RJ Young

National college football analyst at FOX Sports

Monarchs of the old Dominions Rank: 73/134

(Check out RJ Young’s ultimate 134 college football rankings here)

Conference ranking: 11th in the Sun Belt (+3000 to win the conference)
The teams ahead of them: Minnesota (72), Marshall (71), South Florida (70), UNLV (69), California (68)
Teams behind: UCLA (74), Northwestern (75), Houston (76), Miami of Ohio (77), Mississippi State (78)

(Old Dominion 2024 schedule)

RJ’s opinion: Ricky Rahne turned 1-11 ODU in 2020 into a 6-7 program that seemed to be on its way to winning year after year. In 2024, he’s 15-23 and the thought of being a perennial Sun Belt title contender made him do Tigger and jump ship. Bowl eligibility is their thing: Finish up at 6-6 and see where you’ll be playing postseason in the first half of December.

He brings back QB Grant Wilson and talented receiver Kelby Williams, who caught 26 passes for an average of 17.4 yards per catch. He also brought in two former P4 RBs in Aaron Young and Bryce Duke, who may help them win the games they lost by just one point (5). Then we can talk about the title game.

And then there’s all-slept-on LB Jason Henderson, who had 170 tackles last season, including 19.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 186 tackles, 10 for loss, and a sack in 2022.

Old Dominion overall odds of winning: Over 4.5 (-110) Under 4.5 (-120)

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