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After snapping a 6-game losing streak, Old Dominion wants to grab some momentum
By Ed Miller
They're not the team Old Dominion beat last season. They're not even the team they were at the start of this one.
Florida International has found something intangible and elusive – but very real – in college athletics.
"College sports, it's all about momentum," ODU offensive coordinator Brian Scott said. "It's really hard to get, and it's really easy to lose."
The Panthers (6-2, 4-1 Conference USA) have it. ODU (3-6, 1-4) is trying to kindle some.
The Monarchs snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-0 win over Charlotte last week, and now they head to Miami to face a team that has been transformed under Butch Davis, the former University of Miami, North Carolina and Cleveland Browns' coach.
FIU has won three straight and is off to the best start in program history.
"They've always had good players," ODU coach Bobby Wilder said. "There's a mystique when you bring in a guy that's won Super Bowls, won a national championship. Right away, he got instant credibility."
Davis, 65, won championships as an assistant at Miami and with the Dallas Cowboys before embarking on a 14-year career as a head coach. He had been out of coaching since 2010 and was working as an ESPN analyst before agreeing to come to FIU this season.
Davis' reputation as a defensive coach preceded him, and it's on that side of the ball where the Owls have improved the most. In the Panthers' three-game winning streak, they're holding opponents to 15.7 points per game, have forced seven turnovers and have seven sacks.
"You can just see them getting better and better," Wilder said.
ODU also is progressing, just not as dramatically. After losing four games by 30 points or more, the Monarchs lost close games late to Western Kentucky and at North Texas before breaking through vs. Charlotte.
For the defense, the breakthrough was historic, producing the program's first shutout.
The offense amassed 326 yards, held the ball for 39 minutes and crossed midfield seven times, but came up with just two field goals.
It forges ahead without leading rusher Jeremy Cox and starting right tackle Chad Hendricks, who were lost for the season with injuries last week. In addition, tailback Ray Lawry still is at less than 100 percent while recovering from a hip injury.
The latest injuries are the continuation of a season-long trend that has caused a shuffling of players from week to week and left the Monarchs searching for consistency.
"Anytime you're adjusting on the fly, it just takes time to figure out who you are and who can do what well," Scott said.
ODU is settled at quarterback with freshman Steven Williams. Gemonta Jackson and Brandon Sinclair will be called on to step in for Cox and to reduce the load on Lawry.
The receivers have been a rotating cast, particularly the "Z" spot on the outside, where several players have been tried.
ODU was more efficient passing last week, but couldn't come up with big plays. Such plays could be hard to come by again tonight against a defense that hasn't permitted many.
FIU linebackers Treyvon Williams and Anthony Wint are the heart of the defense and likely the top tandem in Conference USA, Scott said.
"They play downhill, they play fast and they're not getting beat deep right now," he said.
Scott said the key is to stay patient, grind out first downs and try to win the field-position battle.
Lawry, who rushed for 98 yards on 25 carries last week, said he's ready for another grind-it-out affair.
"It's time for me and a couple of other guys to step up," he said.
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Lawry missed four games with a torn hamstring, then injured his hip in the second quarter against Western Kentucky. He rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns anyway.
FIU has allowed 169 yards per game on the ground. If ODU can run the ball, it believes it can set up its passing game.
Scott said he's confident the offense will click eventually.
"It's really frustrating right now, but I'll give credit to our kids," he said. "They come to work every day and they want to improve and they want us to be better."
Ed Miller, 757-446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com Follow @edmillervp on Twitter.
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