Week 9 Preview: Old Dominion
After a huge win over James Madison in Week 8 to retain first place in the Sun Belt East Division, the Eagles will travel to Old Dominion to play on Thursday Night. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with kickoff set for 7:00 PM. Georgia Southern comes into the game with a record of 5-2 (3-0 SBC) and Old Dominion comes into the game with a record of 3-4 (2-1 SBC). Despite their 3-4 record, Old Dominion is now a two-point favorite. The Monarchs started the season 0-3 with losses to South Carolina (23-19), East Carolina (20-14) and Virginia Tech (37-17), but have won three of their last four games including wins over Georgia State and Texas State in Sun Belt play.
Offensively, Old Dominion averages 336 yards and 23.4 points per game. In terms of play calling, the offense is relatively balanced with 187 rushing attempts and 153 passing attempts through seven games. The starting QB for the last three games has been Colton Joseph who is a freshman from Newport Beach, California. Over those three games, he has completed 51 out of 91 passes (56%) for 533 yards and 4 touchdowns while throwing 2 interceptions. On the ground, he is a game changer as he has 277 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground in his three starts. After winning the last two games, he should be the QB leading the Monarchs on Thursday night as well with the original starter, QB Grant Wilson, has a lingering injury that has kept him out. With Joseph at quarterback, Old Dominion tends to depend on the ground game, as shown by the Monarchs running the ball 37 times per game in his starts.
On the ground, Old Dominion is led by Rutgers transfer, Aaron Young. He is a 5’10”, 200 pound running back from Coatesville, Pennsylvania and has gained 354 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on 86 carries in six games this season. QB Colton Joseph is the teams second leading rusher despite only starting three games and playing in just five games so far. Through the air, the receiving core has three guys with over 200 yards this season: WR Isiah Paige (317), TE Pat Conroy (241) and Diante Vines (208). The Eagles defensive front will need to put pressure on Joseph but contain him to keep his legs from being a major factor in this game. When plays break down, he is a dynamic athlete that can make the defense pay.
Defensively, the Monarchs are led in tackles by S Jahron Manning who has registered 63 tackles including 4 TFL to go along with 3 interceptions on the season. He is a physical playmaker that can change games in a hurry. In addition to Manning, LB Koa Naotala is a force in the middle as shown by his 52 tackles including 3 TFL and 2 sacks thus far. The team leader in sacks and tackles for loss is LB Mario Thompson who has 4 sacks and 9.5 TFL this season. In total, Old Dominion’s defense has registered 16 sacks and 56 TFL which is indicative of how aggressively they play every week. As a team, ODU gives up 401.3 yards and 25.71 points per game so far, but the group has forced 12 turnovers through seven games - 9 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries - so it will be important for the offense to clean up mistakes and prevent the Monarchs from gaining extra possessions.
On special teams, K Ethan Sanchez has made 6 out of 7 field goals this season and looks to be a reliable option for the Monarchs. P Seamus Hall has punted the ball 38 times with an average of 41 yards per punt with 7 punts ending up inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. In the return game, WR Isiah Page is usually the deep man on punts and has returned 9 punts for a total of 57 yards including long return of 52 yards earlier this season. Old Dominion does not attempt to return many kickoffs, but RB Devin Roche has returned 7 kicks for 119 yards including a long return of 88 yards. The Eagles will need to continue to be physical and disciplined on special teams to ensure that no game changing plays occur as the Monarchs have plenty of weapons that are capable of switching the field in a hurry.
Both teams are coming off of big wins in Sun Belt play and will need to avoid looking forward to the rest of the season.
Eagles win if:
1) They Have No Hangover
The Eagles are coming off of a huge win and have a short week to prepare for a night game on the road to maintain control of the Sun Belt Conference East Division and cannot afford a slow start
2) They Protect the Ball
Despite turning the ball over four times against JMU on Saturday, the Eagles will not beat many teams with a turnover margin like that and they must protect the ball to beat Old Dominion on Thursday Night
3) They Gain More Than 150 Yards on the Ground
The Eagles running back group has to take some pressure off of QB JC French by establishing the run game
Old Dominion gives up, on average, 161.9 rushing yards per game and the Eagles need to get close to that number to keep the offense balanced and prevent the Monarch defense from sending great pass rushers every play
