Heartbreak at Foreman Field
First and foremost, I was going to write an article last night about the game but decided against it due to maybe being a little to haste.
The Monarchs played their most complete game of the season in a game that we had won until the final few minutes when things became very questionable. I am not going to go on a tangent about the referees because I have already done that on twitter but I want to go over two calls that I believe changed all the momentum and what ultimately lost Old Dominion the game.
Before, let’s look at the game as a whole. The first half was a back and forth affair with Western Kentucky taking a 21-14 lead into the half. The story of the year has to be the turnovers for the Monarchs as we are significantly better at giving them up then getting them. After a fantastic interception by Joe Joe Haeden at our 2-yard line to stop the Hilltoppers from scoring, Stevie Williams throws a ball into coverage and is picked off at the 18, giving the ‘tops great field position 2:02 left in the first half. Three plays later the Hilltoppers capitalize and score on a 13-yard strike from Mike White to Cameron Echols-Luper. ODU took possession and was content with running out the clock, which they did, taking the game to half.
ODU came out strong in the second half scoring on a 10 play 61-yard drive then forcing a fumble on WKU’s first play of the half and getting three on a 38-yard field goal by Freshman kicker, Nick Rice. All the momentum was with the Monarchs, the crowd was strong and loud, and the players did their part forcing another punt and then making the game 31-21 with 1:57 left in the third quarter. All seemed to be going the Monarch’s way and then, with Western Kentucky at the Monarchs 21 facing a 3rd and 7, the tide turned. On what could be the worst call I’ve ever seen at a pivotal moment in a game in a very long time, the referees called a unnecessary roughness on safety Denzel Williams for hitting a wide-receiver who looked to be making a catch at the Monarch’s 3-yard line. The play was still going on, it wasn’t a malicious hit and all momentum was already in phase before the receiver dropped the ball, thus how could this be anything other than a fair play? I’d like some of your interpretations of the call (even if you disagree, as I was at the 50 and only saw one replay via the big screen). I personally thought they were originally going to call a targeting foul which would’ve been the wrong call to make, but at least hold a better argument than an unnecessary roughness call.
After the automatic first down, it took just two plays for the Hilltoppers to bring it back within a field goal with 9:03 left in the game. The ensuing play after the kickoff, Stevie Williams was intercepted by Drell Greene and returned to the Monarchs 44-yard line. With all the momentum on their side, 4 plays is all it took for WKU to take the lead for the final time of the game. The Monarchs had two more chances, their best coming on the ensuing drive where they took the ball 53 yards on an 11-play 5:10 second drive before tragically fumbling on a fourth and one at the WKU 26-yard line with under 3 minutes to go. It was a very weird play and seemed to me that Ray Lawry never had full possession of the ball.
Overall, I feel for these guys. They played a fantastic game and things just didn’t go their way, unfortunately. With five games left and only one loss to spare, can the Monarchs find a way to become bowl eligible?