TXST FOOTBALL
Bobcats battle Old Dominion in first ever meeting
The Countdown to Kickoff series previews the upcoming 2024 season for the Texas State Bobcats.
This week's article will take a look at the Bobcats road game against the Old Dominion Monarchs.
Old Dominion finished the regular season with a 6-6 overall record and tied for third place in the Sun Belt East Division.
The Monarchs defeated both Georgia Southern and Georgia State, the final two games of the regular season, in one score games to seal the program’s third bowl appearance. ODU also defeated App State during the regular season to help seal bowl eligibility.
Old Dominion was invited to the Famous Toastery Bowl where they faced off with former Conference USA rival the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
The Monarchs led 28-0 over the Hilltoppers before Western Kentucky outscored Old Dominion 38-7 to win the Famous Toastery Bowl. Old Dominion finished the season with a 6-7 record.
Old Dominion returns four offensive starters and five defensive starters from last year’s team.
Leading the Monarch offense is quarterback Grant Wilson. A transfer from Fordham, Wilson passed for 2,149 yards while throwing for 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Wilson also ran for 291 yards on 130 carries and four touchdowns.
Returning in the wide receiver room are the duo of Kelby Williams and Isiah Page. Williams caught 26 passes for 451 yards and two touchdowns. Page caught a team high 43 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns.
Transfer running backs Bryce Duke and Aaron Young look to lead the rushing attack.
On defense, Old Dominion returns All-American linebacker Jason Henderson. Henderson made 167 total tackles and 51 solo tackles last year. Henderson currently leads the FBS in total tackles for the last two seasons with 324.
Also returning for the Monarch defense are defensive tackle Denzel Lowry and Mario Thompson. Lowry made 46 tackles last year and three sacks while Thompson made 43 tackles and two sacks.
This will be the first ever meeting between Texas State and Old Dominion.
The Monarchs resurrected their football program in 2005 with their first season coming in 2009.
Old Dominion transitioned to playing in the Colonial Athletic conference in 2011 at the Football Championship Subdivision and made the playoffs.
The Monarchs defeated Norfolk State in the first round of the playoffs before falling to future Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern in the second round.
The next season, the Monarchs won the CAA conference with a 10-1 record for their first ever conference championship.
Old Dominion defeated another future Sun Belt rival in Coastal Carolina in the second round of the playoffs before losing to Georgia Southern once again in the quarterfinals.
In 2013, Old Dominion began their process of joining the Football Bowl Subdivision where the Monarchs became members of C-USA. Old Dominion became bowl eligible for the first time in program history during 2016. The Monarchs won a program FBS record of 10 games and clinched a share of the C-USA East Division title with Western Kentucky.
Old Dominion was selected to play in the Bahamas Bowl where the Monarchs defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 24-20 for the program’s first ever bowl win.
After eight years in CUSA, the Monarchs moved into the Sun Belt Conference for the 2022 where the program has resided ever since.
Kickoff for Texas State-Old Dominion is set for Saturday Oct. 19 at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia. Kickoff time has yet to be determined.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
