CHARLOTTE, NC (WTKR)- Not every college football team gets the chance to play in December. Old Dominion is one of 82 teams with one more game left to on its schedule.
The Monarchs arrived in Charlotte Thursday evening and as they settle in, they're not taking their extra time together for granted.
"It's been great," said redshirt sophomore linebacker Wayne Matthews III. "Just spending time with the guys, we got those extra 20 days, so it's been really, really cool."
"It's awesome," added junior quarterback Grant Wilson. "They've done a great job. The players' lounge is my favorite spot right now. I love playing the arcade games with the boys, getting after it down there."
A whirlwind of a season has gotten the silver and blue to this point. 10 of their 12 regular season games were decided by one score or less, a number that many consider to be crazy. ODU had to grind out every victory and learned lessons with every defeat.
"If we win all of those close games, we're sitting basically at a [New Year's Six] game," pointed out sophomore wide receiver Reymello Murphy.
"We've just got to do a better job at finishing those games so it won't be as close and nail-biting of an experience," Matthews noted. "We've just go to do a better job at finishing."
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The Monarchs' next chance to finish is Monday against Western Kentucky in the Famous Toastery Bowl .The Hilltoppers have a strong passing offense, but have given up a lot of yards on the defensive side of the ball. The former Conference USA rival is all that stands between ODU and a championship.
"They do a lot of really cool things, a lot of unique things," Wilson said of WKU. "They have a really high-risk defense, high-reward if it pays off and when it does they make a lot of big plays."
"We have a pretty good scheme going into the game," Matthews said of his defense. "When guys fly around, do their job, do their one-eleventh, we'll be just fine."
Monday sees the chance for the Monarchs to secure their first winning record since 2016 and grab the second bowl victory in the program's history. It's all there for the taking come kickoff.
"Going 7-6, sitting on that win for six, seven months would mean a lot," Matthews said. "It would mean a lot to the team next year going into the 2024 season."
"We've just got to do it," added Murphy. "It's going to be big for our program, big for everybody."
Old Dominion and Western Kentucky kick off Monday at 2:30 PM from Jerry Richardson Stadium on the campus of UNC-Charlotte.
