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Get ready for a Sun Belt battle as the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Georgia Southern Eagles will face off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty points totals in their previous games, so things might heat up even more when they meet.
Everything went Old Dominion's way against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers last week as they made off with a 49-21 win. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Monarchs had established a 35-14 advantage. RB Blake Watson was a one-man wrecking crew for Old Dominion, rushing for three TDs and 256 yards on 18 carries. This was the first time Watson has racked up 100+ rushing yards all year. Watson's sharp performance also set his single-game rushing touchdown high for the season.
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern's offense rose to the challenge against a James Madison defense that boasted an average of only 15 points allowed. They walked away with a 45-38 victory over the James Madison Dukes last week. Georgia Southern's QB Kyle Vantrease was on fire, passing for four TDs and 578 yards on 63 attempts. Vantrease's 75-yard touchdown toss to RB Amare Jones in the third quarter made for one of the most memorable moments of the evening.
Special teams collected 13 points for Georgia Southern. K Alex Raynor delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game. Joshua Thompson's 12-yard punt return for touchdown should surely be counted as one of the game's standout moments.
This next game is expected to be close, with the Monarchs going off at just a 2.5-point favorite. Those who got lucky with them against the spread last week might want to hold off on placing bets this time since the squad has yet to string together back-to-back wins against the spread.
The wins brought Old Dominion up to 3-3 and the Eagles to 4-3. With back-to-back wins few and far between for both teams -- Old Dominion is 0-2 after wins, Georgia Southern 1-2 this year -- a win will be a boon for either squad.
