- Virginia Tech vs. Old Dominion: Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network) from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.
- Betting line: Virginia Tech -7.0
- Roster cards: Click here
- Blacksburg weather: Click here
Historically, the Hokies haven’t had any trouble with Old Dominion in Lane Stadium, beating them 38-0 in 2017, 31-17 in 2019 and 36-17 in 2023. However, this version of Virginia Tech seems to be teetering on the brink, and last week’s 34-0 second half dismantling at the hands of Vanderbilt can’t be good for the confidence of the players and coaches.
If Tech wants any chance of making a bowl game, this is one it has to win. An 0-3 start with a loss at home to the Monarchs would shake a proud and dedicated fan base to its core.
Stopping Old Dominion Quarterback Colton Joseph
Colton Joseph (6-2, 200, r-So.) played in his first college game against Virginia Tech last season, completing 1-of-2 passes for 12 yards and carrying the ball three times. Shortly thereafter, he took the reigns as Old Dominion’s starting quarterback. The Monarchs played better football with him behind center and his overall numbers were very good for a redshirt freshman.
• Passing: 133-of-222 (59.9%) for 1,627 yards, 7.3 YPA, 11 TDs, 5 INTs
• Rushing: 114 carries for 647 yards, 5.7 ypc, 11 TDs
Joseph went over the 70 percent mark twice through the air and also had a pair of 100-yard rushing games. You can argue that his best game came in the season finale in a 42-35 shootout loss to a solid Marshall team when he put up the following numbers:
• Passing: 19-of-31 (61.3%) for 231 yards, 7.5 YPA, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Rushing: 25 carries for 158 yards, 6.3 ypc, 2 TDs
ODU lost that game due to poor defense (which is how it lost most of its games last season), but Joseph did all he could.
Perhaps the main question going into the season was whether or not he could replicate those performances against better opponents. In ODU’s first game of 2025, a 27-14 loss at Indiana, Joseph struggled in the passing game but put up big numbers on the ground.
• Passing: 11-of-22 (50%) for 96 yards, 4.4 YPA, 0 TDs, 3 INTs
• Rushing: 10 carries for 179 yards, 17.9 ypc, 2 TDs
Joseph wasn’t great through the air but hit two huge plays in the running game. On the very first play from scrimmage, he ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run. He had another 78-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Joseph will be licking his chops against the Virginia Tech defense as the Hokies rank No. 135 out of 136 FBS teams in opponent passer rating. The key to stopping Joseph, and the Monarchs in general, is to not let him be balanced. If he can run and pass, then Tech will be on its heels all game.
Other Players To Watch On Offense
Old Dominion was picked fifth in the seven-team Sun Belt East Division and isn’t viewed as a team with a tremendous amount of talent. The only player who earned preseason all-conference honors on offense was lineman Zach Barlev (6-4, 318, Sr.). He’s got plenty of experience at guard and tackle, but this year he’s starting at left tackle for the Monarchs. He held up pretty well against the Hokies last season at guard.Other than Barlev, ODU doesn’t appear to have much up front. Its other returning starters struggled mightily last season and its top transfer is from Fordham. All five starters played every snap against Indiana, which indicates that group doesn’t have much depth.
Old Dominion’s wide receivers lack experience. Of the six who saw the field against Indiana, only two have played over 100 career snaps, with the most experienced player being Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (6-0, 198, So.), who has all of 203 snaps in his short career. Ja’Cory Thomas (6-3, 210, Jr.) leads the team with eight catches on the season and found the end zone last week against NC Central.
Trequan Jones (5-9, 183, Jr.) leads the team with 163 rushing yards, but take that with a grain of salt. He only has five carries on the season, but one of those just happened to be a 93-yard run against hapless NC Central. Maurki James (6-1, 206, r-Fr.) appears to be the Monarchs’ starter. He has 16 carries for 53 yards on the season.
The Old Dominion Defense
The ODU defense got some bad news this week with the retirement of star linebacker Jason Henderson. After suffering severe knee injuries, he decided to hang up his cleats after returning for the season-opener against Indiana. He was a terrific player who I once hoped would transfer to Virginia Tech, and the Monarchs will miss him.
Without him for all but 36 plays last year, Old Dominion struggled on that side of the ball in 2024, finishing No. 86 nationally in DF+, plus registering the following numbers in the traditional stats:
• Rushing defense: No. 97 out of 134
• Passing defense: No. 102 out of 134
• Total defense: No. 102 out of 134
• Scoring defense: No. 87 out of 134
The Monarchs held Indiana to 27 points in the 2025 opener, but the Hoosiers put up 502 yards of total offense and averaged 5.6 yards per play. ODU allowed 5.73 yards per play last season, so Indiana was right in line with what you would expect.
