NORFOLK, Va. – Let me state what should be obvious to every Old Dominion football fan – Saturday's home game against Appalachian State is a big game, the biggest ODU has played in 2023 and perhaps the biggest it will play all season.
And considering ODU's 3-3 record, and App State's football prowess, this game should sell out.
Fortunately, we are close to that threshold now. Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for the game, which is also Port Day and the annual Oyster Bowl game. Some student tickets remain unclaimed as well.
It seems likely the game will end up selling out. And frankly, if ODU is going to become a staple in the Group of Five, this is the kind of game the Monarchs must sell out.
When App State last played, on Tuesday of last week, the Mountaineers drew a sellout crowd. ODU's game at James Madison next weekend is also sold out.
ODU fans need to understand we must do the same to compete in the nation's best college football conference outside the Power Five.
Truthfully, at 3-3, the Monarchs are where the most optimistic of ODU fans hoped they would be heading into the second half of the season. The Monarchs lost three games in which they were definite underdogs – at Virginia Tech and Marshall and at home against Wake Forest.
Yes, it hurt that the Monarchs had big leads against Wake and Marshall, but many prognosticators picked ODU to finish 2-10. Clearly, this team is better than that.
The Monarchs won the one game they were supposed to win – against Texas A&M University-Commerce and defeated Louisiana at home and Southern Miss on the road.
Saturday night the Monarchs host App State at 7 in a game that could do much to enhance the ODU football brand.
The game will be televised nationally on the NFL Network, which reaches about half of the 123.8 million TV homes in America. It will also be seen across much of Europe and South America, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil.
If you're a fan who has been frustrated at times by mistakes the Monarchs have made, remember that ODU is among the least experienced teams in the country.
Exactly half of the 116 players on ODU's roster were newcomers. ODU did not have a quarterback who had thrown a pass in an FBS game and or had ever started a college game.
Given all the inexperience, you can understand why ODU was picked 14th among the 14 Sun Belt teams.
Mistakes? Of course there have been mistakes. These are college kids, who until seven weeks ago had never played a game together.
Head coach Ricky Rahne said the Monarchs are learning from their mistakes and getting better each game.
"We've corrected some mistakes and others have popped up and we've corrected those," Rahne said. "So, it's not like that we can't do it. Each player has shown they can do it.
"For me, the exciting part is that we're still able to compete for a championship, compete for postseason play, and I don't think we've played anywhere near our best football yet."
It will take a very good effort to beat App State. Even though App is 3-3, "that's still a very good football team," defensive coordinator Blake Seiler said.
No kidding. App State lost at North Carolina, now ranked tenth nationally, in double overtime and dropped a heartbreaker to Coastal Carolina on a last-second field goal.
And the Mountaineers arguably have the best football resume in the Sun Belt.
They won three national championships and upset No. 5 Michigan in 2007, considered in many circles to be the biggest upset ever in college football, while they played in what is now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.
Since moving to FBS, they've gone to seven bowl games in the eight years they've been eligible and are 6-1 in bowl games. They've won four Sun Belt titles.
App State has developed a keen rivalry with North Carolina and ODU defensive tackle Jahlil Taylor, a transfer from UNC, played in a pair of two-point games against the Mountaineers, which the teams split.
"They've had so much success," Taylor said. "They've always been consistent, and they've got a great tradition.
"That gives us all a level of respect for them. But it also gives us that hunger to go out and do the right things against a team with that kind of brand."
And like Rahne, he said the best is yet to come from the Monarchs.
"I don't think we've put our best game together yet. We've been striving to get there. We've been getting better each week, but we haven't done it yet," he said.
Running back Keshawn Wicks played for ODU in 2021 when the Monarchs won their last five games to claim their first bowl bid in five seasons.
"That team had so much toughness and consistently fought back," he said. "That's something that I've seen in this team.
"We're at the part of the season where we can do that again, and still have a shot at a championship."
A victory would keep ODU very much in the race for the Sun Belt East title and would be a major step toward securing another bowl bid.
ODU's fans stood tall in 2021. The Monarchs took 5,000 very loud, very supportive fans to the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Let's hope they stand tall again Saturday.
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Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: App State is a Big Game for ODU Football That Warrants a Sellout Crowd
