White tosses 4 TDs, Western Kentucky tops Old Dominion 59-24

 Mike White threw for 378 yards and four touchdowns and Western Kentucky beat Old Dominion 59-24 on Saturday night.

Scoring came at will for Western Kentucky (5-3, 3-1 Conference USA), logging points on eight of its first nine possessions to lead 52-14 at halftime.

White completed 28 of 32 passes and tossed three of his four first-half touchdowns to Taywan Taylor for 6, 14 and 54 yards.

Taylor led the Hilltoppers receiving corps by hauling in 10 catches for 123 yards and three TDs.

Western Kentucky had 459 of its 624 yards of offense in the first half and averaged 9.2 yards per play to win its third straight over Old Dominion (4-3, 2-1).

Anthony Wales ran for 157 yards and the first of two touchdowns on a 44-yard run on Western Kentucky's opening drive.

David Washington threw for 236 yards and had both of his TD passes in the second quarter for the Monarchs - to Zach Pascal and Travis Fulgham - as the highlight of an otherwise dismal night. The Old Dominion run game sputtered for 67 yards.

Old Dominion defensive back Jamshyer McUmber was ejected after a brawl on the Monarchs sideline cleared both benches midway through the third quarter. Every player from both teams received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the incident, which was the second of the night after a minor on-field scuffle in the first half.

THE TAKEAWAY

Old Dominion: The Monarchs' three-game win streak came to an end. On top of losing McUmber from an ejection, sophomore defensive end Daniel Appouh was taken off the field in an ambulance for an unknown injury.

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers defense responded well after giving up 55 points at Louisiana Tech and 43 to Middle Tennessee State.

UP NEXT

Old Dominion: The Monarchs are on the road for a second straight week at UTEP on Saturday.

Western Kentucky: One win from bowl eligibility for a sixth straight season, the Hilltoppers travel to Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

Cox runs for 162, 2 TDs, leads Old Dominion past UMass 36-16

Jeremy Cox ran for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns, leading Old Dominion to a 36-16 victory over Massachusetts on Friday night.

The game was moved up from Saturday because of Hurricane Matthew.

Ray Lawry added 88 yards and a touchdown, the 30th of his career, tying Thomas DeMarco for the ODU career record for rushing touchdowns.

David Washington was 20 of 35 for 248 yards. He threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Fulgham in the first quarter, when the Monarchs (4-2) took a 10-0 lead.

Lawry's score came late in the third quarter after UMass (1-5) had made it 22-16 on Andrew Ford's 11-yard TD pass to Andy Isabella.

Cox added his second score in the fourth quarter and Ron Thompson and Shadow Williams had interceptions to seal the win.

Marquis Young had 153 yards and a touchdown for UMass.

Turnovers help Old Dominion beat Charlotte 52-17

David Washington passed for three TDs, Jeremy Cox ran for three more and Old Dominion cashed in turnovers in a 52-17 win over Charlotte on Saturday.

Cox scored twice from 1-yard out in the first 9 minutes. Cox opened the scoring after Tim Ward recovered a fumble by Kevin Olsen. Then Sean Carter intercepted a pass by Olsen and Cox scored for a 14-0 lead for Old Dominion (3-2, 2-0 Conference USA).

Washington threw TD passes of 25 yards to Zach Pascal, 55 yards to Travis Fulgham and 9 yards to Isaiah Harper. He finished 14 of 25 for 256 yards. Gemonta Jackson scored on a 37-yard run and the Monarchs outgained Charlotte 481-354 total yards.

Olsen was 14 of 31 for 145 yards passing and hit Kalif Phillips on a 42-yard TD pass for Charlotte (1-4, 0-1). Hasaan Lugh scored on a 3-yard run and Stephen Muscarello added a short field goal.

Washington has 3 TDs, leads Old Dominion over UTSA 33-19

David Washington threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards and another score to lead Old Dominion to a 33-19 win over UTSA in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Saturday.

Jeremy Cox totaled a career-high 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Old Dominion (2-2, 1-0). Jonathan Duhart hauled in six passes for 86 yards and two scores

UTSA (1-3, 0-1) closed to 25-19 when Brady Jones hit Kirk Johnson on an 8-yard scoring strike after Johnson had passed back to Jones with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Monarchs got some breathing room in the final period when Washington passed to Duhart from the 1 for the final score.

Jarveon Williams rushed for 93 yards for the Roadrunners. Dalton Strum threw for 103 yards but was sacked for a minus 34 yards on the ground.

McClendon accounts for 3 TDs, NC State tops Monarchs 49-22

Backup quarterback Jalan McClendon rushed for two touchdowns and threw for a third, and North Carolina State beat Old Dominion 49-22 on Saturday night.

Starter Ryan Finley was 24 of 28 for 281 yards with three touchdown passes - two to Jaylen Samuels - to help the Wolfpack (2-1) bounce back from a dispiriting loss at East Carolina .

