Old Dominion couldn't just forfeit in the final quarter of what would ultimately be a 80-20 rout by North Carolina, so it agreed to move things along as quickly as it could.
Mutual agreement by UNC and ODU coaches shortens fourth quarter to 10 minutes. UNC leads 80-20.
— ACC Now (@accnow) November 23, 2013
Oddly, Old Dominion led the game 10-7 early in the in the game and it was just a 14-13 North Carolina lead at the end of the first quarter.
But that’s when the floodgates opened. The Tar Heels scored five touchdowns in the second quarter and then a sixth in the third quarter before Old Dominion was able to get back on the board.
North Carolina would go on to score four more times in the third quarter before the decision to shorten the fourth quarter was made.
The Tar Heels racked up 723 yards and were pretty balanced offensively with 408 yards passing and 315 rushing. Quarterback Marquise Williams, who stepped in a few weeks ago when senior Bryn Renner was injured, threw for all the passing yards and five scores.
We’ve seen some games get the running clock treatment in the fourth quarter, but I don’t think we’ve seen a losing team agree to a shortened quarter to just end the misery.
That’s all right, though. These are just growing pains for an Old Dominion team that is an FBS Independent and will join Conference USA in 2014.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday