Old Dominion Can't Hang On Against N.C. State, Lose 46-34

You can't fault the Old Dominion Monarchs for trying this Saturday, but in the end, their efforts to take down N.C. State on the road came up a bit short in a 46-34 loss.

ODU actually had a 28-25 lead with around three and a half minutes left in the 3rd, but Jacoby Brissett found Stephen Louis in the end zone late in the frame to give the Wolfpack the lead for good. They stretched it to 39-28 early in the 4th on a Matt Dayes 10-yard run. The Monarchs cut it to 39-34 with under six minutes left, but on the next Pack drive, Shadrach Thornton responded with a 23-yard run for the contest's final margin.

One thing that will stick in the craw of the staff: the play of Thornton. He had 14 carries for 86 yards and three scores as part of 217 overall rushing yards by the Pack. Another play that they'll be sure to circle: a missed 27-yard field goal by Ricky Segers in the latter part of the 2nd quarter that would have put ODU up 24-10. N.C. State would score on the next drive to draw within 21-18, so you wonder how the complexion of the game would have changed if Segers would have made it.

The Monarchs return home to take on Eastern Michigan next week in Norfolk. The Eagles were walloped by the Gators at The Swamp earlier today, 65-0. So much for #MACtion.