Coach Wilder keeps talking; his players keep delivering

WILLIAMSBURG

Wake Bobby Wilder at 3 in the morning, and he'll sit up in bed and talk non-stop, for minutes on end, about his football team.

At the microphone or if you bump into him in the frozen-food aisle of the supermarket, Rapid Robert is never at a loss for words, most of them superlatives for his Monarchs.

There would be no stopping Wilder late Saturday afternoon then. Not that a columnist would have wanted him to. Not after Old Dominion finished a regular season of exceeding expectations with a taut, 35-31 road victory over William and Mary.

The playoffs beckon the Monarchs, 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the CAA, and Wilder isn't shy about what he sees as ODU's place in the postseason discussion.

"I believe we're one of the top 12 teams in the country," he said. "I believe we deserve a first-round bye in the playoffs, and I believe we should play at home on Dec. 3."

He believes that the Monarchs "didn't just knock on the door to the playoffs. We just kicked the door down."

It goes without saying - at least without Wilder reminding everyone - that ODU has enjoyed a remarkable season.

At only three years old, it will be the youngest program to reach the Football Championship Subdivision postseason.

"Wow, what a run," said Wilder, who pointed out that the two games ODU lost turned on a few moments in the fourth quarter.

"We're three or four plays away from being potentially undefeated and ranked No. 1 or 2 in the country," he said.

Wind him up and Wilder will talk and talk, but what coach wouldn't be wound up by a performance like the one ODU delivered at Zable Stadium?

It didn't appear to be the Monarchs' day, not with senior Jonathan Grimes enjoying his most productive running performance for the Tribe, reeling off big gains all afternoon until he finished with 227 yards and three touchdowns.

Late in the fourth quarter, though, with W&M twice driving for the go-ahead touchdown, ODU's defense slowed Grimes just enough that Jimmye Laycock's offense was forced to take to the air. That led to a pair of interceptions by defensive back Eriq Lewis in the final two minutes that ruined W&M's Senior Day.

Monarchs tackle Ronnie Cameron, a senior himself, commiserated with the Tribe, which was highly rated in September - but at 4-6 appears to have been quite overrated.

"They had a lot of aspirations for this season," Cameron said, "so they were frustrated, but I'll say it any day, they're an excellent team."

Unusual for a Laycock team, W&M has had quarterback troubles. The same fate might have befallen ODU, its ambition thwarted, when senior Thomas DeMarco was sidelined by injury at halftime of the fifth game.

Instead, ODU, a fledgling program with uncommon depth, unveiled a star in freshman Taylor Heinicke. On Saturday, Heinicke passed for 273 yards, ran 11 yards for a touchdown and set up the winning score by calling an audible that led to Angus Harper's 7-yard touchdown run.

Heinicke continues to be a revelation, but with Grimes' performance fresh in mind, someone suggested to Wilder that the W&M tailback might be the conference's offensive player of the year.

That was an invitation for Wilder to promote his own man, Heinicke.

"I believe he's the best player in this league," he said, "and I believe he's the most valuable player in this league. We're 9-2 because of him. I think he's deserving of national recognition for what he's done this year."

Wilder expressed a little concern that ODU's season will be downgraded in some places, that people will think of the Monarchs as only "an OK team... that it played in a league that was down this season."

As the new kid on the block, ODU's success might be ruffling feathers in more established circles. Wilder's eagerness to promote the Monarchs could be interpreted as brashness. 

Most likely, it's more like impatience.

How many other coaches would use a press conference to insist that their team belongs among the top 12 in the FCS?

Only three years in, Wilder said Saturday, "The goal now is to compete for the national championship."

The man does go on. But while talk can be cheap, time and time again this season, the team has backed up its coach's words on the field.