Cure Bowl Recap: Monarchs Reign Over South Florida

By David Asbury

Cure Bowl Champions!
Your Old Dominion Monarchs are the 2025 Cure Bowl Champions after defeating the USF Bulls 24-10!  After visiting Universal Studios and preparing meals for needy families, the Monarchs and Bulls played an actual football game in Orlando.  The ODU offense got off to a really slow start, leaving a lot of points off the board causing the team to trail 10-7 at halftime.  But the Monarchs rallied back in the second half, completely shutting out the Bulls and scoring 17 unanswered points to win the game.  It is Ricky Rahne's first bowl victory and the Monarchs' first bowl win since 2016, curing a nine-year drought.  Old Dominion improve to 10-3 on the season, the best record since 2016, and did so without starting quarterback Colton Joseph.

The Cure Bowl MVP is none other than backup quarterback Quinn Henicle.   Neither team had its regular QB1, but while USF's reserves struggled, Henicle did everything he needed to win. Henicle finished with 127 passing yards, 107 more on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.  Henicle's last touchdown was a game-sealing 51-yard touchdown run.  He showed off his speed, grit, and toughness after getting knocked out of the game from a hard targeting hit but quickly came back in to finish what he started.  It was not all great from Henicle though.  He only completed 44% of his passes.  He missed on some throws, like a crossing Jailen Butler that would have easily been for a touchdown.  This offseason,  developing his passing game a bit should be his priority, especially his footwork in the pocket.  However, he has started two games for ODU thus far.  In his first start, he was named Sun Belt Player of the Week.  In his second start, he was named the Cure Bowl MVP.  He earned all the praise he is getting.

Henicle led a run heavy offense gaining 255 rushing yards on the day.  On top of Henicle's runs, the ever shifty Devin Roche had a pretty good game gaining 111 total yards.  Trequan Jones also broke off a 22-yarder for a touchdown.  The offensive line had a good game and good push up front.  This was a little surprising because star left tackle Zach Barlev went out of the game early.  Logan Cox relieved him, making a case why he should start next year.  But Logan, buddy, when your quarterback comes back into the game after getting hit in the head, please do not slap his helmet with an "atta boy."  That was funny, but also not cool man.

Henicle may have been named the Cure Bowl MVP but the entire defense deserves a similar recognition.  They were amazing and made sure USF's reserve quarterbacks looked like reserves, picking them off four times.  The Monarchs defense limited the Bulls to only ten points and 333 total yards.  Jeremy Mack might be the defensive MVP of the game with 11 tackles, a sack and a lot of pressure on the quarterback.  He seemed all over the field at times and even knocked USF's first reserve quarterback out of the game.  But he was not the only one.  Jerome Carter caught two interceptions, four tackles and a pass deflected.  Linebackers Seth Naotala and Jahleel Culbreath had great games stuffing the run.  Defensive end Kris Trinidad also put on a show for his last game as a Monarch.  Trinidad may have only had half a sack and TFL, but he disrupted many plays.  PFF graded him with a 89.7 pass rush and 90.9 defense.  All in all, the defense came to play and the unit as a whole deserves a lot of the credit for this win.

Senior Jeremy Mack just put together his magnum opus season and ended his career at ODU on a very high note.  Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

Moving on to special teams, it has been a hard year for this unit.  Between muffed punt returns and missed field goals, the unit had their share of struggles.  This game was no different.  Kicker Nathaniel Eichner missed a makeable field goal and then there was the missed hold by punter Ian Brandt where he had to call a failed fire drill. With the botched hold, the Monarchs missed an opportunity to tie the game before halftime.  It is these mistakes that just cannot happen.  Both Brandt and Eichner have more availability and the hope will be that ST Coordinator Kevin Smith tightens up his unit in the offseason. But shout out to Brendan Durkin, ODU Long Snapper, for flying to the ball to snag that muffed return before it hit the ground. It's plays like that one that go a long way in making up for mistakes in other areas of the game.

USF still ended their season with a good 9-4 record but with their coaching exodus followed by a player exodus the team will look very different in 2026.  Brian Hartline is still coaching Ohio State in the playoffs and will be delayed in forming his coaching staff and roster.  That may not bode well for the Bulls but their competition in the AAC are going through the same pains.  

For ODU this means VICTORY!  Ricky Rahne and the Monarchs have ended their bowl drought!  They finally put it together and the trophy room will get a second bowl trophy placed right next to the 2016 Bahamas Bowl Trophy.  The Monarchs improve their all time bowl record to 2-2. 

Stop and savor this moment.  Ten wins.  Bowl victory.  Undefeated in Norfolk.  This is what Monarch fans have been waiting for!  We can talk about the roster and staff turnover for next year later.  We can talk about next year's loftier goals later.  Right now, ODU just finished off a fun stellar season with a fun bowl game in Orlando.  2025 is a season to remember.  Smell the roses!  Submit your ring size!  Celebrate!  Reign on!