Arkansas State had a pretty decent idea of what it would be up against before it even took off for Norfolk, Va., on Friday afternoon.
Right tackle Robert Holmes wasn't on the plane after suffering an apparent knee injury the previous weekend, ending his season after three games. Leading wide receiver Champ Flemings and standout defensive end Kivon Bennett both also stayed back in Jonesboro with undisclosed injuries.
And if things weren't dire enough for the Red Wolves at that point, some extra salt got tossed into the wound just before kickoff when wideout Te'Vailance Hunt -- a game-time decision for the second week in a row -- was ruled out.
Those injuries alone weren't a death knell for the Red Wolves. Despite twice surrendering a lead in the final 20 minutes Saturday night at Old Dominion, ASU had a pair of opportunities to either tie or go ahead in the late stages.
But a failure to execute down the stretch in a 29-26 loss was yet another reminder of the Red Wolves' lack of depth and experience.
"We're a beat-up football team right now," ASU Coach Butch Jones said in his postgame radio interview. "We've got a lot of players that are laying on the line right now and again, I can't speak [enough] volumes about their competitive character. But...there have been some lessons with some youngsters."
On the game's last drive, the Red Wolves completed passes to tight end Seydou Traore and wide receivers Daverrick Jenkins and Reagan Ealy -- two true sophomores in Traore and Ealy and a freshman in Jenkins -- the 18-yard grab was only the second of his collegiate career.
That's on top of starting Khyheem Waleed, a redshirt sophomore who entered the day with four catches in his ASU career, in Hunt's stead and putting Noah Smith at right tackle for the redshirt freshman's first career start.
If there's one place the Red Wolves do have a veteran backup, it's at quarterback, and that spot too was tested when James Blackman hobbled off the field late in the third quarter following a hard hit on the Monarchs' go-ahead interception return.
When he was called upon, Miami (Ohio) transfer A.J. Mayer showed himself well. The 6-3, 231-pound junior utilized his legs to run for 46 yards on seven carries with a 23-yard touchdown that temporarily gave ASU a 26-21 advantage in the fourth quarter.
The Red Wolves can take solace in knowing that if Blackman goes down again, they have a competent understudy. At the same time, further ailments won't do ASU any favors with Jones' team now on a three-game losing streak.
"[We were] in some critical moments with some freshmen today where we needed some plays and their eyes were a little bit big," Jones said. "The only way is you work through it and you learn through those experiences."