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The Old Dominion Monarchs have had a week off and are no doubt ready to get back on the field. Old Dominion and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will face off in a Conference USA battle at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Both of these teams will be looking for a pick-me-up after considerable defeats in their previous games.
The afternoon started off rough for the Monarchs two weeks ago, and it ended that way, too. They found themselves the reluctant recipients of an unpleasant 43-20 punch to the gut against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Old Dominion was in a tough position by the half, with the score already sitting at 30-3. Their loss shouldn't obscure the performances of RB Blake Watson, who rushed for one TD and 104 yards on 22 carries, and WR Ali Jennings III, who caught 13 passes for 172 yards.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech might have drawn first blood against the UTSA Roadrunners last week, but it was UTSA who got the last laugh. Things couldn't have gone much worse for Louisiana Tech as they lost 45-16. The losing side was boosted by WR Smoke Harris, who caught seven passes for one TD and 108 yards. Harris hadn't helped his team much against the UTEP Miners two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround for him.
The Monarchs are expected to lose this next one by 4. Those burned by picking them against the spread two weeks ago might want to keep in mind that the team has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
The losses put Old Dominion at 1-6 and the Bulldogs at 2-5. A pair of defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Old Dominion is stumbling into the game with the 243rd most passing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 18 on the season. Louisiana Tech has experienced some passing struggles of their own as they are 236th worst in the nation in passing yards allowed per game, with 314.3 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
