Inside the Sun Belt · recap

Old Dominion rushed for minus 14 yards

Delaware State and Norfolk State both won on Saturday and both have their own pieces. The rest of the beat went 2-3, and one of those losses produced a number we had to check twice.

James Madison 46, Old Dominion 20

Old Dominion finished with minus 14 rushing yards.

That figure needs its context, because it is not quite the indictment it looks like. College football charges sack yardage against team rushing, and Ryan Huff was sacked nine times. Take the sacks out and the Monarchs ran it about as badly as they have all year rather than impossibly badly. Devin Roche carried eight times for 18 yards.

Nine sacks is its own story anyway, and so is who was taking them. Quinn Henicle missed the game with an undisclosed injury, which put Huff, a redshirt freshman, into his first career start for the Sun Belt opener against an undefeated team. He went 20-of-39 for 261 with a touchdown to Leon Haughton and an interception, and spent the afternoon on his back.

We previewed this game by saying the path where Old Dominion did not lose ran through Roche and Henicle on the ground, and that they needed to score in more than one quarter. Henicle did not play, the ground game produced nothing, and they scored in three quarters and still lost by 26. James Madison led 30-7 in the second.

Camden Coleman threw four touchdown passes for the Dukes, who are 4-0 and 1-0 in the conference. Morgan Suarez kicked four field goals. George Pettaway ran for 110.

Old Dominion is 1-3 with the conference schedule now open.

Duke 62, William & Mary 7

The Tribe gained 170 yards and rushed for 17 of them on 29 carries.

Duke scored on its way to 638 yards, 286 of them on the ground. That is the fifth straight game an opponent has run through William & Mary, after Villanova at 157, Delaware State at 174, Lehigh at 366 and Fordham at 428. The number moved in the right direction this week only because Duke stopped needing it.

This one is easier to file than the Fordham loss. Duke is 4-0, plays in the ACC, and was never going to be a fair fight. The Fordham game is still the one that describes this team.

William & Mary is 2-3 and hosts Richmond in November with a lot to sort out before then.

Virginia Tech 21, Boston College 14

The Hokies are 4-0, and they won this one the hard way.

Boston College led 7-6 going into the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech scored 15 in the final fifteen minutes to win it. Jeffrey Overton Jr. carried 25 times for 209 yards and a touchdown, and the Hokies ran for 223 as a team after Ethan Grunkemeyer had spent September throwing it.

Two weeks ago we introduced Virginia Tech to this beat by noting they had won at Maryland by throwing for 314. On Saturday they won at Boston College by running it 42 times. A team that can do both in consecutive road games is a better team than we assumed in August.

Virginia 42, Delaware 3

Beau Pribula went 24-of-28 for 279 and four touchdowns.

That is an 86 percent completion rate, and it came a week after Virginia lost in Charlotte and gave up 437 yards to West Virginia. Rico Flores Jr. caught nine for 113 and a score. Delaware managed 160 total yards.

Virginia is 3-1 and the West Virginia loss looks more like a bad afternoon than a trend, which is roughly what you would expect from a team that beat NC State and Norfolk State by a combined 93-11 earlier in the season.

Campbell 44, Hampton 20

Campbell scored 31 points in the third quarter.

Hampton was tied 13-13 at halftime and lost by 24, which has become the shape of their season. Kamden Sixkiller went 24-of-31 for 308 and five touchdowns for the Camels. Tre'Von Taylor threw for 259 and two interceptions for Hampton and was also their leading rusher with 35 yards.

The Pirates are 1-4. Since beating Virginia-Lynchburg in the opener they have lost to Maryland, Bryant, Norfolk State and Campbell by a combined 179-44. Van Malone's first season has not turned yet.

Where the beat stands

Norfolk State 3-2. Delaware State 3-2. Virginia 3-1. Virginia Tech 4-0. William & Mary 2-3. Old Dominion 1-3. Hampton 1-4.

Virginia Tech has the best record on this beat and nobody predicted that in August, including us.