"It was a tough week, and our guys hung together," coach Dave Doeren said. "It wasn't perfect, but it was a lot better. ... We hung together, and we're going to stay together."

Finley, a graduate transfer from Boise State, beat out McClendon during preseason camp, and in his first two starts, N.C. State averaged 511 total yards and 39 points.

The Wolfpack gained 470 yards in this one - and might have found another weapon, with Doeren bringing McClendon for some goal-line situations.

McClendon produced touchdowns on each of his first three snaps: He scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards to help N.C. State take a 14-3 lead, then hitThaddeus Moss - the son of former NFL receiver Randy Moss - with a 3-yard scoring pass.

David Washington threw two touchdown passes to Zach Pascal and Jeremy Cox had a 65-yard touchdown run for Old Dominion (1-2), which has lost two straight. The Monarchs had just 63 total yards in the first half.

"We needed to play better offensively in the first half than we did," coach Bobby Wilder said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Old Dominion: Since the program launched in 2009, the Monarchs have yet to beat a power-conference team. This was their third loss to N.C. State in three seasons, their sixth loss to an Atlantic Coast Conference school since 2013, and they've yet to hold the Wolfpack to fewer than 38 points. Their next crack at the ACC comes next September when North Carolina visits. One problem: They didn't get much from RB Ray Lawry, who carried nine times for just 14 yards - well shy of what would have been his third straight 100-yard effort.

N.C. State: For much of the night, this didn't look a whole lot like the same N.C. State defense that gave up 445 total yards and 33 points to East Carolina. The final numbers might not look that way, but this effort was better. The Wolfpack allowed 321 total yards, but much of that came in three chunks: A 91-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter prolonged by a fake punt in ODU territory, and two other scoring drives in the fourth quarter after the Wolfpack already had the victory well in hand.

UP NEXT

Old Dominion: The Monarchs begin Conference USA play next week with a visit from a Texas-San Antonio team that probably should have held on to beat Arizona State on Friday night.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack have a week off before instate rival Wake Forest visits Oct. 1 to wrap up their manageable early season schedule.

Cox scores 3 TDs, Appalachian State tops Old Dominion 31-7

Marcus Cox ran for 133 yards with three first-half touchdowns and Appalachian State ran away from Old Dominion 31-7 on Saturday.

Cox scored on runs of 1, 2, and 10 yards - all following long drives - to help build a 24-7 lead at intermission. Michael Rubino added a 20-yard field goal.

On its first possession of the second half, ODU went for it on fourth-and-9 from the Mountaineers' 15, but David Washington was picked off by Clifton Duck in the end zone. After stopping Old Dominion on downs late in the game, Appalachian State (1-1) used an 11-play drive - which took over 5 minutes - before J.P. Caruso carried the last yard for the final score.

Ray Lawry rushed 15 times for 119 yards with a touchdown for the Monarchs (1-1).

Washington has 4 TD passes, Old Dominion beats Hampton 54-21

 David Washington passed for 187 yards and four touchdowns to help Old Dominion beat Hampton 54-21 in the season opener for both teams on Sunday.

It was originally scheduled for Saturday night but was rescheduled to avoid the peak impact of storm system Hermine.

Old Dominion led 31-21 and then scored the final 23 points starting with a safety in the middle of the third quarter. Less than four minutes later, Aaron Young intercepted Jayl Williamson's pass and returned it 15 yards to give ODU a 40-21 lead before the end of the third.

Washington threw his fourth touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth and Jeremy Cox added a 12-yard TD run to cap the scoring.

Ray Lawry had 110 yards rushing and 62 yards receiving for the Monarchs, running for a TD and catching another.

Rashawn Proctor had 161 yards receiving for Hampton.

Old Dominion Monarchs

The Monarchs won each of their final three games in 2014 on the final play to finish their first season at the FBS level with at 6-6 record. 

Running back Ray Lawry earned C-USA Freshman of the Year honors after rushing for an ODU single-season record 947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He led all league freshman backs with a school-record 7.1 yards per carry and tied for third in C-USA with 16 rushing TDs. 

Quarterback Taylor Heinicke is gone after a spectacular four-year career in which he passed for 14,959 yards and tossed 132 touchdown passes. Two players are in the running to replace the record-setting signal-caller. Shuler Bentley redshirted in 2014 sitting after a standout career at Byrnes High School in South Carolina. A USA Today Parade All-American and two-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, Bentley has a year of fall practice and off-season training under his belt. Sophomore Joey Verhaegh comes in from Fullerton CC after throwing for 2,515 yards and 18 touchdowns as a sophomore. Verhaegh and Bentley will compete in the first ODU quarterback competition in spring football since Thomas DeMarco won the job in 2009. 

Senior David Washington was Heinicke’s backup in 2013 and 2014, but added another role in 2014: starting wide receiver. The redshirt junior caught 47 passes for 599 yards and four touchdowns and the game-winning touchdown in the overtime thriller against Louisiana Tech. The plan is for Washington to stay at wide receiver but take some snaps at quarterback.