ODU to host NSU in first round of FCS playoffs

NORFOLK

Old Dominion got a home game. Norfolk State got a close game.

When the dust cleared at 10 o'clock Sunday morning, the two programs learned the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs selection committee had taken the path of least resistance. The teams will meet for the first time at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a first-round playoff game at Foreman Field.

Since ODU began playing football three years ago, the Monarchs and Spartans camps have been talking about starting a series. This fall, the two agreed to a six-year deal beginning in 2013.

Now, fans of both schools won't have to wait. And Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian saw first-hand just the other day how animated they can be.

"I was in a Farm Fresh and had on a Norfolk State coaches shirt and the two baggers at the registers figured out really fast who I was," Adrian said. "One bagger was from ODU and the other was from Norfolk State and all they could talk about was what would happen when ODU and NSU meet."

The winner will advance to face third seed Georgia Southern on Dec. 3.

The game is going to be a very tough ticket. Foreman Field holds 19,818 and as of 10 a.m. Sunday, ODU's season-ticket holders, which number 14,509, had already ordered 8,249. All of those tickets were sold before anyone knew if ODU would even host a playoff game, much less the name of the opponent.

The home team is required to make only 500 tickets available to the visiting team in tournament games. Norfolk State fans can call the NSU ticket office beginning at noon today to acquire tickets in the Spartans' 500-seat allotment.

At 8 o'clock tonight, tickets will be made available to individuals who are on ODU's season-ticket waiting list, which numbers approximately 3,000.

Meanwhile, ODU students can order tickets immediately. The first 1,000 students ordering tickets will receive them free. After that, students can purchase tickets for $5 each and can purchase student guest tickets for $20 apiece.

If any remain, they will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Tuesday at a cost of $20 each.

Norfolk State (9-2) received an automatic berth in the 20-team playoff field as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion. It is the school's first trip to the FCS playoffs.

ODU (9-2) received an at-large berth and was given a home game because the Monarchs made a strong financial bid to the NCAA. The NCAA requires schools to bid at least $30,000 for first-round games. ODU bid $54,000; Norfolk State elected to not bid for a home game.

"We didn't care who we played, but in the back of our minds, yeah, we were hoping it would be ODU," Norfolk State left tackle Kendall Noble said. "It's an opportunity to show everybody what we can do."

Some members of ODU's camp had hoped the Monarchs would receive a bye from first-round play, given to the teams judged to be the top 12. The Monarchs were ranked that high in both major polls, but a third measurement - the Gridiron Power Index - ranked them 15th in FCS, in part because their schedule included such relatively weak teams as Campbell and Georgia State.

"I thought we were going to get a bye," freshman quarterback Taylor Heinicke said, "but in reality a bye might have been a good thing or a bad thing for us. Two weeks off could have been too much time off. We could have gotten rusty."

Norfolk State is not ranked among the top 25 in the Gridiron Power Index and is the only MEAC representative. ODU is one of five CAA teams in the field. Towson, New Hampshire and Maine received first-round byes; James Madison visits Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

"I don't know what the alternative was for us," ODU athletic director Wood Selig said. "But it's all really about geography. Honestly, I'd rather be playing at home with a chance to get momentum rather than going on the road to start things."

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

Chris Carlson, (757) 446-2367, chris.carlson@pilotonline.com