ODU Football Rolls Past ULM, 31-6, to Become Bowl Eligible

By Harry Minium

MONROE, La. – The Old Dominion football team played its most complete game in a month, and blew past ULM, 31-6, Saturday afternoon to become bowl eligible for the fourth time in school history.

ODU (6-3 overall, 3-2 Sun Belt) is bowl eligible the earliest in program history.

ODU next plays against Troy on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at S.B. Ballard Stadium in a game to be televised by ESPN. Thursday night ESPN broadcasts often draw audiences of more than 500,000 TV households. 

In addition, ESPN’s SportsCenter will broadcast live from Kaufman Mall from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m.

ODU fans and students are encouraged to attend the SportsCenter broadcast.

ODU Head Coach Ricky Rahne will be interviewed during SportsCenter.

"That's an awesome opportunity to show people nationally what Old Dominion is all about and we're excited about that," Rahne said.

As ODU players came off the field, many were chanting "bowl game" and linebacker Jahleel Culbreath, a junior from Virginia Beach, said becoming bowl eligible is indeed a big deal.

"That means everything to us," he said. "Everybody wants to go to a bowl game. We earned another game with our brothers and that's awesome.

"But obviously, we want more."

If they win out, the Monarchs could win 10 games for only the second time in ODU's FBS history. And although it would take a mammoth collapse by James Madison, which leads the East Division with a 4-0 Sun Belt record, Culbreath said the Monarchs are still seeking a conference championship.

"Unfortunately, we lost two games (at Marshall and James Madison), but our hopes remain high. We're taking each game as it comes," he said.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph passed for 231 yards and rushed for 16 times for 72 yards three touchdowns as the Monarchs dominated from start to finish.

While the Monarchs at times made some mistakes, including a missed field goal, a penalty that cost them a touchdown, a blocked punt and a fumble from Joseph, they played hard and largely well throughout.

And perhaps most importantly, they held onto the ball when it mattered. The Monarchs were undone by 11 turnovers in their three losses – at No. 2 Indiana, Marshall and JMU.

Joseph coughed the ball up early in the second half and the Warhawks had a first and goal. However, safety Mario Easterly forced a ULM fumble that was scooped up by cornerback Jorian Haynes five minutes into the second half.

It was ODU's only turnover. 

ODU's defense was splendid. The Monarchs limited ULM (3-6, 1-4 Sun Belt) to 293 yards and lost the shutout largely because of a blocked punt that gave the Warhawks a first and goal at the 3.

The Monarchs sacked ULM quarterback Aidan Armenta five times -- the Warhawks had given up just 10 sacks in their previous eight games.    

Although ULM, which is more widely known as Louisiana-Monroe, has lost five in a row, Malone Stadium is usually a difficult place to win.  

ULM was 5-7 overall last season but 4-2 at home, including upsets of UAB and James Madison. The Warhawks upset Arkansas State at home earlier this season.

But in spite of a few early-game hiccups, the Monarchs rolled to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter and were never headed.

Ke’Travion Hargrove, who grew up 30 minutes away from Monroe in Ruston, Louisiana, scored first for the Monarchs on a 12-yard yard and Joseph tallied a 7-yard TD rush minutes later to give ODU a 14-0 lead 11 minutes into the game.

After ODU missed an early field goal, Nathanial Eichner, a 5-foot-9 walk-on from Trinity, Florida who transferred from Alabama State, drilled a 30-yard field goal and the Monarchs led, 17-0, less than 13 minutes into the game.

Pressed out of the pocket, Joseph scrambled for a 14-yard TD run with 9:09 left in the first half and the Monarchs led, 24-0.

It was ODU's first game ever played in Louisiana and the game was a homecoming of sorts for four ODU players from the Bayou State. ODU has also recruited well in Mississippi and Alabama. 

Family and friends of the players gobbled up ODU’s allotment of tickets and then some. At times, ODU's crowd was louder than Warhawk supporters.

"If you take out the band, I think we had more than 50 percent of the fans here," Rahne said. "That was awesome. We have some pretty faithful fans. It was great to have this much support this far away from home."

Hargrove rushed nine times for 38 yards and a TD and caught a pass for 21 years. Ja’Cory Thomas, a wide receiver from Denham Springs, Louisiana, had two catches for 65 yards.

Defensive tackle Javen Gibson, from Church Point, Louisiana, had two tackles, including a sack. Wide receiver TJ Johnson, from Alexandria, Louisiana, also played.

ODU has been to bowl games three times since becoming a full-fledged FBS school in 2015. The Monarchs defeated Eastern Michigan in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, lost to Tulsa in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl and fell to Western Kentucky in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl in Charlotte.

A bowl bid would be the third in five seasons under Rahne.

Becoming bowl eligible "is not my ultimate goal, but it's always a goal coming into every single season," Rahne said. "What it does is it allows us to have more practices and that allows some of our young guys to develop.

"It always gives us more time together, more time to share with your teammates, and I know everyone on this team loves to be around their teammates."

Asked about his team winning two in a row after blowout losses at Marshall and JMU, Rahne said "it shows we have a tough team. We're mentally tough and physically tough.

"I think our coaches stayed the course and didn't panic. Our players stayed the course and didn't panic.

"We're moving in the right direction. We've obviously got to keep some things going but we're moving in the right direction."

Notes – Eichner kicked his first PAT and field goal since 2022 when he was at Alabama State … Zion Frink recorded his first career interception late in the first quarter … Easterly forced his first career fumble, while Haynes recovered his first career fumble … Joseph tied his career high with three rushing touchdowns … Joseph had 303 total yards of offense … For the fourth time this season, ODU held an opponent to seven points or less, an ODU record … Tre Brown caught a career high five passes … Culbreath had a game high seven tackles and a sack … Lucas Struck tied his career high with six tackles … ODU had a season high five sacks …ODU outgained ULM, 391-275.