Two ODU players were named to the league’s preseason second team. Defensive lineman Kris Trinidad (6-5, 272, r-Sr.) went to L.C. Bird in Richmond. He had 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season with 29 total pressures. However, none of those pressures came against the Hokies, who handled him pretty easily.
Virginia Tech’s offensive line is much less settled this year, however. Starting left tackle Johnny Garrett is hurt and nobody knows whether he’ll play. If he can’t, Tomas Rimac would likely slide over to left tackle, but he’s more of a natural guard. Montavious Cunningham also left the Vanderbilt game with an injury.
At Wednesday’s media availability, head coach Brent Pry said seven of the Hokies’ 10 offensive linemen in the two-deep are in treatment twice a day. “We’ll be all right come Saturday,” Pry said. “Right now, it’s a work in progress.”
Linebacker Koa Naotala (5-11, 222, r-Jr.) was ODU’s other preseason pick. He racked up 88 tackles and five tackles for loss a year ago. He wasn’t perfect, though. He missed 16 tackles on the season, a very high number for a linebacker. However, Naotala has not played so far this season. The Monarchs don’t seem to have a dedicated beat writer these days so I can’t find any information on his situation, other than he was in sweats on the sideline for the first game against Indiana.
If Naotala can’t play, that hurts. ODU was expected to have a very good Sun Belt linebacking corps this year, with Henderson being tabbed as a preseason first-team performer. If neither are on the field at Virginia Tech, that would be a big blow to the linebacker room — and very harmful to the defense overall.
Naotala seems to have been replaced by his brother, Seth (6-0, 225, r-Sr.), a transfer from James Madison. He played 230 snaps in a backup role last season, but his snaps have increased to 78 through two games in 2025. He was solid in that backup role, though sometimes he seems to have a tackling issue, similar to his brother.
ODU can change alignments quite a bit with only three defensive linemen on the field. Five safeties have already played 53 or more snaps. After watching last week’s Virginia Tech-Vanderbilt game, look for the Monarchs to try to confuse the Hokie offensive line with multiple looks and different types of pressure.
It’s imperative that Tech gets the running game going this week and keeps Drones in short-yardage situations. This isn’t an offense that can operate behind the chains, and while the ODU defense is far from great, it has the potential to create plenty of confusion up front.
Special Teams
ODU punter Ian Brand hadn’t been the most efficient guy in previous seasons, but through his first nine punts of 2025, his average stands at 45 yards, with four of them going for 50-plus. However, four of the nine were returned so it seems like Tucker Holloway should be able to get some opportunities to find space.
Riley Callaghan has made his only kick of the year after transferring in from Southeastern Louisiana. He was solid there, going 17-of-22, though his range seems limited to the mid-to-upper 40s.
As far as kickoffs go, ODU has used a whopping four kickoff specialists in its first two games, so there’s no way to know how that’s going to go. Only two of the Monarchs’ 12 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, so if the Hokies can get something good drawn up, they could potentially find some success.
Abdul-Rahim Gladding is the punt returner and is in his first season in that role. He has just two returns so far, which means there’s no way to tell how effective of a returner he is. The same goes for freshman Maurki James, who appears to be the primary kickoff returner but only has one return on the season.
Virginia Tech-Old Dominion Prediction Poll
Before our staff makes their picks, tell us what you think will happen Saturday.Final Thoughts
If last week was a “must-win” game, what does that make this Saturday’s game with Old Dominion? Sadly, it probably means nothing at all. What happens with this coaching staff isn’t going to be determined this weekend; it’s already been determined. Now it’s just all about the timing.That doesn’t mean I’m interested in losing it, though. I have no interest at all in losing to an in-state school that isn’t in a Power 4 league (or any in-state school for that matter). It’s time to win a game, and at least maybe for a few hours we can celebrate a win and block everything else out.
Will that happen? Well, I’m not 100 percent convinced that it will. I think Tech should win, but it should have won a bunch of other games in Pry’s tenure and failed to do so. Could I see the Hokies losing on Saturday night? Yeah, absolutely.
Much will be decided by the ability of the coaching staff to build the players back up. Getting crushed 34-0 in one half is demoralizing. Confidence is a fragile thing. Get off to a bad start and it could crumble again.
I’m picking the Hokies. I think they’ll win. The Monarchs seem to be lacking in a number of positions and it’s unknown whether their best linebacker will play. This offensive line isn’t nearly as good as Vanderbilt’s or South Carolina’s. However, if the Tech offense struggles and plays behind the chains, this one has the potential to go south.
