Close isn’t enough
After three straight heartbreaking losses, Monarchs seek more consistency
NORFOLK — Old Dominion has had it with close.
The Monarchs enter today’s homecoming game against Western Kentucky firmly in the realm of horseshoes and hand grenades.
And after a trio of consecutive, agonizing near misses, they’re ready to leave it behind.
ODU (1-5, 0-2 Conference USA) had every chance to finish off Buffalo, Texas El Paso and Marshall in the past three weeks. But late lapses left the Monarchs only wishing for what could be a 4-2 record.
“Everybody knows that we’re close,” sophomore offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri said. “But close is close. It’s not getting the job done.”
Against Buffalo, it was a missed PAT — turned by a penalty into a 35-yard attempt — that prevented possible overtime.
At UTEP, ODU ran out of downs in the final half-minute as it attempted to tie what became a 28-21 loss.
Last week at Marshall, the Monarchs surrendered a 52-yard, game-tying touchdown pass with 33 seconds left in regulation, only to fall 20-13 in overtime after failing to answer a Thundering Herd touchdown.
If it hasn’t been a slow start that’s doomed ODU, it’s been a botched finish.
Lately, despite their gains after a season away from the game, it seems like the Monarchs couldn’t win a losing contest.
“I think overall, we’re trending in the right direction, but we haven’t been consistent enough to produce the results that we want and Monarch Nation deserves,”
second-year coach Ricky Rahne said. “That would be the thing that’s held us back right now, is just our overall consistency.
“We’ve got to be much more consistent in order to show the progress that we’re actually making behind the scenes.”
After a 1-11 season in 2019, ODU
hired Rahne, a former Penn State offensive coordinator, to turn things around.
The program went dark for the 2020 season due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Rahne and his young staff with more than a year of rudderless workouts without the weekly yardstick of games.
That the Monarchs held Marshall, which had C-USA’s top offense and one of the most prolific in the nation, to 390 total yards was a step in the right direction. But it wasn’t necessarily a surprise to ODU’s players.
“It’s definitely a confidence boost,” senior cornerback Roger Cray said. “But we knew what we were capable of and the work we put in.”
Rahne is ready for that work to start paying off in the form of victories, and not just of the moral variety.
“I’m a process-oriented person, but I’m also not an idiot,” Rahne said. “I’m judged on results, right? I’m judged on those sort of things, which is fine. I know we’re still making progress. Anybody who watches the tape knows we’re making progress. But ultimately, the results are the results, and we’ve got to continue to be more consistent so that we can get better results.”
Jury is still out on injuries
Senior receiver Stone Smartt and sophomore tight end Isaiah Spencer both left last week’s game with injuries.
Smartt, a former quarterback, hobbled off the field on crutches in the fourth quarter.
Spencer, who, unusually, has a pair of rushes for 17 yards, departed late in the first quarter without putting weight on his left leg.
Rahne, who keeps injury information
close to the vest, said he’s waiting to see what the players will be able to do.
“Still evaluating,” Rahne said. “Those are big parts of our team and very explosive players. Stone obviously gives us a lot of different dimensions. So does Isaiah. When we’re able to hand the ball off to a tight end, that obviously gives you some versatility.”
Smartt, who started seven games at quarterback in 2019, has 12 catches for 117 yards.
Big crowd expected
As of Thursday, scattered seats in just five sections of S.B. Ballard Stadium remained available for today’s game against the Hilltoppers (1-4, 0-1).
After two straight road games, Rahne is ready for his team to perform in front of the home crowd.
“It’s played between the white lines,” he said, “but to think that the emotional support that 20,000 people provide for you doesn’t help you make one or two plays in a game, that’d be silly.
“I know that that’s obviously a factor. I want our guys to have intrinsic motivation because that lasts longer.”
ODU’s lone victory came at home against Hampton on Sept. 11.
Old friends
Cray has unique insight into WKU. He played four years there, appearing in 40 games before entering the transfer portal.
Cray, who has 14 tackles and an interception this season, declined to disclose why he left WKU, but he said he chose ODU over Liberty, Appalachian State and a few C-USA programs.
Cray liked the fact that cornerbacks coach Leon Wright is from near his hometown of Lake City, Florida.
“I made the right choice,” Cray said.
Running commentary
Trailing by the final margin in
overtime during last week’s loss at Marshall, the Monarchs called three straight rushing plays before a fourth-down pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Rahne defended the calls, citing the fact that a handful of third-down runs had split pass coverage earlier in the game.
“It’s one of those things that I think that’s what we thought that would give us our best chance to win that game,” Rahne said. “Obviously, when it doesn’t work, we’re all going to second-guess it. If we split it, it’s a great play call. When it doesn’t work, then it’s ‘Why didn’t we throw it on third down?’ “