Week 3: Old Dominion vs Virginia Tech

Old Dominion opened 2025 with a 27-14 loss at No. 20 Indiana, then bounced back with a commanding 54-6 win over North Carolina Central.

The Monarchs travel on Saturday to Virginia Tech, which is still searching for its first win after losses to No. 13 South Carolina and Vanderbilt. ODU is coming off a 5-7 season that included a 37-17 loss to the Hokies. Virginia Tech’s offense is still settling, but both first halves have shown flashes that Hokies can build on.

While Tech aims to break into the win column, Old Dominion looks to carry over last week’s momentum. Quarterback Colton Joseph — who ripped off touchdown runs of 75 and 78 yards at Indiana — has shown the Monarchs can score quickly when they find the space.

The odds may favor the Hokies, but overlooking ODU would be a mistake.

Old Dominion

In Week 2, the Monarchs looked sharp after a shaky start. Two empty possessions gave way to a punt miscue that turned into a safety, helping ODU build a 16-3 halftime lead.

They slammed the door in the third quarter. On the first snap, Trequan Jones broke a program-record 93-yard touchdown run. Old Dominion outscored NC Central 28-3 in the quarter, finished with 545 total yards and cruised to a 54-6 win.

Jones was the star: five carries, 163 yards and three touchdowns (14, 39, 93). Joseph went 19-of-24 for 257 yards, threw three touchdowns and added 52 rushing yards with another score. He finished without an interception.

Compared to Week 1 at Indiana, the improvement was clear: zero interceptions as opposed to three, a safety on special teams instead of allowing a 91-yard punt-return touchdown and 136 rushing yards allowed rather than 309.

“We go into every game with the attitude that is we play up to our expectations up to our potential, that we can win the game,” ODU head coach Ricky Rahne said Monday. “I wouldn’t bring these players here if I didn’t believe they could help Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech.”

Virginia Tech

The Hokies enter Week 3 at 0-2 after opening with two SEC opponents. Against South Carolina, Tech scored on two John Love field goals (29, 56) and a first-half safety. Late explosive plays — an 80-yard-punt-return touchdown and a 64-yard pass — sealed a 24-11 loss.

Against Vanderbilt, Tech led 20-10 at the halftime but was outscored 34-0 in the second half. Vanderbilt piled up 490 yards to Tech’s 248, including 262 rushing. The first half showed balance and finish, but the second half exposed protection issues and left Vanderbilt with too many easy conversion, leading to a 44-20 final score.

“A tale of two halves. You look at the film, some really good things we did in that game, and then certainly some things that are not up to our standards… [There are] things that we have to improve on,” Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry said Tuesday.

The Hokies’ path to the win column: protect the quarterback, finish red-zone drives, tighten punt coverage and clean up run defense on early downs to set up third-down stops.

The first-half template is there — now they need four quarters of it.