Old Dominion defeats Liberty 21-7 in Week 5
Old Dominion dominated Liberty 21-7 on Saturday in Week 5, controlling the game with a balanced offensive attack despite multiple turnovers by the Monarchs.
Old Dominion scored 14 points in the second quarter and added a touchdown in the fourth to cruise to victory. Liberty's only score came in the third quarter. The Monarchs' ground game led the way, with Trequan Jones rushing for 89 yards, while receiver Tre' Brown III hauled in 81 receiving yards.
Old Dominion's offense struggled with ball security, fumbling in both the first and second quarters, with Liberty recovering both. The Monarchs also threw an interception in the third quarter. Despite the turnovers, Old Dominion's defense forced key plays when needed, highlighted by a fourth-quarter turnover that helped seal the win.
Liberty's passing attack managed only 77 yards from quarterback Michael Merdinger in a lopsided contest. The game stayed under the 53.5-point spread, and Liberty failed to cover as a 14.5-point underdog.
AI-generated recap · Aug 13, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Liberty | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
 Old Dominion | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Liberty | Old Dominion |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 6-12 | 18-26 |
| Pass Yards | 77 | 271 |
| Rush Yards | 130 | 219 |
| Total Yards | 207 | 490 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| 3rd Down | 4-13 | 6-14 |
| Penalties | 10-70 | 4-25 |
| Possession | 27:58 | 32:02 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Riley Callaghan kickoff for 62 yds , Julian Gray return for 54 yds to the ODU 43
Evan Dickens run for a loss of 1 yard to the ODU 44
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Julian Gray for 4 yds to the ODU 40
Evan Dickens run for 10 yds to the ODU 30 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 1 yd to the ODU 29
Evan Dickens run for 2 yds to the ODU 27
Michael Merdinger pass incomplete to Reese Smith
Jay Billingsley 46 yd FG MISSED
Colton Joseph pass complete to Tre' Brown III for 19 yds to the ODU 46 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 8 yds to the LIB 46
Trequan Jones run for 4 yds to the LIB 42 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 5 yds to the LIB 37
Trequan Jones run for 4 yds to the LIB 33
Trequan Jones run for 1 yd to the LIB 32 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph pass complete to Ja'Cory Thomas for 19 yds to the LIB 13 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 9 yds to the LIB 25 Trequan Jones fumbled, recovered by LIB Brylan Green
Michael Merdinger run for 6 yds to the LIB 31
Evan Dickens run for 4 yds to the LIB 35 for a 1ST down
PENALTY LU False Start (Geth,DJ) 5 yards from LU 35 to LU 30. NO PLAY.
Ethan Houck run for 8 yds to the LIB 38
Evan Dickens run for 5 yds to the LIB 43
Michael Merdinger run for 12 yds to the ODU 45 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 10 yds to the ODU 35 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 3 yds to the ODU 32
No Huddle-Shotgun Gray,Julian rush left for 5 yards gain to the ODU27 (Easterly,Mario; Frink,Zion) PENALTY LU Holding (Geth,DJ) 10 yards from ODU32 to ODU42. NO PLAY.
Michael Merdinger pass incomplete to Darius Copeland
No Huddle-Shotgun Williams,Caden rush middle for 7 yards gain to the ODU35 (Alisandro,Botros; Naotala,Seth) PENALTY LU Illegal Shift 5 yards from ODU42 to ODU47. NO PLAY.
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the ODU 44
Max Morgan punt for 44 yds for a touchback
Liberty Penalty, Targeting (15 Yards) to the ODU 39 for a 1ST down
Devin Roche run for 3 yds to the ODU 42
Colton Joseph pass complete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 4 yds to the ODU 46
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Tre' Brown III
Ian Brandt punt for 50 yds
Evan Dickens run for 1 yd to the LIB 5
Evan Dickens run for a loss of 2 yards to the LIB 3 Evan Dickens fumbled, recovered by ODU Ricardo Williams Jr.
Colton Joseph run for no gain to the LIB 3
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Ja'Cory Thomas
Colton Joseph pass complete to Maurki James for 1 yd Maurki James fumbled, recovered by LIB Bryce Dixon
Caden Williams run for 6 yds to the LIB 8
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the LIB 11
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Darius Copeland for 2 yds to the LIB 13 for a 1ST down
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Reese Smith for no gain to the LIB 13
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the LIB 16
Michael Merdinger sacked by Kris Trinidad for a loss of 8 yards to the LIB 8
Max Morgan punt for 61 yds
Colton Joseph run for 4 yds to the ODU 35
Colton Joseph pass complete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 20 yds to the LIB 45 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph pass incomplete
Colton Joseph run for 23 yds to the LIB 22 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph pass complete to TJ Johnson for 22 yds for a TD (Riley Callaghan KICK)
PENALTY LU Offside (Harmon,Damond) 2 yards from LU 03 to LU 01. NO PLAY.
Nathanial Eichner kickoff for 32 yds , Ethan Crisp return for no gain to the LIB 33
Caden Williams run for 2 yds to the LIB 35
Caden Williams run for 1 yd to the LIB 36
Michael Merdinger run for a loss of 2 yards to the LIB 34
PENALTY LU Delay Of Game 5 yards from LU 34 to LU 29. NO PLAY.
Max Morgan punt for 49 yds, fair catch by Devin Roche at the ODU 22
Trequan Jones run for 9 yds to the LIB 39
Colton Joseph pass complete to Ja'Cory Thomas for 8 yds to the LIB 31 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph pass complete to Tre' Brown III for 41 yds to the LIB 48 for a 1ST down
PENALTY ODU Personal Foul (Johnson,TJ) 11 yard from ODU22 to ODU11. NO PLAY.
Colton Joseph pass complete to Ja'Cory Thomas for 31 yds for a TD (Riley Callaghan KICK)
Nathanial Eichner kickoff for 44 yds , A'Khori Jones return for 14 yds to the LIB 35
PENALTY LU Delay Of Game 5 yards from LU 35 to LU 30. NO PLAY.
Ethan Houck run for 2 yds to the LIB 32
Ethan Houck pass intercepted Jeremy Mack Jr. return for no gain to the LIB 43
Colton Joseph run for 13 yds to the LIB 30 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph run for 18 yds to the LIB 12 for a 1ST down
Ke'Travion Hargrove run for 7 yds to the LIB 5
Ke'Travion Hargrove run for 1 yd to the LIB 4
Colton Joseph run for 2 yds to the LIB 2 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph pass complete to Jailen Butler for a loss of 1 yard to the LIB 3
Ke'Travion Hargrove run for 2 yds to the LIB 1
Colton Joseph run for a loss of 7 yards to the LIB 8 Colton Joseph fumbled, recovered by LIB Dexter Ricks Jr.
M. Merdinger takes a knee
M. Merdinger takes a knee
M. Merdinger takes a knee
End of 2nd Quarter
Max Morgan kickoff for 65 yds , Maurki James return for 20 yds to the ODU 20
Trequan Jones run for 6 yds to the ODU 26
Colton Joseph pass complete to Tre' Brown III for 7 yds to the ODU 33 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 6 yds to the ODU 39
Trequan Jones run for 2 yds to the ODU 41
Trequan Jones run for a loss of 3 yards to the ODU 38
Ian Brandt punt for 45 yds , Reese Smith returns for no gain to the LIB 17
Michael Merdinger pass incomplete to Donte Lee Jr.
Caden Williams run for 2 yds to the LIB 19
PENALTY LU False Start (Engbers,Joep) 5 yards from LU 19 to LU 14. NO PLAY.
Michael Merdinger pass incomplete to Jamari Person
Max Morgan punt for 50 yds , Devin Roche returns for 12 yds to the ODU 48
Colton Joseph pass intercepted A'Khori Jones return for 28 yds to the LIB 36
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Donte Lee Jr. for 53 yds to the ODU 11 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 4 yds to the ODU 7
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the ODU 4
Julian Gray run for 4 yds for a TD (Jay Billingsley KICK)
Max Morgan kickoff for 65 yds , Maurki James return for 29 yds to the ODU 36 Old Dominion Penalty, Illegal Block (9 Yards) to the ODU 9
Colton Joseph pass complete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 9 yds to the ODU 18
No Huddle-Shotgun Joseph,Colton pass incomplete short right thrown to ODU25 PENALTY ODU Ineligible Downfield on Pass (Joyce,Ryan) 5 yards from ODU18 to ODU13. NO PLAY.
