Tag: Old Dominion Monarchs

Grayson Loftis calls new Duke wide receiver Javon Harvey ‘a quarterback’s best friend’

Javon Harvey joined the Duke wide receiver room this offseason as a transfer from Old Dominion, and his quarterbacks are already fans.

Javon Harvey hasn’t been in Durham very long, but his new teammates already appreciate what he brings to the Duke football program.

During a Wednesday appearance on ACC Network, sophomore quarterback Grayson Loftis gave a glowing review of the Old Dominion transfer. He said Harvey’s explosiveness suits new offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer’s high-speed offense well, but it’s his years of college experience that make him even more valuable as a teammate.

“(He’s) asking a lot of questions,” Loftis said. “He’s a vet, he’s been in college football for a long time, he’s got a lot of snaps. It’s nice having a guy like that who’s got a lot of experience…He’s a quarterback’s best friend.”

Harvey caught 70 passes between the last three seasons at Old Dominion, racking up 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns for his collegiate career. his most productive season came in 2022 when he amassed 558 yards and four scores on 30 receptions, averaging more than 18 yards per catch.

Invalid fair catch signal costs Southern Miss’ Tiaquelin Mims 2nd punt return TD

A Southern Miss punt returner thought he had 2 TDs against Old Dominion

Southern Miss’ Tiaquelin Mims already had an 82-yard punt return for a TD against Old Dominion on Saturday.

He settled — sort of was unsettled — under another punt and after catching it,  took off and wound up in the end zone, once again.

Only this time, he was thwarted by the officials, who ruled Mims used an invalid fair catch signal and had this 60-yard return nullified.

Countdown to Kickoff: 7 best Group of Five players

The countdown to kickoff continues with the seven best Group of Five players in the country.

Through College Sports Wire’s countdown to kickoff, the Power Five has been overwhelming the focus, and rightfully so. It’s time to look at the Group of Five and its top seven players entering this fall.

The Group of Five’s place in today’s college football landscape is interesting. Thanks to the transfer portal, many of the top players from Group of Five player programs eventually end up at Power Five programs. This was one major worry about the transfer portal and its potential impacts.

There are Groups of Five stars who still have chosen to stay at their respective programs – which is excellent news for college football. While the Group of Five has rarely produced true competitors for national championships, it remains a vital part of college football and what makes the sport special.

This caliber of players choosing to stay at Group of Five programs will only ensure that college football, despite widespread changes, remains healthy from top to bottom.

Honorable mentions for players who just missed the cut in today’s list include Southern Mississippi’s Frank Gore Jr., Colorado State’s Tory Horton, and Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley,

Jaivian Lofton of Liberty makes catch of the year

Jaivian Lofton of Liberty put one hand in the air and came down with the football and 6 points

Liberty was playing Old Dominion on Saturday and it didn’t take long for there to be a highlight-reel play.

Less than two minutes into the game, Liberty was moving and quarterback Kaidon Salter heaved the football toward the end zone.

Jaivian Lofton was awaiting the pass and put up one hand and somehow came down with it for a touchdown.

The play was good for 34 yards.

McGuire’s Musings: Please don’t talk about the College Football Playoff race yet

McGuire’s Musings: Too early for playoff debate, Billy Napier’s big debut at Florida, bad coaching awareness in Week 1, the new cutest animal sidekick in college football, and more

The college football season is still being broken in, and I already am having gripes with some of my most hated features of college football; a lack of goal-line cameras, bad coaching, and way-too-early College Football Playoff debates.

Of course, neither are avoidable any time you settle in for a weekend of college football consumption. And with a top-five showdown between Ohio State and Notre Dame and a game pitting Georgia and Oregon, you are bound to hear the phrase “playoff implications.” That’s a bunch of garbage as far as I’m concerned, and it’s about to be even more ridiculous once the College Football Playoff expands. So, naturally, as Utah lost to Florida hours after Oregon was demolished by Georgia, the quick reaction from some was to ponder if the PAC-12 had been eliminated from the playoff already.

Have we not learned the lessons of the past that show one loss in Week 1 or Week 2 is not the kind of playoff eliminator some may want to believe it is? Going 11-1 and winning your conference still gives you a mighty strong argument to make for the playoff conversation, and we can have those conversations later in the season.

When is the appropriate time to start talking about the playoff hunt? How about at least waiting until after the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings? Honestly, that’s probably still too soon to take it seriously. But I have decided I’m not going to start talking about the playoff picture until I at least move out of shorts weather. And I like to try sticking to shorts until my birthday, which isn’t until early November.

Anyway, I think Alabama and Georgia are going to have a good chance to be in.

Did Notre Dame just give the Big Ten some hope?

Coming into the season, there was little dispute that the Ohio State Buckeyes are the team to beat in the Big Ten. And that may still be true! But the Buckeyes had a struggle against Notre Dame at home in a highly-anticipated matchup. The Irish felt they were being disrespected coming in, and I’ll be among the first to admit I was on board with the idea of Ohio State pulling away and taking care of business.

