The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

All of this trouncing talk sparked a question. Throughout our short history, does anything think we have been "trounced" by anyone? I am not saying ECU will or won't so this is OT for this thread.

The only game I can remember thinking, man we just have no shot here, was the Cal Poly game in 2010. Every other game I feel like we have at least been competitive. Am I missing one? We should have beat WM in that first matchup and have held our own since.

I wish the entire Pirate squad felt the same as our friend 07. Pardon the rebuffs here Mr. ECUGrad, but we heard the same exact things for several years from our old CAA brethren before finally actually playing the games and taking it to them. Hey if you can beat Tech isn't there a chance we could beat you? Yea I don't think so either. Just do us all a favor and don't run the option. I may get back in the car and come on home if I have to sit through that again.

But don't forget, Heinicke is the greatest quarterback on the planet.

(08-21-2013 04:27 PM)csims98 Wrote:  All of this trouncing talk sparked a question. Throughout our short history, does anything think we have been "trounced" by anyone? I am not saying ECU will or won't so this is OT for this thread.

The only game I can remember thinking, man we just have no shot here, was the Cal Poly game in 2010. Every other game I feel like we have at least been competitive. Am I missing one? We should have beat WM in that first matchup and have held our own since.

I wish the entire Pirate squad felt the same as our friend 07. Pardon the rebuffs here Mr. ECUGrad, but we heard the same exact things for several years from our old CAA brethren before finally actually playing the games and taking it to them. Hey if you can beat Tech isn't there a chance we could beat you? Yea I don't think so either. Just do us all a favor and don't run the option. I may get back in the car and come on home if I have to sit through that again.

But don't forget, Heinicke is the greatest quarterback on the planet.

The 2012 game vs. Villanova (38-14) comes to mind. We lost by 24 points, 21 of them courtesy of QB John Robertson's 189 yds on 24 carries. Between that game, the rainy Hampton one, and our experiences against the option, mobile quarterbacks still make me nervous.

Am I the only one not buying the "ECU will be the best defense ODU has ever faced" argument? ECU's defense was pretty horrific last season (by their fans own admission) and while they might be FBS, ODU has seen some very good FCS defenses.

ODU may not be able to stop your offense (it wouldn't be the first time our defense struggles) but I'm not so sure your defense is going to overwhelm or even slow our offense regardless of any improvements made during the off-season.

I'm with you optimist. No defense has ever remotely stopped our offense. Villanova's offense stopped our offense but ECU doesn't bring the same style offensively. I will believe somebody can shut BW's offense down when I see it.

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(08-21-2013 04:58 PM)monarchoptimist Wrote:  Am I the only one not buying the "ECU will be the best defense ODU has ever faced" argument? ECU's defense was pretty horrific last season (by their fans own admission) and while they might be FBS, ODU has seen some very good FCS defenses.

ODU may not be able to stop your offense (it wouldn't be the first time our defense struggles) but I'm not so sure your defense is going to overwhelm or even slow our offense regardless of any improvements made during the off-season.

Optimist you are correct. ECU had better hope Bobby Wilder doesn't gamble some on this game and allow Taylor Heinicke and David Washington both to mix in running with their passing. This is a big game and im thinking Bobby might loosen the reins and let Taylor and David be all that they can be.

But our chances got better with two players ineligible. I think this is the chip on tthe shoulder game and the rest we show our big boy game pants.

Nerves and then settle in the work the rest of the season.

(08-21-2013 02:53 PM)odusteeler Wrote:  Oh gosh, where have I heard all this talk before???

Sounds exactly like the W&M and JMU fans before they got their respective beatings.

(08-21-2013 10:48 AM)ODUR8R Wrote:  

(08-21-2013 09:02 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  I think you guys are going to have real problems holding us under 50. You were a bad defense at the FCS level and we return almost everything off an offense that was very good at the FBS level. I expect you'll score some points because I think our secondary still has issues and your offense is very good, but in the end I don't think you can score 60 on us. I'm thinking something like

ECU-52
ODU-28

So you're anticipating the Pirates to be in mid-season form and Rick Smith to completely have fixed ALL of the secondary issues by August 31st?

Good luck with that.

No I don't expect all the secondary issues to be fixed, which is why I said you'll score points and I expect you to end up in the high 20's low 30s. As for our offense I don't expect it to be in mid-season form but I do expect it to move the ball pretty easily against what to be fair is a pretty sub par FCS defense that you guys have. I think the game is going to be back and forth for a while with you guys matching us score for score early but as you wear down we start getting a few sacks and making a few stops and your defense tires and we pull away in the 3rd and 4th quarters and we end up around the score I listed 52-28. I expect this game to look similar to ECU's game against South Carolina in 2011, where we were right there early and actually leading early but then their superior size, speed, depth, and athleticism took over and they pulled away late.

This is probably the hardest prediction for anyone to make because we simply do not know. Several times, the better FCS schools compete well (and win) vs. the lesser ACC schools and/or conferences outside of the BCS.

But, this is also a different ODU team as well. If ODU was in FCS, they would clearly be the best team in FCS (bc they have no recruited for FBS and have additional scholarships).

The best comparisons I can think of are looking at the following games:

ECU over App State
Marshall over Western Carolina 52-24


ECU is probably a better team than 2012, but make no mistake ODU is vastly superior to App State and Western Carolina from last year.

(08-22-2013 08:39 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(08-21-2013 10:48 AM)ODUR8R Wrote:  

(08-21-2013 09:02 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  I think you guys are going to have real problems holding us under 50. You were a bad defense at the FCS level and we return almost everything off an offense that was very good at the FBS level. I expect you'll score some points because I think our secondary still has issues and your offense is very good, but in the end I don't think you can score 60 on us. I'm thinking something like

ECU-52
ODU-28

So you're anticipating the Pirates to be in mid-season form and Rick Smith to completely have fixed ALL of the secondary issues by August 31st?

Good luck with that.

No I don't expect all the secondary issues to be fixed, which is why I said you'll score points and I expect you to end up in the high 20's low 30s. As for our offense I don't expect it to be in mid-season form but I do expect it to move the ball pretty easily against what to be fair is a pretty sub par FCS defense that you guys have. I think the game is going to be back and forth for a while with you guys matching us score for score early but as you wear down we start getting a few sacks and making a few stops and your defense tires and we pull away in the 3rd and 4th quarters and we end up around the score I listed 52-28. I expect this game to look similar to ECU's game against South Carolina in 2011, where we were right there early and actually leading early but then their superior size, speed, depth, and athleticism took over and they pulled away late.

Our defense is a big unknown. New DC. Essentially 6 new starters that were recruited as FBS players instead of FCS players. Some junior college transfers. A hand ful of true freshman. A few redshirt freshman from last year.

Our Chances just got a little better.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/two-east...ineligible

(08-22-2013 09:13 AM)TedHead Wrote:  Our Chances just got a little better.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/two-east...ineligible

It hurts but it's also been known for a while. Neither have practiced all fall.

I won't jynx anything with a prediction. Although I predicted we would get run-over by William & Mary when we played them for the first time in our second season of existence.

I see things as follows. If we have a margin of +2 (in our favor) for turn-overs then we are right there with ECU. We have to be 2-3 ahead in that category to win. Without evidence of our D being HIGHLY improved it will be close game, yet tough to predict a win. We have all the talent on offense to pull out a win. Yet, we can't have mistakes though and that will be a challenge (that we can handle) in front of the largest crowd we have every played in front of. I trust Coach Wilder will have the team ready......we have to execute and not make mistakes to win.

I will be at the game to the end with little voice left either way.

Interestingly enough, ECU's last game of the season was replayed on an ESPN channel this morning. I watched a little of it. Nothing I saw of their Offense fills me with dread. Not saying we can stop them, but nothing I saw looked like what these posters have been saying. Now I didn't see the whole game. I couldn't even tell you the final score, nor care to look it up.

But if we can't get to the QB we could be in for a very long night. I think our defensive front will be a lot better than last year. But too many of the same old secondary players are back for us - and still in our 2-deep roster. Our secondary sucked. Pure and simple. It sucked, didn't cover all that well and couldn't tackle a dead dog. I think we led the world in missed arm tackles by our weak a$$ secondary. So unless our new DC "learned the boys up big" on tackling we're going to get spanked when ECU has the ball.

That said, I don't think their D is all that good. We will score on them. Maybe even very often. But not sure it will be enough. ECU wins 48-38.