Colton Joseph run for 22 yds to the ODU 35 for a 1ST down
Devin Roche run for 12 yds to the ODU 47 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph run for 6 yds to the LIB 47
Devin Roche run for 3 yds to the LIB 44
Devin Roche run for no gain to the LIB 44
Ian Brandt punt for 36 yds, fair catch by Reese Smith at the LIB 8
Caden Williams run for 11 yds to the LIB 19 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 2 yds to the LIB 21
Michael Merdinger sacked by Fred Giles for a loss of 7 yards to the LIB 14
Michael Merdinger pass incomplete to Jamari Person
PENALTY LU False Start (Jones,A'Khori) 5 yards from LU 14 to LU 09. NO PLAY.
Max Morgan punt for 41 yds
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Tre' Brown III
Ke'Travion Hargrove run for 4 yds to the LIB 46
Colton Joseph pass complete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 7 yds to the LIB 39 for a 1ST down
Ke'Travion Hargrove run for 5 yds to the LIB 34
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding
Old Dominion Penalty, Offensive Holding (Yards) declined
Riley Callaghan 52 yd FG MISSED
Caden Williams run for 6 yds to the LIB 40
Caden Williams run for 7 yds to the LIB 47 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 6 yds to the ODU 47
Julian Gray run for no gain to the ODU 47
Michael Merdinger run for 2 yds to the ODU 45
Ethan Houck run for 1 yd to the ODU 44
Colton Joseph pass complete to Ja'Cory Thomas for 1 yd to the ODU 45
Colton Joseph pass complete to Ja'Cory Thomas for 55 yds for a TD (Riley Callaghan KICK)
Caden Williams run for 6 yds to the LIB 31
Caden Williams run for 4 yds to the LIB 35 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the LIB 38
Michael Merdinger sacked for a loss of 6 yards to the LIB 32
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Julian Gray for 8 yds to the LIB 40
Max Morgan punt for 45 yds , Devin Roche returns for 8 yds to the ODU 23
Colton Joseph pass complete to TJ Johnson for no gain to the ODU 23
Trequan Jones run for 21 yds to the ODU 44 for a 1ST down
Colton Joseph run for 3 yds to the ODU 47
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Ja'Cory Thomas
Colton Joseph pass complete to Tre' Brown III for 14 yds to the LIB 39 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 5 yds to the LIB 34
Old Dominion Penalty, Intentional Grounding (Colton Joseph) to the LIB 45
Colton Joseph pass complete to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 14 yds to the LIB 31
Colton Joseph run for 3 yds to the LIB 28 for a 1ST down
No Huddle-Shotgun Joseph,Colton pass incomplete short middle to Abdul-Rahim Gladding,Na'eem thrown to LU 12, 1ST DOWN, PENALTY LU Pass Interference (Bodnar,Christian) 13 yards from LU 28 to LU 15, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Colton Joseph pass incomplete to Ja'Cory Thomas
Maurki James run for 3 yds to the LIB 12
Colton Joseph sacked by Eli Hall for a loss of 3 yards to the LIB 15
Riley Callaghan 32 yd FG MISSED
Michael Merdinger pass complete to Jacob Jenkins for 10 yds to the LIB 30 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 13 yds to the LIB 43 Caden Williams fumbled, recovered by ODU Lucas Struck
Devin Roche run for 6 yds to the LIB 37
Colton Joseph run for 3 yds to the LIB 34
Trequan Jones run for 5 yds to the LIB 29 for a 1ST down
Trequan Jones run for 4 yds to the LIB 25
Trequan Jones run for 3 yds to the LIB 22
Devin Roche run for 4 yds to the LIB 18 for a 1ST down
C. Joseph takes a knee