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Old Dominion Monarchs at App State Mountaineers

Oct 10, 202612:00 PM CTESPN+Boone, NC
By JR·2 min read
Old Dominion(1-4)
App State(3-1)
12:00 PM

TLDR: Old Dominion has dropped 4 straight and just watched Georgia State hang 42 consecutive points on it. Next up is a trip to Kidd Brewer Stadium against an App State team that took NC State to the final 5 minutes.

Week 6 · 10/10, 12:00 PM CTESPN+
Old Dominion
(1-4)
LLLLW
App State
(3-1)
LWWW
Kickoff50°

Old Dominion (1-4, 0-2 Sun Belt) visits App State (3-1) for the Mountaineers' conference opener with ODU's offense near the bottom of FBS and its defense coming off a 42-10 loss at Georgia State. App State's passing game with Malachi Singleton nearly erased a 21-point deficit at NC State, but its 62 rushing yards in that game remain the concern. No line has been posted yet. ODU's one realistic path is a short game built around Devin Roche and special teams.

Old Dominion Monarchs
  • Roche's 78-yard punt return TD gives them a special-teams threat
  • Lost to ECU by 3, same margin App State beat them by
  • Passing game produced 49 yards at Georgia State
  • Allowed 42 straight points and 6 TD passes to Georgia State
  • Offense ranked 133rd in FBS in yards per game
App State Mountaineers
  • Singleton threw for 317 and 3 total TDs vs NC State
  • Came back from 21 down to tie a Power 4 team
  • Two weeks between NC State and this game

This is App State's first Sun Belt game of the year, and Saturday, October 10 is a soft-looking way to start one. The Mountaineers are 3-1. They beat Maine 55-3, edged East Carolina 27-24 on the road and held off Charlotte 26-21 at home. Old Dominion is 1-4 and 0-2 in conference play, and the only win is over FCS Norfolk State. There's no line posted yet, so the case has to be made from the tape.

App State's best performance came in the loss. NC State went up 28-7, then the Mountaineers scored on back-to-back drives and tied it at 31 on Gavin Barber's 9-yard catch with 9:41 left. Duke Scott's 16-yard touchdown run won it for the Wolfpack 41-31. Malachi Singleton threw for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another. The problem was the ground game: 22 carries, 62 yards. Against the Wolfpack, everything ran through Singleton's right arm.

Old Dominion's offense can't keep up with that kind of passing game right now. The Monarchs came into the Georgia State game averaging 287.5 yards, 133rd in FBS, and then completed 8 of 15 passes for 49 yards in Atlanta. Their only touchdown came on special teams. Devin Roche returned a punt 78 yards, the longest return in school history, and also moved past Taylor Heinicke on ODU's career rushing list. That's a nice line for Roche, but it doesn't say much for the offense around him.

Old Dominion Monarchs
(1-4)
10/03L@Georgia State10-42
09/26LvsJames Madison20-46
09/19LvsEast Carolina17-20
09/12L@Virginia Tech21-44
09/05WvsNorfolk State31-10
App State Mountaineers
(3-1)
09/26L@NC State31-41
09/20WvsCharlotte26-21
09/12W@East Carolina27-24
09/05WvsMaine55-3

The defense is the bigger worry for ODU. Georgia State's Cameran Brown threw 6 touchdown passes, and the Panthers scored 42 straight points after ODU kicked an early field goal. That followed a 46-20 home loss to James Madison and 44 points allowed at Virginia Tech. The Monarchs did force an early fumble in Atlanta and lost to East Carolina by only 3, 20-17. That's the same ECU team App State beat by 3, so the Monarchs can hang around when the game stays ugly and low-scoring.

App State has had 2 weeks since the NC State game to work on the run game. ODU needs a short, grinding game with Roche carrying it and its defense keeping Singleton in front of it. Both of those things fell apart in Atlanta. The early forecast for Boone is 72 and cloudy with light wind, but that's a week out and it can still change before kickoff.

Old Dominion Monarchs at App State Mountaineers — Reeling Old Dominion Climbs Into Boone for App State's Sun Belt Opener | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush