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Four Giveaways, 409 Yards, and a Loss That Had Nothing to Do With the Offense Moving the Ball
A weekly, unique recap show for each college football team that played a game. This unique look at what occured has a forward-looking approach and gets you what you need to know. For hardcore fans, casual onlookers and the gambler looking for an edge. Check out the Depth Dossier!
This is the Depth Dossier: the Old Dominion Monarchs, Week 9.
Marshall beat Old Dominion 36 to 23, and the wild part is the Monarchs actually outgained them by 71 yards. This game had nothing to do with which offense moved the ball better. It had everything to do with who kept the ball.
Quarterback Jaxon Potter threw for a career-high 329 yards, and wide receiver Josh Rodriguez caught nine passes for 143 yards. None of it mattered. Old Dominion turned the ball over four times, Marshall only once, and twenty of Marshall's points came directly off those giveaways. Linebacker Kenyatta Hardge forced a fumble on Old Dominion's second snap of the game, and Potter threw three interceptions, each one on the first play of a drive. Then right before halftime, a short field goal attempt came up short and got returned 100 yards for a touchdown, turning a manageable ten-point game into a 27 to 10 avalanche. Old Dominion is now 2 and 7, eliminated from bowl contention, and has lost nine straight to Marshall.
Here's the thing: by the efficiency numbers, this should have been close. Old Dominion actually won the per-play battle and outgained Marshall 409 yards to 338. But when they got into scoring position, they only cashed in a fraction of what Marshall did. The turnovers decided it, not the offense.
That field goal sequence right before half is the defining moment of the game. Down ten, kicker Andrew Nelms missed a 55-yard try, and it got run back 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. A make there trims it to one possession. Instead, Old Dominion's down 17 at the break. Some reports called it a blocked kick, but by all other accounts, it just fell short.
Potter's three interceptions all came on first-play-of-the-drive, which points to a specific issue rather than just bad luck. He finished well below his expected completion numbers by one advanced model, and despite the career-high yardage, his overall efficiency grade was ugly. A lot of those 329 yards came in situations that didn't matter to the scoreboard.
A few other things shaped the final margin. A nineteen-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Devin Roche got wiped out by an unnecessary roughness penalty on offensive lineman Connor Drake, part of ten penalties for 92 yards on the day. Cornerback Brandon Crutchfield took an interception back 44 yards for a touchdown, Old Dominion's second defensive score of the season. The Monarchs went 0 for 2 on fourth down, including a sack that killed a fourth-and-8 try. And the run game only managed 80 yards on 29 carries. The one bright spot: the defense held Marshall to 2 of 14 on third down and forced five field goal attempts, which is the real reason this didn't turn into a blowout.
No injuries were reported, so what's moving here is performance, not availability. Rodriguez's nine-catch, 143-yard day was his first career hundred-yard game, and it should push him toward more targets going forward. Potter now has two straight starts with real statistical weight, but the turnover issue, four giveaways charged to him between the fumble and the picks, is going to decide whether the coaching staff sticks with him as the clear starter or starts looking elsewhere.
Roche's role is also worth watching. He had a career-best six catches for 41 yards, but only six carries for 13 yards, even though he came in with a team-high 103 carries on the season. That's a real shift toward the passing game, though it's not clear yet if it sticks.
On defense, linebacker Jackson Forrest had 12 tackles, continuing a stretch where the linebacker group has been the most consistent unit on the roster. And Crutchfield's interception was his third of the season, giving the cornerback group two defensive touchdowns this year.
With bowl eligibility gone, the rest of the season is about who keeps their job and who doesn't. Potter's turnover problem and an offensive line that allowed four sacks in this game are the two things most likely to shake up the depth chart going forward.
This was the depth dossier. For everything college football, be it depth charts, data or dossiers, head over to C F B Depth dot com. We will be back next week. This was an AI-generated podcast from content developed by real human beings passionate about college football.