NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion football will play Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday, Dec. 20, ESPN announced during its bowl special on Sunday. ODU and Tulsa will meet at Coastal Carolina's Brooks Stadium at 2:30 p.m. in a game to be televised nationally on ESPN.
"We are thankful for the opportunity to play in the Myrtle Beach Bowl," ODU head coach Ricky Rahne said. "This is the perfect spot for our fans to celebrate a fun season and gives our players a final chance to go 1-0!"
BOWL CENTRAL PAGE
The Bowl Central Page includes ticket information, travel options, a listing of on-site bowl events and much more information for fans planning to attend the bowl game.
Fans can click here to purchase tickets and enter promo code "ODU21." By doing so, fans are assured they will sit on the ODU side of the stadium and will receive Old Dominion Athletic Foundation priority points.
Purchasing tickets with the ODU21 code also ensures the ODU athletic department receives a greater portion of bowl revenue and will enhance ODU's chances of landing future bowl bids.
"We are absolutely thrilled to be headed to the Myrtle Beach Bowl," ODU Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig said. "Certainly, Ricky Rahne and our amazing coaching staff did a wonderful job this season getting such a young team in such an enviable post season position. Our student-athletes have battled so hard all season and rose to the challenge and will be rewarded for all their sacrifice and commitment. Bowl games are wonderful opportunities for fans and teams to gather together and celebrate the conclusion of a successful season. We hope thousands of ODU fans will make the short and easy trip to Myrtle Beach in support of our Monarchs and show a national TV audience and future bowl committees how well we travel. What a great way to cap off this 2021 season."
ODU enters the bowl game on a five-game winning streak that began with a 23-20 victory over Louisiana Tech.
The Monarchs defeated the Bulldogs on a 46-yard field goal from Nick Rice as time expired. ODU defeated Charlotte 56-34 in the final game of the regular season to win its fifth straight and become bowl eligible.
The bowl game will be the second in program history and first since the Bahamas Bowl in 2016. Rahne will coach in his first bowl game as a head coach, but the bowl game will be his 11th consecutive playing season that will feature a bowl game.
Running back Blake Watson led the way offensively with a single-season school record 201 carries for 1,035 yards, becoming the second ODU player to gain 1,000 yards in a season, joining Ray Lawry who did it twice.
Tight end Zack Kuntz leads ODU with 71 receptions and is second in the country in receptions by a tight end. Wide receiver Ali Jennings III earned Oyster Bowl MVP honors last week in the win over Charlotte with nine grabs for 252-yards and three touchdowns and was also named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week.
ODU's rush defense is the best in school history, allowing 125 yards per game and is ranked 27th in the country. Defensive tackle Alonzo Ford leads the defensive front four with 35 tackles, while linebacker Jordan Young is ninth in Conference USA with 93 tackles.
Young is one tackle shy of breaking Craig Wilkins ODU career record for tackles with 340.
Safety R'Tarriun Johnson is second on the team with 78 tackles and six pass breakups and is tied with Joe Joe Headen for the team lead with two interceptions.
Tulsa is 6-6 overall and went 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference. The Golden Hurricanes started the season 0-3 and were 3-6 before winning three straight to finish the regular season 6-6. Tulsa was one of just two teams (Navy) to play Cincinnati to a one-score game.
Tulsa also led Oklahoma State 17-14 in the fourth quarter on the road before losing, 28-23, to a team that finished 11-2 and was inches away from beating Baylor in the Big 12 championship game.
Tulsa is led by seventh year head coach Philip Montgomery, who came to Tulsa after spending seven years at Baylor, including the final three as offensive coordinator.
Offensive lineman Tyler Smith and defensive tackle Jaxon Player earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors, while offensive tackle Chris Paul and linebacker Justin Wright earned honorable mention.
Quarterback Davis Brin has passed for 2,984 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Shamari Brooks rushed for 959 yards and six scores.
Wright leads the team with 77 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
ODU and Tulsa were both in Conference USA when ODU joined the league in 2013-14. However, Tulsa left in 2014-15 to join the Big East, which later became the AAC.
The schools have never met in football.
Old Dominion to Play Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 20
