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NORFOLK — The rapid maturation of Old Dominion into a mistake-free, opportunistic Football Bowl Subdivision team continued Saturday as the Monarchs pounded Southern Miss 51-35 at Ballard Stadium.
David Washington tossed two touchdown passes and Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox each ran for two scores for the Monarchs (7-3, 5-1 Conference-USA), who pulled away by forcing five turnovers to cruise to their third straight victory and sixth in seven games.
The Monarchs now have a plus-15 turnover margin, a figure that will likely land them among the top three teams in the FBS, and have committed just six turnovers all season, the second-lowest figure in the country.
"That's really the key," said ODU coach Bobby Wilder, whose Monarchs remained tied in the loss column with Western Kentucky atop C-USA's East Division. "We protect the ball, and we don't turn it over."
The Monarchs' defense ignited the rout early by forcing three first-quarter turnovers within a seven-play span. ODU turned each giveaway into a touchdown and led 21-0 with the game barely 11 minutes old.
ODU kept pouring it on and used Cox's 67-yard touchdown sprint on the Monarchs' first play of the second half to surge ahead 42-7 with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Southern Miss surprise starting quarterback Keon Howard, a true freshman, made things interesting by leading the Golden Eagles on three unanswered touchdown drives to get Southern Miss to within 14.
But ODU defensive tackle Miles Fox and end Bunmi Routimi helped the Monarchs restore order by trapping Howard for a safety with 7:44 left. A little over three minutes later, Routimi was at it again, this time strip-sacking Howard at the Golden Eagles' 7-yard line. Monarchs tackle Rashaad Coward retrieved the loose ball and scampered into the end zone as ODU cracked the 50-point threshold for the third time this season.
Saturday's victory came on the heels of arguably the defining win of the Monarchs' brief FBS tenure — the 38-14 mauling of Marshall on Nov. 5 that made ODU bowl eligible.
A week later, the Monarchs wasted no time serving notice there would be no Thundering Herd hangover as Zach Pascal raced 53 yards with the opening kickoff before being shoved out of bounds by Golden Eagles kicker Tyler Sarrazin.
The Monarchs went three-and-out on the ensuing series. But ODU quickly seized control of things by harassing Howard into a nightmarish sequence in which he lost two fumbles on back-to-back plays — both recovered by Monarchs linebacker T.J. Ricks — and saw a tipped pass picked off by ODU's Brandon Addison five snaps later.
Howard, a highly-touted recruit who appeared set to be redshirted this season, made his college debut after starter quarterback Nick Mullens and backup Parker Adamson both sustained injuries in last Saturday's loss to Charlotte.
The Golden Eagles appeared to engage in a quarterback smokescreen this week, teasing the' potential availability of Mullens' the 2015 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, to the point of even having him stretch and throw passes in uniform during pre-game warmups.
Wilder's specific instruction against Howard — try to go after the ball.
Mission accomplished.
NORFOLK — The rapid maturation of Old Dominion into a mistake-free, opportunistic Football Bowl Subdivision team continued Saturday as the Monarchs pounded Southern Miss 51-35 at Ballard Stadium.
David Washington tossed two touchdown passes and Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox each ran for two scores for the Monarchs (7-3, 5-1 Conference-USA), who pulled away by forcing five turnovers to cruise to their third straight victory and sixth in seven games.
The Monarchs now have a plus-15 turnover margin, a figure that will likely land them among the top three teams in the FBS, and have committed just six turnovers all season, the second-lowest figure in the country.
"That's really the key," said ODU coach Bobby Wilder, whose Monarchs remained tied in the loss column with Western Kentucky atop C-USA's East Division. "We protect the ball, and we don't turn it over."
The Monarchs' defense ignited the rout early by forcing three first-quarter turnovers within a seven-play span. ODU turned each giveaway into a touchdown and led 21-0 with the game barely 11 minutes old.
ODU kept pouring it on and used Cox's 67-yard touchdown sprint on the Monarchs' first play of the second half to surge ahead 42-7 with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Southern Miss surprise starting quarterback Keon Howard, a true freshman, made things interesting by leading the Golden Eagles on three unanswered touchdown drives to get Southern Miss to within 14.
But ODU defensive tackle Miles Fox and end Bunmi Routimi helped the Monarchs restore order by trapping Howard for a safety with 7:44 left. A little over three minutes later, Routimi was at it again, this time strip-sacking Howard at the Golden Eagles' 7-yard line. Monarchs tackle Rashaad Coward retrieved the loose ball and scampered into the end zone as ODU cracked the 50-point threshold for the third time this season.
Saturday's victory came on the heels of arguably the defining win of the Monarchs' brief FBS tenure — the 38-14 mauling of Marshall on Nov. 5 that made ODU bowl eligible.
A week later, the Monarchs wasted no time serving notice there would be no Thundering Herd hangover as Zach Pascal raced 53 yards with the opening kickoff before being shoved out of bounds by Golden Eagles kicker Tyler Sarrazin.
The Monarchs went three-and-out on the ensuing series. But ODU quickly seized control of things by harassing Howard into a nightmarish sequence in which he lost two fumbles on back-to-back plays — both recovered by Monarchs linebacker T.J. Ricks — and saw a tipped pass picked off by ODU's Brandon Addison five snaps later.
Howard, a highly-touted recruit who appeared set to be redshirted this season, made his college debut after starter quarterback Nick Mullens and backup Parker Adamson both sustained injuries in last Saturday's loss to Charlotte.
The Golden Eagles appeared to engage in a quarterback smokescreen this week, teasing the' potential availability of Mullens' the 2015 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, to the point of even having him stretch and throw passes in uniform during pre-game warmups.
Wilder's specific instruction against Howard — try to go after the ball.
Mission accomplished.
