ATLANTA, Ga. (WTKR) — In a year where all but one of its games have been decided by one score, Old Dominion knew it would be in for a fight Saturday at Georgia State.
This time around, though, the Monarchs were able to land the final punch.
Kris Trinidad forced a fumble on a sack of Zach Gibson, one that Mario Thompson recovered to ultimately seel a 21-14 victory for the silver and blue.
Starting for a second game in a row, Colton Joseph threw for 141 yards, one touchdown and a pick while tallying 98 yards on the ground to lead ODU. Rushing the ball led to plenty of success for Ricky Rahne's group, running for 202 yards on 45 attempts in the game.
Devin Roche started the scoring in the first quarter, throwing a stiff arm on his way to the endzone for a four-yard touchdown to give Old Dominion a 7-0 lead. The Panthers returned serve with 10:25 left in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Christian Veilleux to tie things up at 7-7. The teams would trade punts along with a Georgia State missed field goal going into halftime.
With 7:59 left in the third quarter, the Monarchs launched a 10 play, 59-yard drive that would end with a Tariq Sims six-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead. The junior running back delivered a career-high 55 rushing yards on Saturday.
After forcing a punt, ODU immediately went back to work on its next drive. Joseph would strike with a nine yard pass to Demariyon Houston in the back of the endzone to grow the lead to 21-7. It was Houston's first touchdown since 2022 when he was still with Missouri.
Angelo Rankin Jr. would pick off Veilleux with 5:28 to play and give Old Dominion a chance to close the game out, but the drive stalled out and the Monarchs were forced to punt. Needing to get something going, Georgia State went to backup quarterback Zach Gibson and got a spark. They drove 54 yards in six plays, ending with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brock to close the game to one score.
They kept their foot on the gas, recovering the ensuing onside kick. A 28 yard gain on the next snap immediately got the Panthers into ODU territory, but the Monarch defense had enough. They drove back Brock reception for a one yard loss, then the pressure got to Gibson on the next play. Trinidad came unblocked off the blindside and knocked the ball free from the quarterback. The ball rolled right to Thompson, who also got in on the rush, and the linebacker dove right on top of it to cement the win.
ODU won the turnover battle 2-1 and held the ball for five more minutes than Georgia State.
With the win, Old Dominion improves to 2-4 this season and 1-1 in Sun Belt play. After three straight contests on the road, the Monarchs return to S.B. Ballard Stadium next Saturday with Texas State coming to Norfolk for homecoming.
