Minium: ODU Football Begins Sun Belt Play Against Coastal Carolina With a Ton of Momentum
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – The perception of Old Dominion football has changed dramatically since the season began just over a month ago.
The media didn’t think much of ODU in August. The Monarchs were picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt East Division by coaches and the media, and several national publications predicted a 5-7 finish for ODU.
With a schedule front-loaded with road games at nationally-ranked Indiana and Virginia Tech, and a home game against a Liberty team the Monarchs hadn’t beaten since 2013, a 1-3 start was widely predicted.
But ODU is 3-1 and is suddenly viewed not just as a very good college football team, but perhaps a contender for the College Football Playoff. The Monarchs haven't been 3-1 since 2014.
The Monarchs came relatively close at Indiana, losing, 27-14, to the now eighth-ranked Hoosiers, and then blew out North Carolina Central, 54-6.
Then came a shocking, 45-26, victory at Virginia Tech in which the final score understated just how dominant ODU was. Last weekend, the Monarchs overcame four turnovers and a drenching rainstorm to defeat Liberty, 21-7.
The close loss to Indiana and win at Virginia Tech look better now than they did a few weeks ago. Indiana is 5-0, with recent victories over nationally-ranked Illinois (63-10) and Iowa (20-15), while Virginia Tech has won two in a row, pounding Wofford (38-6) and upsetting North Carolina State (23-21) in Raleigh.
So, it’s not surprising that the Monarchs are now getting a ton of respect.
ODU is rated 54th in the ESPN power rankings, ahead of Wisconsin, N.C. State, Michigan State, Boston College and Pitt. The Monarchs are in every bowl projection, with USA Today's projection my favorite: on Dec. 17 vs. UConn in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
And while Memphis is widely considered the favorite to garner the Group of Six College Football Playoff bid, ESPN gives ODU a 15 percent chance of going to the playoffs and a 53 percent chance of winning the Sun Belt East Division.
Not since the College Football Playoff started in 2014 has ODU ever been in the discussion of the national championship tournament.
ODU has also cranked out some impressive stats. ODU ranks first in the Sun Belt and 22nd nationally in total offensive yards with 468 per game. And the defense held Liberty to 210 yards, a school record for ODU against an FBS opponent.
Already, some in the media are looking at ODU’s road game on Oct. 18 at James Madison as the contest likely to settle the East Division title.
Of course, the Monarchs have two games before the trip to Harrisonburg, the next against Coastal Carolina, which visits ODU Saturday night at 6 in the Monarchs’ Sun Belt Conference opener.
An aside here: get your tickets now if you can. Only 1,500 remain for the game and given how psyched the fan base appears to be, I would expect a sellout.
Click here for ODU football tickets
Defensive back Jerome Carter, who leads ODU with two interceptions, said no one is looking ahead to JMU.
“This is our conference opener and conference games are what matter the most,” he said. “We approach every week the same. We’ve got to dominate in practice, study film and go out and play well.”
All he and his teammates are thinking about now is Coastal Carolina, he added.
ODU Head Coach Ricky Rahne smiled when asked if he and his players are listening to all the noise on social media.
“Well, we didn’t pay attention to the noise when it was the other way, so we probably shouldn’t pay attention to it now,” he said. “If you don’t pay attention when people are telling you that you’re ugly, you shouldn’t pay attention when they tell you that you’re pretty.”
Point taken.
Asked if he is drinking in the new-found respect for ODU’s program, he shook his head.
“I’m pretty indifferent about it,” he said. “I like the respect that we get from other coaches when they’ve watched our tape or after they’ve played us. That’s the type of respect, from other players and other coaches, that you can kind of hang your hat on.”
Coastal Head Coach Tim Beck had nothing but wonderful things to say about ODU during his press appearances on Monday, as you would expect, and especially Monarch quarterback Colton Joseph.
Joseph has completed 64 of 94 passes for 900 yards and eight touchdowns and is 16th nationally in passing efficiency. He’s also second nationally in rushing yards by a quarterback with 91.8 per game.
“He’s a dynamic player right now,” Beck said. “He’s really playing at a high level. Running the football and making great decisions and throwing the football.
“Old Dominion is playing extremely well and is extremely confident right now.”
Coastal (2-2 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) got off to a slow start. The Chanticleers were blown out at Virginia, 48-7, in their opener and then, after holding off FCS Charleston Southern, 13-0, got blown out at home by East Carolina, 38-0.
The Chanticleers began to find their rhythm on Sept. 20 at South Alabama. Beck has now settled on quarterback Tad Hudson as his starter and he accounted for three touchdowns in the 38-20 win in Mobile, Alabama.
Coastal forced three turnovers, including a fourth-quarter sack by defensive end Noah Arinze that was recovered and returned for a touchdown that sealed the victory. Arinze was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
Hudson, a former four-star recruit out of the Charlotte area, transferred to Coastal after a season at North Carolina.
“He’s playing fast and he’s playing physical,” Rahne said. “And Coastal played really, really well at South Alabama.
“We know it’s going to be a big challenge.”
“Non-conference games,” added wide receiver Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, “are important, but our conference games mean so much more.”
As for media expectations, he said he and his teammates aren’t listening to the national hype.
“Not at all,” he said. "It’s the media’s job to do what they do and it’s our job to go out there and play football.”
And with eight Sun Belt games to go, there’s a lot of football yet to be played.
Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram