NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — With Old Dominion leading Texas State 17-14 and in field goal range, the Monarchs were set with a fourth and two at the final two minute timeout.
Ricky Rahne faced a choice; either take the points or try to extend the drive and keep a powerful Bobcat offense off the field.
"I was going to kick it. Something just told me that Coach Kinne was going try to score a touchdown no matter what, so going up six really didn't help us," said the ODU head coach.
His decision paid off on both fronts.
Aaron Young churned out a three-yard run up the middle to move the chains. On the next snap, Colton Joseph found the endzone on a 28-yard run to help cap off a 24-14 win at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
"We knew we were giving A.Y. the ball," Joseph said. "Everyone in the building had trust in A.Y. and the o-line, we handed it off and he got it. Next play, ran a zone option and sealed the game with that. It felt awesome."
It was a fitting conclusion for the redshirt freshman quarterback, who posted 241 total yards and accounted for all three ODU touchdowns. His 111 rushing yards represents the first 100+ yard performance on the ground for a Monarch player this season.
"They were sending a lot of pressure, so the only way to fight pressure is with more pressure," he said after starting the fourth game of his career. "Every game, every rep just get more comfortable in the pocket and more comfortable on the field."
"Really gritty and gutsy. He continues to grow and continues to make plays when he needs to," Rahne said. "He's made some unbelievably clutch plays. He's been doing a nice job with that."
The scoring started thanks in large part to the ODU defense, which turned in an outstanding performance. With Texas State on the Monarch 35 yard-line, Markus Knight picked off Jordan McCloud and returned it 52 yards to the Bobcat 18.
Five plays later, Joseph escaped the pocket and found the pylon from four yards out to give ODU a 7-0 advantage. With five minutes left in the second quarter, the quarterback would score again on an 11-yard rush to give the silver and blue a 14-0 lead going into halftime.
Texas State found some momentum early in the third quarter off a fumble recovery. McCloud put the visitors on the board with a seven-yard touchdown run, closing the deficit to one score.
An Ethan Sanchez field goal in the fourth quarter would grown the lead back up to 17-7, but the Bobcats wouldn't go away. On a fourth down, McCloud bought time and hit Beau Sparks in the endzone for a 24-yard touchdown to make it 17-14 with 5:16 to go.
ODU then broke off an 11 play, 71 yard drive that resulted in Rahne's fourth down call and Joseph's game-ending score.
"A much needed victory, especially coming off the victory at Georgia State," said Jahron Manning, who finished with a career-high 14 tackles. "Showing the team can handle wins. That's a level of maturity by us that I feel like we showed tonight."
An Angelo Rankin Jr. interception ultimately allowed ODU to kneel the game out, putting the finishing touches on a defensive effort that saw Texas State put up a season low 14 points and 359 yards.
"We knew we had to come out and start fast as a defense," Manning said. "We knew it was going to take a four quarter effort, so we had to treat every play like it was the first play of the game."
"We honestly feel like we're the best defense in the conference," Knight said. "It was a big task for us but we were up for it."
Old Dominion improves to 3-4 with the win and have a chance to claim first place in the Sun Belt's East division when Georgia Southern comes to Norfolk on Thursday night.
"We've got to be ready to go. As coaches, we're back in the offices tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.," Rahne said. "The psyche needs to be enjoy it tonight and then come back ready to work and realize the work that we put in this week is what got us the win."
