Old Dominion beats Richmond, may have secured playoff berth

NORFOLK

Old Dominion all but locked up an FCS playoff berth Saturday with a 42-28 victory over Richmond in front of yet another sellout crowd at raucous Foreman Field.

Asked if he thought his team is in with an 8-2 record and one game remaining, ODU coach Bobby Wilder's answer was an emphatic, "Yes."

Wilder is not crowing or pleading a case when he says that. Instead, he's applying conventional wisdom. Since 2003, every Colonial Athletic Association team with at least eight victories has made the playoffs.

And there's still a chance for a share of the CAA regular-season title.

With Maine falling to Towson on Saturday, there is now a three-way tie at the top between Maine, Towson and New Hampshire. All three are 5-1.

Then there's ODU, alone in fourth at 5-2.

"If we can win at William and Mary next week and get into the proverbial clubhouse at 6-2 in the league, we still have a shot," Wilder said.

Who would have thought?

Who should have thought?

If ODU is invited to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, it will be the first third-year program to ever go. And it'll be able to thank Taylor Heinicke, a true freshman quarterback, for not folding when the going got tough in the third quarter Saturday.

Heinicke had a rare moment - he turned the ball over - that gave the Spiders life.

With ODU leading 28-15 and driving to go up 20 points, Heinicke took off scrambling around left end. He saw a sliver of daylight, got a little loose with the football, and Richmond linebacker Darius McMillan punched it loose at the Richmond 4.

Spiders safety Doug Howell picked it up on the bounce and outran the entire ODU squad to the other end for a 96-yard fumble return. It was Richmond's longest scoring play since 1984.

"I should have just gone down," Heinicke said. "I tried to do too much."

When the Monarchs' Jarod Brown missed on a 46-yard field-goal attempt on ODU's next drive, Richmond came back and tied the game on a circus catch by wide receiver Stephen Barnette, who one-handed a 14-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Corp in traffic in the end zone with 12:17 remaining.

Richmond could have taken the lead, but Wil Kamin's extra-point attempt hit the right upright.

While all of that was going on, ODU quarterbacks coach Ron Whitcomb was handing out sage words to ODU's 18-year-old signal caller.

"He said, 'Everybody fumbles, throws picks and gets sacked," Heinicke said.

The message was clear: Forget about it.

Heinicke then took the Monarchs on a 67-yard touchdown drive that ended with Heinicke hitting Antonio Vaughan for a 1-yard touchdown pass.

It was Heinicke's third scoring pass of the day, giving him 16 touchdown passes against one interception in the six games he's played since senior quarterback Thomas DeMarco went down with an ankle injury.

Heinicke also connected with Larry Pinkard for a 17-yard scoring toss and Prentice Gill on a 26-yard hookup in the first half. He was 34 for 47 for a career-high 373 yards.

And yet, the Monarchs still needed to stop the Spiders (3-6, 0-6), and particularly Corp. The 6-foot-3 fifth-year senior, who began his college career at Southern Cal, had three touchdown passes of his own Saturday. It was the interception on Richmond's next possession, however, that locked this one up for the Monarchs.

With Richmond at the ODU 29, Corp fired to Richmond All-American receiver Tre Gray on the right sideline, but the ball never reached Gray as ODU safety Paul Morant stepped into the passing lane and picked it off with 6:39 remaining.

ODU marched 70 yards on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 9-yard run by Colby Goodwyn off right guard for a 42-28 advantage.

Heinicke was 9 for 13 passing for 101 yards in the fourth quarter.

"He had great composure," McMillan said. "We'd pressure him on the edge and he'd just step up into the pocket."

Richmond's chances for a comeback evaporated when ODU linebacker Craig Wilkins hammered Corp to the turf on third-and-2 from the ODU 49. Wilkins had a straight shot to Corp and left him in a heap on the Foreman Field turf.

"We called a blitz and the line slid to Ronnie (Cameron, ODU's senior defensive tackle)," Wilkins said. "I came clean and just took a shot."

Reserve quarterback John Laub's pass intended for Kevin Finney was off target with 4:10 remaining and the Spiders never got the ball back as the Monarchs ran out the clock.

A relieved and excited Wilder looked at how his team responded after the fumble return for a Richmond touchdown didn't become a monumental turning point.

"We're still so youthful in terms of playing," Wilder said. "We had some adversity today and dealt with it. It did not break our spirit."

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