Let’s be honest, the numbers didn’t look promising for the Old Dominion football team as the Monarchs approached this season.
More than 30 players were gone from last season, 47 players had never played a down for the Monarchs and ODU had 13 new starters last week when they opened with a 24-21 victory over Norfolk State.
The Monarchs were picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA East Division by coaches and seventh by some prognosticators. This looked every bit like a rebuilding year, one in which the Monarchs would struggle to compete against the strongest schedule they’ve faced in 11 football seasons.