App. State vs. ODU: Recap

By David Asbury

A win is a win!
The Old Dominion Monarchs almost blew a 24-7 lead but held on to defeat the Appalachian State Mountaineers 24-21 on homecoming.  Some would call this an ugly win as it felt like the Monarchs should have won this game by a lot more.  But the ugliest win is still prettier than the prettiest loss.

Cowboy Colton Joseph is certainly the game MVP throwing three touchdown passes, 305 passing yards and 62 rushing yards. The first TD throw was a jump pass to Ke’Travion Hargrove that turned into a 70-yard touchdown to open the scoring.  Joseph added two third-quarter touchdowns with a 16 yard DOT to AR Gladding in the back of the endzone and he hit Ja'Cory Thomas before Ja'Cory ran hard nosed through the App Defense to get free and find the endzone. Gladding finished with 105 yards on eight catches.

Overall, the offense had a very productive day with 459 yards.  But they also left a lot of points off the board with stunted drives and three missed field goals. Joseph also had two fumbles that luckily were not lost and an interception.  So, many feel it was an ugly win for these reasons.

Jerome Carter rises up for an interception in the end zone. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

The defense did well enough allowing only 374 total yards and stuffed the run.  Despite allowing 300 passing yards, the defense did pretty well against the pass with eight pass deflections and two interceptions.  The defense was very good for the first three quarters and Brandon Crutchfield’s three pass deflections and four tackles deserves special commemoration.

But the App. State offense did almost crawl back.  App State backup AJ Swann entered in the fourth quarter and threw a 36-yard score to Kanen Hammett and a 34-yarder to Davion Dozier with 1:35 left to get the ‘Neers within three. But the Monarchs recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock masterfully.

App State was not expected to win this game but got close.  They drop to 4-4.  They have still not defeated a team that beat another FBS team.  Their remaining schedule looks much tougher.  The hope is they will get two of their last four games to reach bowl eligibility.  It will be a tough challenge for them.

Devin Roche and Stephon Dubose-Bourne are all smiles. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography. 

For ODU, this homecoming game brings them to 5-3, one step closer to bowl eligibility and the best season since 2016.  One more win and they will be bowl eligible.  Two more wins and it will be the first winning season since 2016.  A conference championship is likely out of reach after losing to JMU and the Herd but the next goal of a winning season remains attainable.  Let’s get there by going 1-0 every week!  Reign on!