The Chanticleers (6-1, 3-1 Sun Belt) were near the top of the others receiving votes for the national Top 25 this week coming in, but they couldn’t find an answer for Monarchs tailback Blake Watson, who ran for a school-record 256 yards on 18 carries and scored three TDs.
ODU (3-3, 2-0 Sun Belt) had been picked to finish in last in the Sun Belt East Division in the preseason, but now has victories over Coastal and Virginia Tech at the halfway mark.
ODU led, 14-7 at the half before blowing open the game in the second half, setting the tone on the opening drive of the third quarter, going 69 yards after recovering a Coastal Carolina fumble, pushing the lead to two scores on a 20-yard run by backup QB D.J. Mack, who subbed into the game several times during the game.
Then came a fourth-down stand by ODU’s defense that seemed to knock the life out of Coastal. On fourth-and-1 from the ODU 49, Coastal Carolina went for the first down. But defensive end Marcus Haynes sacked quarterback Grayson McCall for a 10-yard loss.
The Monarchs then drove 41 yards in 54 seconds, with Isiah Paige catching a 22-yard TD pass from Wolff that gave ODU a 28-7 lead.
Coastal twice cut the lead to 14, but each time, the Monarchs responded, with Watson’s running for 67-yard touchdown run all but sealing the victory.
Asked if it was ODU’s best and most complete game since he came to ODU, head coach Ricky Rahne said it might be.
“It’s certainly up there,” he said. “I mean, I’d have to go through the tape and look at everything before I could say that.”
ODU hosts Georgia Southern Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in its annual homecoming game.
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Chris Graham
