ODU Football Rolls To Impressive, 47-7, Victory Over Coastal Carolina

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. -- It is difficult to imagine an Old Dominion football team playing any better than the Monarchs did Saturday night in their Sun Belt Conference opener.

Led by quarterback Colton Joseph, and a swarming defense that nearly pitched a shutout, the Monarchs scored early and often and rolled past Coastal Carolina, 47-7, before an enthused S.B. Ballard Stadium crowd of 20,895.

ODU led, 34-0, at halftime en route to its most lopsided victory ever over an FBS opponent. It was the fourth win in a row for ODU (4-1 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt), which is off to its best start since 2012.

ODU last won four games in a row in 2021, when the Monarchs went to their first bowl game under Head Coach Ricky Rahne.

While Joseph and the offense played exceptionally well, this was the quintessential “team” victory in that ODU’s defense and special teams also excelled.

ODU outgained Coastal, 619-189. The offensive yardage differential of 430 yards was the largest for ODU in a game in program history.

It was also the second week in a row that the Monarchs held an opponent to an FBS low in offensive yardage.

Before Rahne began to clear his bench midway through the third quarter, the Monarchs had outgained Coastal, 504-100, in offensive yards.

Coastal (2-3, 1-1) scored a late touchdown on a 3-yard Tad Hudson pass to Cameron Wright, which followed a missed ODU field goal. It was just Coastal Carolina’s second drive into ODU territory.

Joseph completed 17 of 30 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns before heading to the bench for good midway through the third quarter. He ran seven times for 66 yards and another TD.

“This was another game in which he spread the ball around and did damage with both his arm and his legs,” Rahne said. “He could have done a couple of things better but overall, he’s just playing really, really well.

“What he’s doing excellent right now is just letting the game come to him. He’s not trying to force things. The ball is going where the ball should go. When he’s doing that, he’s so hard to defend.”

Running back Trequan Jones rushed 14 times for 98 yards while wide receiver Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding hauled in seven passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns – all career highs for the sophomore from Brooklyn, New York.

Ke’Travion Hargrove, a running back who had 87 yards rushing in ODU’s first four games, exploded for an 80-yard touchdown reception when he hauled in a Joseph pass at the 32, and outran two defenders the final 68 yards.

Defensive back Jerome Carter led ODU with a career-high 12 tackles, including seven solos. Safety Mario Easterly had an interception and Jackson Forrest, the true freshman linebacker from Concord, North Carolina, had five tackles and both forced and recovered a fumble.

“When you’re able to hold somebody under 200 yards of total offense and you have more than 600, that’s a very good day,” Rahne said. “I thought we played well.

“And I know it sounds ridiculous, but I still think we can play better. We left some things out on the field. We were in a position to create a few more turnovers and to throw a couple more long touchdowns. There are things we still need to work on.”

Even so, Rahne conceded it was the most complete game one of his teams has played at ODU.

“When we’re playing this well, it just makes the game that much more fun and exciting,” said Abdul-Rahim Gladding. “We know the type of preparation and work that we put in, especially in the offseason and in practice week to week.

“So, it’s just a great feeling that we’re firing on all cylinders and that all the work that we put in is paying off.”

The Monarchs next play at Marshall on Saturday in the first of two critical Sun Belt road contests. The Monarchs then travel to James Madison on Oct. 18 before returning home to host App State on Oct 25.

ODU is 1-9 against Marshall, hasn’t beaten the Herd since 2016 and has never won in Huntington. And while ODU is 2-3 against JMU, the Monarchs are 0-3 against the Dukes since joining the Sun Belt.

“I’m going to enjoy this victory tonight,” Rahne said when asked about Marshall. “I’ll start thinking about Marshall on Sunday.”

ODU has already been on the national radar before Saturday’s victory. ESPN has ODU ranked first among Sun Belt schools and 54th nationally and it’s likely the Monarchs will rise in those rankings.

ODU may also begin to receive votes in Top 25 polls.

“If that happens, well, those are the same guys who said we were going to stink,” Rahne said.

“We need to keep playing well,” Rahne added, “because it feels good for us to play well. It can’t be about external recognition It’s got to be about playing well in here.”

“Honestly, not to sound too broad or blunt, we don’t care about the attention,” Abdul-Rahim Gladding added. “We’re just going out there playing football for each other, for the man next to each of us.

“So, if the attention comes, that is great and all, but at the same time, that attention does nothing for us when we go out there on the field.”

“We know we want to win a championship,” Carter added. “That’s been our goal from day one.

“And we know playing attention to stuff like that isn’t going to help us win a championship.”

Notes – Tre Brown caught a 49-yard pass on the opening drive, his longest reception of the season … Gladding’s three touchdown game tied the single-game ODU record. Ali Jennings was the last Monarch to have three, against East Carolina in 2022 … Gladding’s seven catches for 101 yards were also a career high … The 300-yard game is the third of Joseph’s career and his first of the season … Joseph tied a career high with four touchdown passes. All in the first half… Hargrove’s 80-yard touchdown reception was the first receiving touchdown of his career. It was the fifth longest pass play in ODU history … It was the longest completion for Joseph and longest reception for Hargrove … Jones’ 98 yards marks his fourth straight game with 89+ yards It was a career long completion for Joseph … It’s the fourth-straight multi-touchdown pass game for Joseph and the seventh of his career … Safety Jerome Carter registered a career best 12 tackles … Keshawn Thomas totaled a career bes six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack … Jackson Forrest and Hunter Malecki notched their first career solo sacks … The 40-point margin of victory was the largest in program history against an FBS team and the second 40+point win this season. The first was a 48-point win over North Carolina Central … ODU held CCU to 189 total yards. The fewest against an FBS team in program history. The previous low against an FBS team was 210, set last week against Liberty … ODU had 619 total yards, with Coastal’s 189, the 430-yard difference was the largest difference between total yards in ODU history and the fourth largest margin between two Sun Belt teams in league history.

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