Whoops.

Ohio State still managed to get the win thanks to a tough and resilient roster built by head coach Ryan Day, but it took time and patience to cross the finish line with the win.

But the question now becomes is anyone in the Big Ten good enough to do what Notre Dame did to Ohio State, to the point that the Buckeyes still are not the team to beat in the conference? Michigan seems to be the most likely candidate, as they should be after topping Ohio State last year and winning the Big Ten. But is there anyone else in the Big Ten that could pose a similar threat to Ohio State?

In fairness, Ohio State did lose their dynamic playmaking wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but there should still be a load of offense coming from Ohio State this season. Notre Dame’s defense deserves credit for causing the problems it did for the prohibitive Big Ten favorite.

I certainly would hate to be Arkansas State in Week 2. The RedWolves come into Ohio Stadium next weekend, and it may not be pretty as Ohio State looks to vent some frustrations over this one.

NEXT: Billy Napier scores a big win in his Florida debut

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Ricky Rahne tops Brent Pry in matchup of former James Franklin assistants

Ricky Rahne and Old Dominion topped Brent Pry and Virginia Tech in a Week 1 showdown between former James Franklin coordinators

It was quite an eventful head coaching debut for former Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Brent Pry[/autotag] on Friday night. Pry, now the head coach at Virginia Tech, found himself matching wits against his former colleague, [autotag]Ricky Rahne[/autotag], as he coached the Hokies on the road against underdog Old Dominion. And after a night on which his assistants were stuck in an elevator long enough to delay the start of the second half and watching his Hokies turn the football over five times, Pry was on the losing end in his head coaching debut. Rahne, on the other hand, celebrated a major win for his program.

Nothing came easily for Pry’s Hokies, but they did own a 17-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. A short field goal by Old Dominion early in the fourth quarter cut the Virginia Tech lead to 17-13 and a one-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining in the game helped deliver Old Dominion to its second biggest win in program history, and both have come against Virginia Tech. The game-winning touchdown was set up by a deep pass two plays prior, putting the Virginia Tech lead in serious jeopardy.

Rahne’s Monarchs were out-gained 340-245 in total offensive yards, but the Hokies turning the football over five times led to 17 Old Dominion points on the scoreboard, including a wild botched field goal snap that was returned for a touchdown by Old Dominion to take a lead in the second quarter.

Old Dominion’s game-winning touchdown also came following a Virginia Tech turnover when Grant Wells was picked off by Ryan Henry on 3rd and 13 at the Old Dominion 41 with 2:58 left to play. Nine plays later, Old Dominion scored the game-winner. A more conservative approach in that situation to keep the ball on the ground and force Old Dominion to burn a timeout before potentially punting the ball away may be armchair quarterbacking a bit, but it will be a decision that will be reviewed by Pry in reviewing the film.

Rahnecontinues to be doing some terrific work for a program that sat out the entire 2020 season in his first year on the job. After starting the 2021 season with a record of 1-6, Old Dominion won five consecutive games to earn bowl eligibility and has now won six of their last seven games going back to last season. And on Friday night, maybe Old Dominion put the rest of the Sun Belt Conference on notice.

Also, obligatory love for Old Dominion’s biggest fan, Hudson. He is a dog that wears crocs!

Rahne replaced Joe Moorhead as Penn State’s offensive coordinator when Moorhead left the Nittany Lions to become the head coach at Mississippi State. Moorhead has since made a stop at Orgeon as the offensive coordinator and is now back to being a head coach again in 2022. Moorhead coached Akron to an overtime victory on Thursday night against Saint Francis, 30-23.

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Virginia Tech coaches got stuck in an elevator, delaying second half, and fans had so many jokes

“This is real…”

College football is just getting started with its 2022 season, but it’s also, somehow, in peak form in Week 1, which opened Thursday with all kinds of wacky madness, including the now-infamous “puke six.”

While Friday’s schedule of games weren’t exactly the most intriguing, there was still plenty of chaos. Enter the Virginia Tech-Old Dominion game in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Monarchs entered halftime with a 10-7 lead over the Hokies. But in a hilarious turn of events, the start of the second half was delayed because, according to ESPNU’s broadcast, some Virginia Tech assistant coaches got stuck in the elevator on their way back up to the press box.

Per ESPNU’s broadcast of the game:

“We’re holding the game, I’ve just been told — this is real — because some of the opposing coaches are stuck in the elevator. So the coaches that would have to get up here to the press box to watch the game at the press level, which some coaches like to do, are apparently stuck in the elevator.”

Yikes, not ideal. The delay lasted for more than 15 minutes, according to The Athletic.

The game eventually resumed with the assistant coaches presumably no longer stuck in the elevator, but that didn’t stop the college football world from making jokes.

(Featured image courtesy of ESPN)

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Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Old Dominion College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Old Dominion season with what you need to know and keys to the season.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Old Dominion Monarchs Preview
Ricky Rahne: 6-7, 2nd year at Old Dominion,
2nd year overall, 6-7, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 6-7, Conference: 5-3
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Old Dominion Top 10 Players | ODU Schedule

Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022

It’s been an interesting ride for Old Dominion football since joining FBS world back in 2013.

