Minium: ODU Football Enters Home Opener Saturday Against N.C. Central With High Expectations
In spite of ODU's many mistakes in last week's 27-14 loss at Indiana, the high preseason expectations that the media and most fans had for this team remain justified. This could be a special season for ODU.
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Saturday’s 2025 debut at No. 20 Indiana was far from perfect for the Old Dominion football team.
The Monarchs had three interceptions, a punt returned for a touchdown and, with the exception of touchdowns runs of 75 and 78 yards by quarterback Colton Joseph, the offense was largely unable to move the ball.
And ODU’s defense gave up 308 rushing yards.
But I saw a ton of good things in ODU’s 27-14 loss. In spite of the mistakes, the high preseason expectations that the media and most fans had for this team remain justified.
This could be a very special season for the Monarchs.
Indiana was almost surely the best team that ODU will face, a Big Ten team that was coming off an 11-2 season and a College Football Playoff appearance.
As ODU Head Coach Ricky Rahne said, without the mistakes the Monarchs could have won.
“We showed that when we play consistently and don’t make mistakes, we can play with anyone in the country,” Rahne said.
The good folks at ESPN agree that the Monarchs show a lot of promise.
ESPN's college football power rankings have ODU ranked fourth among the 14 Sun Belt Conference schools, behind James Madison, Texas State and App State.
Overall, ODU is ranked 82nd nationally among the nation’s 134 FBS programs. And while it’s still very early, that’s not a bad place to be.
Some bright spots as the Monarchs prepare for their home opener Saturday against North Carolina Central:
* ODU’s defense was rock solid in the red zone as it has traditionally been under defensive coordinator Blake Seiler. Indiana went for the TD twice on fourth down and was twice denied by the Monarchs. IU scored four times on seven possessions inside the 20, but twice the ODU defense forced Indiana to kick field goals. And while the Monarchs gave up 502 yards, that was in large part because ODU’s offense left the D on the field too long, for 41:28 of the game’s 60 minutes and 89 of the game’s 134 plays.
* The offensive line gave Joseph stellar protection against a defense ranked second nationally a year ago. Joseph generally had enough time to throw and was sacked just once. The Hoosiers at times got frustrated as they tried without success to get their hands on Joseph. “They’ve got some pretty good edge rushers, and I thought our pass protection was pretty good,” Rahne said.
* The defensive backfield was rebuilt from nearly top to bottom in the offseason, and although the Monarchs gave up some yardage, the pass coverage was good. ODU has some good athletes in the backfield, which was a huge question mark entering this season. Nickendre Stiger, a senior transfer from Kansas State, had eight tackles and a forced fumble and broke up a fourth-down pass when the Hoosiers went for it from the ODU 1. He could emerge as a big playmaker for the Monarchs. Safety Mario Easterly had 13 tackles – he’s tied for 15th nationally with 10 other players. Sophomore safety Jerome Carter had 11 tackles, including nine unassisted, and cornerback Zion Frink had seven tackles, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
* Ian Brandt, the redshirt sophomore from State College, Pennsylvania, boomed six punts for 303 yards, an average of 50.5 per punt, which ranks him ninth nationally in FBS. “Even on the punt return for a touchdown, it was a good punt,” Rahne said.
* ODU’s linebacker Jason Henderson, the All-American who played his first amount of significant football in nearly two years, looked healthy. He had five tackles, including a tackle for a loss. Henderson had season-ending knee surgery before ODU’s 2023 bowl game. “I thought Jason played pretty well,” Rahne said, “especially for the first time playing significant ball in a long time. I thought he got better as the as the game went. I think his best ball was in the fourth quarter.”
Joseph was spectacular on his two long TD runs and ran the offense with confidence and, Rahne said, made most of the right reads. His 179 yards on 10 rushes rank fifth nationally in FBS. His 179 yards are the third most in a single game so far this season.
But ODU must be able to sustain some offensive drives in order to compete for a Sun Belt title and a bowl bid.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Rahne said. “Generally, a team takes its biggest steps forward between games one and game No. 2. And I think that will the case for us.”
Although N.C. Central is an FCS school, the Monarchs will be hosting a very good football team.
Head Coach Trei Oliver, an N.C. Central alumnus who grew up on Yorktown, Virginia, is coming off three of the best seasons in school history. In 2022, the Eagles were 10-2 and defeated Jackson State, 41-34, in the Celebration Bowl. Jackson State was then coached by Deion Sanders.
Central was 9-3 in 2023 and earned a bid to the FCS playoffs and was 8-3 last season – a three-year record of 27-8.
The Eagles are 1-1 following a 27-10 home loss to New Hampshire. They were picked to finish second in the MEAC and had eight players on the preseason All-MEAC team, including quarterback Walker Harris, a fifth-year senior who completed 22 of 27 passes for 186 yards and a TD in a season-opening win over Southern University.
Tailback Chris Mosley, a 5-11, 180-pound redshirt senior, has rushed 36 times for 290 yards and a touchdown in two games.
“This is a very good team,” Rahne said. “They have four returning offensive linemen. They have two returning tight ends and they have a quarterback who is a returning starter. They have returning starters at wide receiver and five returning starters on defense.
“And when you watch the tape, they have great fan support. I mean, their stadium is rocking and rolling.
“This team doesn’t have the illusion that this week, we get to play big-time football. They play big-time football every week.”
“It’s impressive in the world of NIL and the transfer portal that they’ve been able to keep this team together,” Seiler added. “Their quarterback is experienced and a very good leader.
“This will be a big challenge.”
Saturday’s game begins at 6 p.m. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram