WKU Football: Old Dominion Preseason Preview
With the kickoff of football season less than three weeks away, we’ll continue to bring you our preseason look at each of WKU’s regular season opponents between now and the start of the season. Today we continue the series with WKU’s toughest conference road trip of the season, the Monarchs of Old Dominion.
Date & Time
October 20th 2017, Time TBA
Location
Foreman Field, Norfolk, Virginia.
Series
WKU leads the series 3–0
Last Meeting
In a game that ultimately decided the Conference USA East Division, WKU hosted ODU on homecoming. The game was supposed to be a showdown of the defending champs and the up and coming program in the league. WKU, however, made quick work of the Monarchs, jumping out to a 52–14 halftime lead. Tempers flares midway through the third quarter as a fight broke out after a run out of bounds on the ODU sideline. From that point on, the rest of the game coasted by as the Tops won 59–24.
TV/Radio
TV — CBS Sports Network
Radio — Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
2016 Season
The Monarchs had a breakthrough season of sorts, going 10–3 (7–1) to tie WKU for first in Conference USA East. That win total was a bit deceiving in terms of the quality of their team; they only beat three bowl teams in those ten wins (UTSA, Southern Miss and Eastern Michigan) and were repeatedly noncompetitive in their games against superior competition, losing to WKU, NC State and Appalachian State by an average margin of 28.6 points.
Returning Starters
14 (eight on offense, six on defense)
Relevant Preview Articles
Bill Connelly’s SB Nation Old Dominion Preview
So much will depend on quarterback and linebacker, and more the former than the latter. Because of the QB turnover, the S&P+ projections are somewhere between conservative and skeptical, forecasting a drop from 73rd to 93rd this year.
Wilder and Scott have done one hell of a job of replacing one exciting quarterback with another, however, and if the Monarchs have their act together behind center, a repeat of last year’s awesome run could be in the cards. ODU probably won’t be ready to take down either North Carolina or Virginia Tech in September (though UNC does come to Norfolk), but with WKU visiting, every other game on the schedule is winnable.
The range is pretty wide, based on QB, but few teams in C-USA can match the star power of guys like Ray Lawry, Jonathan Duhart, and ODU’s stable of awesome defensive ends. ODU’s upside is strong, and if Wilder’s proven anything in Norfolk, it’s that he knows how to turn upside into wins.
Pete Fiutak’s College Football News Old Dominion Preview
Star QB David Washington is done, but the 1–2 rushing tandem of Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox should be among the league’s best.
Top target Zach Paschal is gone, but the rest of the receiving corps is strong, and four starters are back up front. As long as Blake LaRussa is ready to handle the quarterback gig, the offense won’t drop off significantly, if at all.
The defense that was so solid throughout last season should have a killer pass rush and fantastic secondary. As long as the linebacking corps can rise up without TJ Ricks and a few of last year’s top playmakers, it should be good enough.
And, ODU has the coaching staff. 67–30 with six winning seasons in his eight years at ODU — and just one 5–7 campaign coming in the first year in Conference USA — Wilder has done one of the best under-the-radar coaching gigs in college football.
This year, he doesn’t have to come up with a miracle. Everything he put in place needs to keep on rolling.
Three Players to Watch
Lawry has been a do-everything back for ODU since they joined Conference USA the same year as WKU in 2014. Lawry has an impressive 3,338 yards rushing in those three seasons along with 38 touchdowns. He has garnered preseason All-Conference USA honors as well as a spot on the Doak Walker Watch List. The 5'10'’ senior out of New Jersey has averaged an impressive 6.3 yards per carry in his career. He also needs to be respected in the passing game, averaging over 16 catches a season with two receiving touchdowns in his career. After being a thorn in WKU’s side his first two seasons (topping 100 yards in each game), WKU held Lawry to just 27 yards on eight carries in the 2016 blowout. WKU’s rushing defense will have to be up to task to handle Lawry and his backfield mate, Jeremy Cox again.
2. Oshane Ximines — Defensive End
ODU’s defensive line should be among the strongest in C-USA and Ximines is the most impressive player on that line. The 6'3", 240 pound senior from North Carolina was a force for the Monarchs last season accumulating 7.5 sacks and three forced fumbles to go along with 42 total tackles on the season. He earned preseason All-Conference USA honors for that performance and big things are once again expected for Ximines. Hopefully Matt Nord, Jimmie Sims and the rest of WKU’s line can hold him at bay like they did last season, holding him to just one tackle in that game.
