Monarchs Take Down Liberty 21–7 Behind Joseph’s Three Touchdowns

By Cody Eaves/ Eaves Photography LLC. | Ejsports

NORFOLK, Va. — Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph delivered a career night on Saturday, throwing three touchdown passes to lead the Monarchs past Liberty 21–7 at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Joseph completed 18 of 26 passes for 271 yards and connected twice with wideout Ja’Cory Thomas, including a 55-yard strike late in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. T.J. Johnson added the third touchdown grab, while the ODU rushing attack piled up 218 yards to keep Liberty’s defense on its heels all night. Despite rolling up nearly 500 yards of total offense, the Monarchs left points on the board. Five trips to the red zone produced just two touchdowns as a missed field goal, a fumble, and a kneel-down in the closing seconds stalled drives. Liberty, meanwhile, never found rhythm offensively. Starting his first collegiate game, backup quarterback Michael Merdinger managed just 77 passing yards as the Flames were held to 203 yards overall. Their lone highlight came on a 53-yard pass from Merdinger to Donte Lee, setting up a short touchdown run that cut the deficit to 14–7 in the third quarter. The Flames appeared to gain momentum after that score, but a failed quarterback sneak on 4th-and-2 at midfield swung momentum back to ODU. The Monarchs capitalized two drives later with Joseph’s long touchdown pass to Thomas, putting the game out of reach.

Penalties and miscues also haunted Liberty. The Flames turned the ball over three times, missed a field goal, and committed 10 penalties for 70 yards. Injuries compounded the struggles, with running back Evan Dickens sidelined after the first half.

With the win, Old Dominion improves to 3–1, carrying confidence into Sun Belt Conference play. Liberty drops to 1–4 and faces mounting questions on offense as it turns its focus back to Conference USA competition.