Chris’ Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Old Dominion 17
Will Stewart (Founder and General Manager): In this week’s Monday Thoughts, I wrote about how two losses to Vanderbilt have taken Brent Pry from the pinnacle of post-2023 optimism to the depths of 2025, where both he and his athletic director are at best treading water, at worst on their way out. That stunning one-year decline is bracketed by losses to the Commodores.
Enter ODU, which is in a similar position. It was an ugly, penalty-filled 20-17 road loss to the Monarchs in Pry’s first game that heralded what has turned out to be a tough tenure. Not only did the Hokies lose that game, but their coaching staff got trapped in an elevator in S.B. Ballard Stadium during halftime, and the Virginia Tech locker room was robbed, as well. It was all a harbinger of things to come, as Pry has struggled to a 16-23 career record.
If ODU wins in Blacksburg this Saturday, their two wins over VT in Pry’s time will bookend the whole sordid affair, which would be in freefall at that point.
But … ODU winning in Blacksburg? That’s hard to pick. It’s not hard to image, but it’s hard to pick as an outcome. The Monarchs could do it. Their quarterback can run, the Hokies are struggling to field an o-line, and for all we know, Virginia Tech might be spiraling completely out of control, with ODU (of all teams) ready to apply the knockout punch.
But I still can’t pick it. Can’t do it.
Will’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 24, ODU 16
David Cunningham (Managing Editor): My biggest question for Virginia Tech this week is the offensive line. That group looked rough in the second half against Vanderbilt, to the point where the Commodores sent the house over and over. I think that matchup with the Old Dominion offensive line decides the game — and, with the way it’s trending, Tech’s season.
I expect some improvement from the Hokies’ defense, too, but Colton Joseph and this Monarchs rushing attack will provide some fits. Tech pulls away in the end, but I think it’ll be closer than many in Lane Stadium would like.
David’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 30, Old Dominion 24
Andy Bitter (Senior Staff Writer): This is not a game the Hokies can afford to lose, but that was the case last week too and look what happened. This is not a Tech offensive line that's in good health, so it's tough to see the Hokies rolling on that side of the ball, even though that's typically been the case at home for them in this matchup. It might be a case of doing just enough to get by, leaning on an (ideally) improved defense. Even that prediction can't feel all too good with the way the group played last week, but I'm a glutton for punishment, sticking with Tech to not only win but do it in a one-score fashion, Brent Pry's Kryptonite.
Andy’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 23, Old Dominion 20
Nick Brown (Director of Media): I’ll admit, I was blatantly wrong about the Commodores, and for that, I apologize. The Hokies in fact did not get a signature win, instead they were dealt a signature loss in front of a shocked crowd. Jobs are suddenly on the line, and Virginia Tech is teetering on the brink of a historically bad season. I’ll go back to the stat that Virginia Tech has not defeated a starting/non-benched quarterback since Anthony Colandrea at UVa, in 2023 (though Colandrea did get benched in 2024). I am significantly concerned about Saturday, but I do think the Hokies pull it out, in a grueling fashion.
Nick’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 31, Old Dominion 17
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24-11 |
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44-20 |
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 45-26 |
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38-6 |
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23-21 |
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 30-23 |
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35-20 |
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42-34 (2 OT) |
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28-16 |
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34-14 |
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34-17 |
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| Fan Poll | Score | ||
| Gamecocks Win by 11+ (39%) |  |
Gamecocks 24, Hokies 11 | |
| Hokies Win by 1-10 (50%) |  |
Vanderbilt 44, Hokies 20 | |
| Hokies Win by 1-10 (36%) | |
ODU 45, VT 26 | |
| Hokies Win by 11+ (62%) | |
Hokies 38, Terriers 6 | |
| Wolfpack Wins by 11+ (59%) | |
Hokies 23, Wolfpack 21 | |
| Hokies Win by 1-10 (58%) | |
Deacs 30, Hokies 23 | |
| Jackets Win by 11+ (63%) | |
Jackets 35, Hokies 20 | |
| Hokies Win by 1-10 (52%) | |
Hokies 42, Golden Bears 34 (2 OT) | |
| Cardinals Win by 11+ (64%) | |
Cardinals 28, Hokies 16 | |
| Seminoles Win by 11+ (49%) | |
Seminoles 34, Hokies 14 | |
| Canes Win by 11+ (79%) | |
Hurricanes 34, Hokies 17 | |
| Hokies Win by 11+ (46%) | |
Hokies 37, Hoos 17 | |
| Gophers by 11+ (45%) | |
Gophers 24, Hokies 10 | |