel to James Madison Saturday in a game to be televised nationally on ESPNU. A victory would re-cement ODU as a Sun Belt title contender.

Marshall was led by quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, a transfer from Syracuse, who since he was named the Herd starter three games into the season has progressively improved. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 95 more yards and two more TDs.

It was a long day for ODU quarterback Colton Joseph, who was at times off mark with passes and was under a lot of pressure form Marshall’s defense.

He completed 15 of 28 passes for 266 yards and ran for 50 more yards and a TD but almost half of his passing yardage came in the fourth quarter long after the game was decided.

Rahne said that just like Joseph doesn’t deserve all the credit when he does well, he also doesn’t deserve all the criticism when things don't go well.

“It’s never just one guy,” he said. “It’s a combination of everyone working together when it works and not working together when it doesn’t work.

“We had a bunch of different issues tonight, issues that we haven’t had this season.”

Rahne credited first year Marshall coach Tony Gibson with doing a magnificent job of pulling off a quick rebuild of the Herd program.

"He's done a fantastic job," Rahne said. "They really should be 5-1."

Marshall, which rebuilt football from scratch in 1971 after a plane crash killed the 1970 team, faced the second-largest rebuilding effort in history this season. The Herd opened practice with nearly 80 new players this fall. 

“They really wanted to win this game,” wide receiver Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladden said. “That’s what happens when you’re at the top of the food chain. We’re the hunted. People really want to beat you. And we did not respond well.

Things began well for ODU but quickly fell apart.

Joseph connected with Ja’Cory Thomas on a 47-yard pass reception on ODU’s first offensive play, and four plays later, ODU had a fourth and 2 at the Marshall 4.

ODU elected to go for it on fourth down, and Joseph was stacked up inches short of the first down.

That was a sign of things to come. ODU later also failed to get the first down on fourth and short inside the 10.

“In hindsight, maybe I should have kicked those field goals,” Rahne said. “But I believe in my guys, especially when we’re inside the four-yard line. And I’m going to continue to believe in my guys.”

On ODU’s next possession, Joseph dropped back to pass and saw Gladding open in single coverage. He didn’t see cornerback Boogie Trotter drifting backwards from the line of scrimmage. Trotter leaped and intercepted a pass intended for Gladding and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown with 4:57 left in the first quarter.

The Monarchs evened the score with 43 seconds left in the quarter when, on third and long, Joseph found Tre’ Brown III open at midfield. The sophomore from Savannah, Georgia sprinted the final 40 yards of a 71-yard touchdown pass.

Marshall retook the lead, 14-7, on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Del Rio-Wilson to Michael Allen a minute into the second quarter.

ODU then again drove deeply into Marshall territory and stalled and again went for it on fourth down, this time fourth and 2 at the Marshall 5.

ODU running back Devin Roche was stacked up a yard short of a first down and Marshall then took control of the game, thanks to a series of Monarch mistakes.

Marshall drove 96 yards on a drive kept alive when a Monarch was hit by a punt that was then recovered by the Herd.

On fourth down at the ODU 2, the Herd settled for a 20-year Lorcan Quinn field goal that made it 17-7.

A minute later, ODU’s Trequan Jones fumbled and Marshall recovered, setting up a three-play, 39-yard Herd TD drive capped by a six-yard run by Del-Rio Wilson.

ODU closed out the half with a 42-yard field goal by Riley Callaghan that trimmed the margin to 24-10.

However, Marshall put the game away quickly in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points.

ODU scored two late touchdowns, on TD runs by Joseph and Maurki James.

Rahne spent more time than usual in the locker room talking to his players after the game.

“I want our players to learn after every game, but sometimes I think they learn more from losses,” Rahne said. “The measure of a man is how he responds to adversity.

“That’s why this game of football is so great. You get a bunch of different opportunities to respond to adversity."

And ODU's next chance comes at JMU.

"The reality is, and I've said this before, to go through the Sun Belt undefeated is going to be next to impossible," Rahne said. 

"There are too many good teams."

Notes – Joseph’s 71-yard touchdown pass to Brown was the fifth touchdown of 70+ yards for ODU this season … It was the longest reception of Brown’s career … Maurki James rushed for a career high 83 yards on 12 carries … Seth Naotala had a career high 12 tackles and half a TFL … Joseph’s 266 passing yards were his fifth-straight game with 250+ yards.