NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It was a pledge Ricky Rahne made to his team at halftime and he wasn't about to go back on his word.
After Old Dominion's 10-3 win at Appalachian State, Rahne took to a nearby hill and unleashed a face-first, shirtless slide down a mud trail to field level. It was a moment that seemed like a collective exhale for a squad eager for a turnaround after four straight defeats.
"As the game kept going they kept mentioning to me and mentioning it to me," Rahne recalled. "I didn't say I was going to do it with my shirt off. That was a bad decision, but life's not very fun without a few bad decisions."
The moment quickly caught fire on the internet. After ODU's football account posted the video of the head coach's celebration, national outlets picked it and shared it on their respective social media pages.
"The thing I don't like about it is I feel like it took away from how well the guys played," he noted. "That made it more the story as opposed to how physical our guys played and how much they overcame to win that game, which I wish would've been more of the story."
It may have been Old Dominion's most complete game of the campaign. Their offense eclipsed the 300 total yard mark for the first time since the Monarchs' second game of the year at Virginia Tech. The defense, maybe with some minimal help from the weather, held App State's Sun Belt-leading passing offense at bay and kept the Mountaineers to 158 total yards.
Now the silver and blue have a short week as Georgia Southern visits Norfolk on Thursday night. The Eagles are 2-4, 1-1 in Sun Belt play, and come in having lost three in a row in the series with ODU. Quarterback Max Johnson is now the Sun Belt leader in passing, posting 262 yards per contest and GSU boasts talent on both sides of the ball.
Kick off is set for 7:30 at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
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