3. Jonathan Duhart — Wide Receiver
Duhart is another senior on Bobby Wilder’s squad, at 6'3", he is a big target for whomever takes the reigns at quarterback. With Zach Pascal now gone, Duhart will be looking to improve on his solid numbers from last season. As the number two option, Duhart hauled in 48 catches for 735 yards with nine touchdowns. Look for Duhart to try to use size to his advantage to jump over WKU’s secondary that is full of 5'10" to 6'0" starters. Hopefully they’re up for the challenge.
Preseason Thoughts about the Game
- This game could decide the C-USA East title
Like WKU in 2015, Old Dominion is viewing this season as their best shot at taking the next step and winning Conference USA. After last season’s step forward, they have circled this game on their calender as the game they can make a statement. Last year these two teams actually tied for the division with WKU’s 35-point victory serving as the tie-breaker. The C-USA media picked ODU third in their preseason poll behind WKU and MTSU, and both teams play MTSU in the last two weeks of the season. The winner will be in great shape afterwards.
2. Tough road environment
Since restarting their football program in 2009, the Monarchs have sold out 54 consecutive games at Foreman Field and have seen a 78% winning percentage at the 20,118 seat stadium. With no offense to Illinois, Marshall or UTEP, this should be the toughest road test WKU plays this season. A prime-time Friday night match-up against the defending conference champs should bring the rowdiest Tidewater fans out. Let’s hope that WKU’s experience will help them overcome this advantage like they did back in 2015 when WKU walked into Foreman Field and came away with a 55–30 victory.
3. Old Dominion must find a quarterback
For all of the proven veteran play makers at the offensive skill positions and defense, ODU must replace last season’s highly effective starter, David Washington. There are two front running candidates to succeed him; 5'10'’ sophomore Blake LaRussa and 5'11" redshirt freshman Drayton Arnold. Both are undersized and only LaRussa has any D1 playing experience, completing 14–24 passes for 140 yards with an interception backing up Washington last season. LaRussa is seen more as a pocket passer while Arnold was a two-star, dual threat prospect coming out of South Carolina. You never know what you’re going to get with new starters, but ODU is seen to be a decent signal caller away from competing for the conference crown. If they don’t have the position settled by the WKU game look out, It will take a very solid performance to out-dual Mike White.
4. Fight repercussions
When this game week starts, I fully expect last year’s fight to be brought up all week from each team’s local media. Players have already served suspensions but the fight will loom over this year’s game. Will ODU use that as extra motivation to prepare for the statement game they’ve been waiting for? Last year ODU put a lot of energy and emotion into the game and you could see them searching for answers as they quickly fell behind Jeff Brohm’s bunch. Will they build up the game again this year ? Will WKU once again handle having a target on their back as well as they did last season?
5. The start of a tough finishing stretch
The second half of WKU’s schedule is mix of East Division contenders (ODU, MTSU), talented teams that shouldn’t be overlooked (Marshall, FAU, FIU) and an SEC road trip (Vanderbilt). If they want to have another great season, they must start the swing off on the right foot. That starts with taking care of business against ODU. Should they lose, they’ll be behind the eight ball in their quest of repeating as East Division champs.
Preseason Prediction
A few months ago, I rated this game as WKU’s third hardest of the season. WKU will be facing a talented and highly motivated team looking to take their championship crown in a rowdy road environment. I believe that this game will be much closer than previous match-ups between the teams. I think that it will be nip and tuck through the fourth quarter, with ODU’s running game controlling the clock and keeping Mike White sidelined for stretches of the game. Fortunately for WKU you can only contain White for so long as WKU will break the Monarch’s spirits late in the game with clutch passing, putting them away late.
Final Score Prediction: WKU 38 — ODU 28
Best places for Old Dominion coverage as the game gets closer
Old Dominion has solid local coverage from the Virginian-Pilot (local paper) & WTKR (local CBS affiliate). ODU’s recruiting sites and fan blogs could use some work for a team that is the only FBS team in a densely populated region (Norfolk/Tidewater area). They do have a semi-regularly updated 247 website called Monarchs 247. The only blog I could find was Monarch Asylum, but I’m not sure if it’s still active. They do have a well trafficked message board called the ODUbbs Lion’s Den if you want a pulse of the fan base’s thoughts heading into the crucial match-up on October 20th.
What do you think about this crucial game in WKU’s season? Is it the toughest road game? Will the sold-out night atmosphere matter? Let us know in a comment below, via twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.
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