Way to go ODU!

The first game in NCAA history to pit two teams from the same city against each other occurred in Norfolk Saturday. Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University met at Foreman Field on the campus of ODU. The game was sold out, with 19,818 fans of both teams there to cheer them on. The rest of us cheered at home, watching the game as it was broadcast on the internet on ESPN3.

NSU scored first, on a 98-yard pass in its opening possession. On the ensuing kick-off, ODU fumbled the ball, although they recovered it. At that point, I thought the Monarchs might be in for a long day. It didn’t take long, though, for ODU to tie the game, and then surge ahead, scoring 35 unanswered points to take a 35-7 lead. NSU just couldn’t catch up. They committed an awful lot of penalties – this article says it was 18 – which didn’t help them at all.

ODU was clearly the superior team Saturday. Next week, the Monarchs are on the road to take on Georgia Southern. The game, scheduled for Saturday, December 3 at noon, will once again be broadcast on ESPN3. (Can’t one of our local stations make a deal to carry the game live?)

Congratulations to ODU, and especially to my students who are on the team.