Last week I, along with thousands of Monarch faithful, watched Old Dominion University Football wrap up their inaugural season in Lexington, Virginia when they visited the VMI Keydets. The 12th Monarch was alive and well, with an estimated 4,000 ODU fans running wild in the VMI stands. This was BY FAR the most intense, high octane game yet. Tons of offense and a complete lack of defense on both sides. Tommy DeMarco had his way with the Keydets, responsible for 5 of the 6 Monarch touchdowns. While on the other sideline the VMI offensive line just abused the ODU defense. Old Dominion gave up an inexcusable 422 yards on the ground. But Coach Bobby Wilder’s squad squeaked out a 42-35 victory, giving the Monarchs a record setting 9-2 win-loss record in their first season(the previous record for a first year football program was 7 wins).
This year was a success on any one’s standards. No one could’ve guess that ODU would be playing so well. 9 wins is a great way to start up your football program. Such a hot start should keep the fans in the seats and the recruits in the door. Without being a top 25 team, Old Dominion didn’t reach the FCS playoffs but put quite an impression on the league. The Monarchs received several top 25 votes on a few different occasions, and that says a lot with ODU’s schedule being full of somewhat soft opponents.
The Monarch offense was everything it was advertised to be. High powered, spread offense, with plenty of excitement on every snap. The Monarchs scored 385 points, 6th most in the league. ODU also finished 10th in rushing and 20th in total offense putting up 399 yards per game. Quarterback Tom DeMarco is the hands down MVP. DeMarco averaged 256 total yards a week while rushing for 17 touchdowns and passing for another 21 scores. That’s just ridiculous, he was responsible for 38 of ODU’s 50 offensive touchdowns. I calculated DeMarco’s passer rating, with his 53% completion percentage, 1,921 passing yards, 21 TD and only 4 interceptions and he posted an AMAZING 107.4 passer rating. And to put that into perspective, DeMarco had a better 2009 rating than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees have right now. His 107.4 rating would be 2nd best in the NFL. Obviously I don’t mean to imply that Tom DeMarco is on the same level as Peyton Manning, this is just a way to show you that DeMarco is dominating his competition in the same way that Manning, Brady and Brees do it on the big stage.
Now it wasn’t all great for ODU this year. The defense could use a lot of work. The Monarch defensive front was man handled week in and week out. The undersized line was steam rolled on a regular basis. Opposing offenses averaged 365 yards a game, and did it mostly on the ground. ODU proved that they could not stop any team’s rushing attack. Every week they faced a run heavy scheme that got the job done. It seemed like ODU’s offense was their best defense. When ODU would jump out to a lead it forced their opponents to abandon the run in hopes of a quick score and that’s when the Monarch defense did their work. While the ODU defense seems weak, they come up huge when it counts. They feast on mistakes, the defense forced 30 turnovers and buckled down on several key 4th quarter stands. The “bend and not break” defense was very frustrating to watch, but it did work as their record proves.
This season was a hit. 6 home field wins in front of a sell out 20,000 fans every week. 9-2 overall and what I’ve witnessed to be a well traveled fan base. We couldn’t ask for much more, just a little respect. Old Dominion booked a soft schedule for year 1, and they came out huge. But now it’s time to play some of the big boys. Next years season opens September 4th, and you’ll find a few legitimate football teams in it this year. The Monarchs have added William and Mary and Cal Poly for next year, and traveling to Monmouth this season, the Hawks could pose an even bigger threat than they did this year at Foreman Field. It’s not going to be this easy next year, but with an extremely young team and no graduating players, the Monarchs should be prepared for the next step. Now it’s time for ODU basketball, who are the early favorite to crush VCU and win the CAA while earning a spot in the NCAA tournament.
