ODU tries to stay humble
Monarchs look to build on victory with Wake Forest coming to town
NORFOLK — Before Saturday’s tense 38-31 Sun Belt Conference victory over Louisiana, 329 days had passed since Old Dominion had last won a game.
The Monarchs had lost seven times and gone through countless workouts, drills and practices in the interim, all with little reward to show for it.
But fourth-year coach Ricky Rahne, who has worked hard to maintain his players’ level of faith in the program in the face of prolonged adversity, doesn’t expect snapping the skid to change the dynamic as ODU prepares for a visit from Wake Forest on Saturday.
“It shouldn’t,” Rahne said Monday at his weekly news conference. “The only thing it did show is that we’re able to build on some things. It’s a lot easier to make corrections when you win. But you have to have the will to
know. You have to be able to stay humble and those sort of things, which I think we have.”
The Monarchs have known humility all too well. Since an anomalous 49-21 win at previously unbeaten Sun Belt powerhouse
Coastal Carolina last Oct. 15, their “1-0” mantra had been relegated to metaphoric status, applicable to practice, the weight room and the classroom.
ODU needed a four-down defensive stand just shy of the
goal line in the final seconds to win Saturday.
All-American linebacker Jason Henderson, who had a teamhigh 17 tackles against Louisiana, downplayed the end of the losing streak in the moments after the game.
“I just thought it was a great win for us,” said Henderson, who was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. “We had a big emphasis last week of everyone has to do their job, and I think that’s what we did tonight as a team. I think we were all hungry for it, and we’re just excited for rest of the season to come.”
Rahne said his players appeared “hungry” again during Sunday’s short practice. One victory in eight games does not a cocky team make.
“They realize that, yes, we won the game,” Rahne said, “but there’s still a lot to correct. And that the points that the coaches were hammering down came to fruition, and were able to see: OK, we were able to play this way. Let’s continue to make these adjustments and that sort of thing.”
Junior safety Terry Jones, who had a career-high six tackles Saturday, said the team will now look to build on its first win in nearly a calendar year.
“More expectations, like we’ve got something to coach off,” Jones said, adding that his heart “was beating fast out there”
during the final series. “We know what we can be and what we’re capable of, so it’s harder coaching now because now we’re trying to see that every day.”
Running back Keshawn Wicks, watching from the sideline,
had seen the defense come through in such situations at practice.
“I had the ultimate confidence in those guys,” Wicks said. “I just knew they were going to get the stop.”
Rahne, who is coaching his third actual season at ODU after losing 2020 to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to continue tweaking things like offensive tempo, tackling, generating a pass rush and creating turnovers.
He believes it should be a little easier going forward.
“If you’re a business, you’d always like to improve your efficiency or your profit margin when you’re in the black, not in the red,” Rahne said. “It’s a lot better to make those adjustments than to have to anything that’s quote-unquote ‘panic.’ So obviously, in a win, you’re able to show rewards for the hard work.”