Old Dominion Monarchs
Last Year: 5-7 (3-5)/6th East
The Monarchs were 2 points away from being bowl-eligible in 2015 in their first year completely at the FBS level. The Monarchs moved up from the FCS in 2013 as an independent, and moved to the Conference USA in 2014, but was not completely bowl eligible because of the NCAA’s rule forcing teams to play 2 seasons in the FBS before they can play in bowl games. Their 2 out of conference wins came against Eastern Michigan and Norfolk State. Say what you want about wins against a bottom 10 FBS team and a FCS team, the fact is they won those games. And more importantly beat Eastern Michigan on the road.
Players to Watch
RB Ray Lawry
LB TJ Ricks
DE Oshane Ximines
Old Dominion is a young team returning 19 total starters to 2016 (9 Off, 8 Def, 2 ST) and 42 total letter-winners. An injury slowed down RB Ray Lawry’s production late in the year, but he was still able to be the league’s top rusher with 1,136 yards. The QB position is held by 2 men. Sophomore Shuler Bentley (Candidate for All-Conference USA Name) and David Washington (He’s a WR who plays QB) split time in 2015 and threw for a combined 2,587 yards and 20 TDs. Shuler started year and Washington was able to come in with some energy and take over the starting position towards the end of the season. Washington did injure his knee, and missed spring practices, but is on track to be ready in the fall. Also, the top 5 receivers return for 2016. Zach Pascal will lead the group after his 970 yard and 8 TDs.
Senior LB TJ Ricks anchors this Monarch defense with his Conference USA leading 123 tackles. DE Oshane Ximines made the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2015 with his 5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Both led the team. This defense gave up lots of yards in 2015, but struggled most against the run (203.6 yards/game), and teams ran a lot against them. A positive going into 2016 are the sack numbers. As a whole, the Monarchs were 4th in the conference in total sacks with 27.
Total Offense
|
/8th (371.25)
|
Total Defense
|
/10th (473.3)
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Passing Offense
|
/8th (219.5)
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Passing Defense
|
/5th (233.9)
|
Rushing Offense
|
/10th (151.8)
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Rushing Defense
|
/12th (203.3)
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Scoring Offense
|
/8th (24.3)
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Scoring Defense
|
/10th (35.8)
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Big Games of 2016
Sep 10 @ Appalachian State
Sep 17 @NC State
Nov 19 @ Florida Atlantic
Prediction
4-8 (2-6)/6th in East
The Monarchs should beat Charlotte and either UTSA, or UTEP. I could see them winning both or losing both as well. This team really falls on their QB situation. Whether it’s Bentley or Washington behind center on September 3rd against Hampton (Should win), they need to elevate the play they had from last year, and the defense needs to take a step forward in stopping a RB. That defense allowed 4.68 yards a carry. No one wins allowing 4.68 yards/carry, especially in the East, where you have 4 of the top 6 rushing teams in the conference on your schedule. I’m predicting a loss for the Monarchs against WKU, but without Doughty at QB, it will be very interesting to see how the power will shift in Conference USA.
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