Cox powers ODU past UMass, 36-16

Jeremy Cox ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns to lead ODU over UMass, 36-16, on Friday evening at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium.

Old Dominion (4-2) finished the game with a season-high 522 total yards of offense. Ray Lawryadded 88 yards and a touchdown on the ground and David Washington completed 20 of his 35 pass attempts for 248 yards and a touchdown.

The Monarchs surged out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and carried a 19-9 lead into halftime. UMass (1-5) closed the gap to as little as six with a touchdown pass late in the third quarter, but ODU responded with a pair of TD runs from Lawry and Cox to close the game with 14 unanswered points.

Defensively, Rob Thompson and Shadow Williams each recorded an interception, while Bunmi Rotimi, Anthony Wilson and Jude Brenya each tallied a sack.

The Monarchs are on a bye next week before heading to WKU on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Notes: Tonight’s game is the second Friday night game in ODU history. The first was in 2014 against Middle Tennessee on Fox Sports 1 … This was the second time this season the Monarchs have had a game moved due to a weather event, as the opener against Hampton was played on aSunday … Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Toal started for the first time in his career … Travis Fulgham scored a TD in his second-straight game with an eight-yard score on ODU’s first drive of the game … Jeremy Cox moved into ninth on ODU’s all-time rushing list with 21-yard on the Monarchs’ first drive of the game … The 56-yard yard pass from David Washington to Jonathan Duhart was Duhart’s longest catch of the season, and longest catch by an ODU receiver so far this season … Jeremy Cox’s second quarter TD was his sixth in the last three games … Cox had one last season as a true freshman … Brad Davis kicked a career-long 38-yard field goal … With three field goals, Davis had his first career multi-field goal game … Bunmi Rotimi took sole possession of fourth place in career sacks, now with 9.5 career sacks … Anthony Wilson had his fourth sack of the season, and first since the Appalachian State game … Ray Lawry’s third quarter touchdown was the 30^th of his career, tying him for the school record with Thomas DeMarco … Jeremy Coxrushed for a career-high 167 yards … Cox recorded his third multi-touchdown game in a row.