Old Dominion, new starting quarterback can’t keep pace with Western Kentucky in Monarchs’ fifth straight loss

Old Dominion was no match for one of the top offenses in the nation Saturday.

And even with a new quarterback, ODU’s own offense didn’t exactly light the world on fire — until it was too late.

Bailey Zappe passed for 397 yards and five touchdowns to lead Western Kentucky to a comfortable 43-20 victory over the Monarchs at S.B. Ballard Stadium.

The loss was the fifth in a row for ODU (1-6, 0-3 Conference USA), which last won Sept. 11 against Hampton.

Playing before a strikingly sparse homecoming crowd, the Monarchs scuffled out of the gate, scoring all but three of their points in the second half.

The Hilltoppers (2-4, 1-1) outgained ODU 514-446 in total yards.

“Obviously not the result we wanted, especially on homecoming in front of our home crowd,” ODU coach Ricky Rahne said.

The Monarchs entered having lost consecutive heartbreakers to Buffalo, Texas El Paso and Marshall, all by seven or fewer points and all on late-game letdowns.

Redshirt freshman Hayden Wolff, making his first start of the season for ODU, completed 26 of 41 passes for 327 yards.

Wolff said he found out he would start last Sunday, after spending all season practicing as though he already had the job.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Wolff said. “I wasn’t shocked. When my time came, I didn’t change anything in my preparation.”

With an average of 550.4 yards of total offense per game, WKU entered with the nation’s fifth-most prolific offense.

Operating in a frenetic, no-huddle scheme that gave the down-and-distance chain gang members their cardio for the weekend, Zappe threw touchdown passes in all but the third quarter, when WKU settled for three field goals.

Wolff, a 6-foot-5, 219-pound Florida native, started three games for the Monarchs in 2019. The program didn’t play in 2020 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolff took over the job from Central Florida transfer D.J. Mack, a former Norview High star who started every previous game this season. Mack struggled a week earlier against Marshall.

But the job is now Wolff’s to lose.

“I’m not a guy who wants to flip-flop on the quarterbacks and things like that,” Rahne said. “Hayden is our starter. I thought he did some very good things.”

Ali Jennings caught 13 passes for 172 yards for ODU, falling one short of the single-game school record for receptions.

The Hilltoppers pulled ahead by the final margin on Zappe’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Dakota Thomas with less than four minutes to play.

WKU stretched its lead to 36-20 on Brayden Narvesan’s 41-yard field goal with 5:41 left.

Blake Watson’s 7-yard touchdown run with 10:17 left in the game shrank the Hilltoppers’ lead to 33-20.

The Monarchs finally got into the end zone on a 24-yard touchdown run by Elijah Davis five seconds into the fourth quarter, closing the gap to 33-13.

Narvesan’s 31-yard field goal gave the Hilltoppers a 33-6 lead with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Monarchs prevented further damage midway through the third quarter when R’Tarriun Johnson intercepted Zappe in the end zone.

ODU is off this week before Louisiana Tech visits on Oct. 30. The Monarchs plan to use the extra time for introspection.

“I think this week would be a good time for us to kind of look in the mirror and see what’s important,” Wolff said. “What can we do better?”

Frustration has mounted for ODU, which last beat an FBS team just shy of three calendar years ago.

Past losses aside, this season’s are stinging.

“It just feels like a cut that just keeps getting cut deeper and deeper,” said Jennings, a transfer from West Virginia. “But we’re doing the right things. We’re coming in every day, working hard, doing what we’re supposed to, staying on top of our grades. It’s just like we can’t find a way to get over the hump. That’s just something that’s frustrating. It hurts. But I feel like this team has done a great job of staying positive, staying humble and confident in our game. We just have to find that way, get over that wall.”

Nick Rice’s 38-yard field goal with 10:37 left in the third quarter narrowed ODU’s deficit to 30-6.

Narvesan’s 20-yarder gave WKU a 30-3 lead on the final play of the first half.

Zappe’s 74-yard touchdown pass to Jerreth Sterns — the PAT was blocked — gave the Hilltoppers a 27-3 lead with just under two minutes to go before halftime.

Rice’s 44-yard field goal moments earlier gave the Monarchs their first points of the game and pulled them to within 21-3.

WKU went ahead 21-0 on Zappe’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Daewood Davis with 5:23 left before halftime. The play followed an interception thrown by Wolfe and penalty against the Monarchs for a horse-collar tackle.

The Hilltoppers stretched their lead to 14-0 on the strangest of players. After scrambling to his left, Zapppe zipped a 9-yard pass into the hands of Johnson, who bobbled it into the hands of Sterns, who then tipped it to Thomas for a touchdown with 4:24 left in the first.

WKU struck first, pulling ahead 7-0 on Zappe’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Corley with 9:16 to go in the first quarter. The dive was extended when the Monarchs were called for offsides on a third-down incompletion.

Rahne was happy to see his players continue to play hard, even when they were down big.

“Our guys keep fighting and fighting and fighting,” he said.

“They’re seeing that if they just continue to fight for every inch, good things will happen for them.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com