Moral Victories Don't Count

Week three of the college season for the Blue and White offers up a unique challenge in the form of the Monarchs of ODU. This was perhaps the best game of the season a year ago and certainly the best win in a great atmosphere. I can still remember the 31-28 victory for MU behind a monster performance out of RB David Sinisi and the coming out party for QB Kyle Frazier.

The first two weeks of the season have been a challenge for Monmouth with close losses to Colgate and Maine. Both games have been competitive and with three or four plays in each game going the Hawks way rather than the opposition, they could easily be 2-0 rather than 0-2. The only problem with that logic, is so far none of those plays have gone Monmouth's way and at some point a team has to make its own luck.

Two positives thru 2 games:


In both games, there were points that the team could have folded and let the game get out of control but in neither case did that happen so the team has some resiliency even though it has not transferred into wins. Playing teams that have more scholarships in your non-conference schedule might not always result in wins but it should get you ready for the NEC.

Might seem like a stretch to make this a positive but the punting of Jack Daniels has been tremendous. He leads the nation (FCS) in punting heading into the weekend and though it is a part of the game that might get lost to the casual fan, a good punter is a weapon that teams can use to their advantage. Field position is such a big part of the game and punting plays a huge role in that.

Two negatives thru 2 games:

The conversions on third down have been dreadful (2/23) combined for weeks 1 & 2 and if Monmouth has any chance of getting back in the win column this has to get better. The responsibility for this falls on the offense and I am quite sure it has been the focus of meetings and practice for the last two weeks.

Injuries continue be a problem on the defensive side of the ball and with some players that won't be back at all this season, this could be an issue all season long. That being said the players that are on the field have to step up a little more and make plays when called on. It is easy for me to write that but when the team is missing up to 5 players that may have been starters on defense going into the season there are going to be some bumps and bruises along the way.

This games looms large for MU against ODU and it is believe or not a revenge game for the Monarchs. There is talent on both sides of the ball for ODU with speed and good returning QB in Tom DeMarco while the defense will show Monmouth a lot of different looks. A win will do wonders for the Hawks after bye week and before the conference opener. Any team that is 0-2 when it could be 2-0 there might be some confidence problems. There has to be a sense of urgency for MU this week as 0-3 is tough to bounce back from for any team.