Old Dominion beats Villanova 37-14, improves to 6-2

VILLANOVA, Pa.

It's not often a two-minute drill at the end of the first half decides a game, but on Saturday at Villanova Stadium it did.

True-freshman quarterback Taylor Heinicke led Old Dominion on a 75-yard, 11-play drive at the end of the first half that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Nick Mayers.

The drive was really 85 yards. On the drive's first aborted play, ODU center Jeremy Hensley was called for holding, pinning the Monarchs on the 15 with 2:28 on the clock.

Eleven plays later, the Monarchs had a 30-14 lead going into the half and rode it to a 37-14 victory over the young and struggling Villanova Wildcats.

The drive was vintage Heinicke, if anything can be vintage for an 18-year-old playing in just his fourth college game. Still, it resembled what he'd done two weeks prior at Rhode Island.

Heinicke was 8 for 9 passing on the drive and scrambled twice for 12 and 8 yards. His touchdown pass to Mayers started as a scramble, but as can often happen with Heinicke at the controls, mayhem turned into magic.

Stepping up in the pocket and looking to run to the left, Heinicke saw Mayers wide open near the sideline. Heinicke delivered and Mayers ran it the last 9 yards.

"He's so good at scrambling and still throwing downfield that we've started practicing what to do when he does it," Mayers said. "Usually when your quarterback starts to scramble, you look for somebody to block. Instead, we're looking for open spaces to run to."

The win leaves No. 21-ranked ODU 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the CAA with James Madison coming to Norfolk's Foreman Field for what will be the Monarchs' biggest game to date. If ODU can win out in games against JMU, Richmond and at William and Mary, the Monarchs are a playoff lock.

Even if they win just two of those games, they are almost assured a postseason bid.

"I think they have a chance to be a playoff team," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "I really think they do. Their offense does a nice job. I'm not sure their defense is playoff caliber, but it's almost there.

"They need to win at home in front of that crazy crowd they have down there. I told (ODU coach Bobby Wilder) I think they have a chance. And if anyone has to go to Norfolk to play them in an early playoff round, they could be in a world of trouble."

Talley's crew, two years removed from a national championship, is young and turnover prone. And it showed in that first half.

Monarchs defensive end B.J. McLaughlin stripped Villanova quarterback Dustin Thomas and ODU safety Devon Simmons caught the ball in mid-air, setting the Monarchs up at the Villanova 42. On the next play, Heinicke hit Antonio Vaughan on a quick out and Vaughan raced through the Wildcats' defense for a touchdown.

The Monarchs then took a 13-0 lead when backup tailback Lorenzo Smith rambled 53 yards on a sweep to the right that he broke up the middle.

Villanova battled back, scoring on a Thomas-to-Joe Price 6-yard pass to cut it to 13-7.

A 32-yard Jarod Brown field goal boosted ODU's lead to 16-7.

Then ODU again made Villanova (1-7, 0-5 CAA) pay for repeated sloppy play. On the Wildcats' next play, Chris Burnette and Simmons broke through and caused Thomas to fumble once again, with Craig Wilkins falling on the ball at the Villanova 2.

Heinicke scored on a 1-yard QB sneak two plays later.

The Wildcats answered when Austin Medley scored on a 20-yard run, but that just set the table for Heinicke's impressive two-minute drill.

"He's really playing well," Wilder said. "We didn't want to burn his redshirt season, but since he started playing he's thrown 10 touchdowns in 14 quarters of play and his one interception was on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the Towson game."

The Monarchs added another touchdown - a 1-yard plunge by Angus Harper - in the second half. But the last 30 minutes of this game was nothing more than an exercise in running out the clock. Heinicke attempted only six passes after the half. He finished 23 for 32 for 204 yards for ODU, which assured itself of a winning season.

"We're about to roll into November here and we're still involved in this league," Wilder said. "If someone would have told me at the beginning of the season we'd be 6-2 at this point and 3-2 in the league, I would have given them a big hug and a kiss and told them, 'We'll take it.'"

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com