Erase This Game: Old Dominion 59, Citadel 58

So, last season Old Dominion was a team that was pretty strong on offense; they were ranked 45th in offensive S&P+, as well as 35th in S&P+ on passing downs, per Football Outsiders. They were also pretty... not strong on defense, as evidenced by their 117 S&P+ rating.

It turns out that one season before that, they were even more bad on defense. How else do you explain a team that manages to go 8-4 despite averaging 40.7 ppg and scoring less than 21 points once all season?

We already covered the whole North Carolina game ad nauseam, and they also had that game against Idaho where they gave up 38 points to a Vandal squad that only averaged 18 points per game during what turned out to be a 1-11 season.

So, it should come as no shock that the Monarchs came one snap away from losing to Citadel and surrendering 60 points all in the same breath. This is historically impressive - Citadel has only scored 50+ points in a regulation game against an FCS opponent three times in the last 13 years. It is also significant to the season, because this was a Citadel team that scored more than 35 points zero times in their other 11 games.

Barely winning a game you should win handily is one thing - coming within a slap in the face of giving up 60 points to a team that averaged 18.4 points in their other 11 games that season is extremely putrid.

This was, of course, a perfect storm for Old Dominion. Everyone watched in their final game of the 2012 season when the Georgia Southern Eagles' triple option attack shredded the Monarchs for 28 fourth-quarter points and 632 total yards. Well, guess what offense Citadel ran in 2013?

Your question would be answered by the fact that Bulldog quarterback Ben Dupree finished this game 5-for-8 for 113 yards and one touchdown. Yeah, you guessed it, a triple-option attack that racked up 453 yards rushing and another nine touchdowns.

Perhaps the most amazing part of this game is that the Citadel scored to take the lead at 38-35 with 6:46 left to play in the third quarter and then didn't touch the ball again until the final play of the quarter when they trailed 51-38. This was the part of the game where Old Dominion scored, executed and recovered an onside kick, scored another touchdown, recovered another onside kick, and then added a long field goal.

And yet, there the Monarchs were, needing a stop on a two-point conversion attempt in order to preserve a one-point victory that probably should have been much bigger. Or maybe it shouldn't have.

Take this one off the books and the Monarchs still go 7-4. Matter of fact, let's just erase the Idaho game too. I don't care if it was a win. Oh screw it, let's just pretend 2013 didn't happen.