It closed out its 8-4 first season in 2013 – playing mostly FCS teams – giving up 80 to North Carolina, went bowling with a great ten-win season in 2016, spiraled downward from there over three years before missing all of 2020 thanks to the pandemic, and now, after eight years in Conference USA it’s taking off for the Sun Belt.

Granted, it’s on a run of four straight losing seasons – when it played – but it’s got a good young head coach in Ricky Rahne who knows how to get an offense going, the talent base was built up and worked on thanks to the year off, and after going really, really, really young, 17 starters are back with one of the most experienced teams in the Sun Belt.

This will be one of the more interesting teams in the expanded new conference. It’s got the upside to be a big surprise, but the slate is tough and the overall depth is just okay.

However, this is a program with a whole lot of pieces in place to become a factor in a Sun Belt full of teams planning on having big seasons.

Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022: Offense

The offense wasn’t always great, but it kicked in when needed over the back half of the regular season on the five-game winning streak to close things. There needs to be more of a running game, but the passing attack stepped up. With ten starters expected to be back, the O should be even more consistent.

The offensive line wasn’t great in pass protection, but it’s about to be a factor in the Sun Belt with four starters back and Donta Anthony ready to step in at center. Khadere Count and Nick Saldiveri are all-star caliber tackles to work around.

Leading rusher Blake Watson is back after taking off for 1,121 yards and eight scores, and Elijah Davis is also back adding a little more size after running for six touchdowns. Both averaged over five yards per carry, and they have to do the running because there isn’t much coming from …

Hayden Wolff is a big passer who’ll be the star of the attack over the next few years. The sophomore hit 63% of his passes for close to 2,000 yards and ten touchdowns with seven touchdowns, and backup DJ Mack stepped in and added a rushing punch with six touchdowns to go along with 856 passing yards and five scores.

The Sun Belt has some weapons to deal with. Ali Jennings averaged over 17 yards per catch with five scores as the No. 1 wide receiver, and Zack Kuntz was a First Team All-Conference USA performer with a team-high 73 catches for 692 yards and five touchdowns. Depth is a problem across the board for ODU – except at receiver.

Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022: Defense

The Old Dominion defense doesn’t have the returning talent the offensive side does, but there’s enough to be okay. It was great against the run but struggled against the better passing attacks. It needs to be more consistent and it has to generate a pass rush. However …

The main sackers are back. Marcus Hayes wasn’t a regular starter, but he led the way at one end with 5.5 sacks, but good interior pass rusher Sokoyo McDuffie left for UConn. Even so, the team’s top two tackles – Tyre Bibby and Alonzo Ford – are back.

Leading tackler Jordan Young is done, but Ryan Henry is an all-star in the middle who made 75 stops to anchor the two in the 4-2-5. The team’s No. 3 tackler Jason Henderson will find a role somewhere.

The secondary needs more big plays from the corners. Roger Cray was the main all-around playmaker, but he’s gone. Tre Hawkins was an all-star on the other side making 76 tackles, and now he’ll be the No. 1 cover-corner.

The safety tandem of R’Tarriun Johnson and Terry Jones should combine for over 150 stops, and on the way is Shawn Asbury from Boston College to push for the open spot.

Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Old Dominion Top 10 Players | ODU Schedule

Old Dominion Monarchs: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

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Old Dominion Monarchs Top 10 Players: College Football Preview 2022

Who are the top 10 Old Dominion players going into the 2022 college football season?

Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 2022: Who are the top 10 players going into the season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Old Dominion Monarchs Preview 
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen | Schedule 

Old Dominion gives contract extension to former James Franklin assistant

This former James Franklin assistant was given a contract extension at his new school.

Former Penn State offensive coordinator [autotag]Ricky Rahne[/autotag] is off to a nice start as the head coach of Old Dominion. After taking the Monarchs to a bowl game in the 2021 season, Rahne has been given a contract extension, according to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Rahne’s new contract will reportedly run through the 2026 season with a one-year extension on his original contract. Rahne is about to enter his third season as the head coach of the Old Dominion program. Rahne’s first season was wiped off the calendar as a result of Old Dominion not playing football in 2020 amid the pandemic.

Despite having a year off from football, Rahne guided Old Dominion to just the second bowl game in program history. Old Dominion may have lost to Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, but managing to get the Monarchs to the bowl season at all was an incredible feat. Old Dominion started the 2021 season with a record of 1-6 but the Monarchs won their last five regular-season games to clinch bowl eligibility.

Rahne is guiding Old Dominion into the Sun Belt Conference as the school makes a conference affiliation change during the 2022 season. Old Dominion’s first game of the season will see Rahne go up against Virginia Tech, which is now coached by former Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Brent Pry[/autotag]. Pry and Rahne were each members of the Penn State coaching staff under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag]. Old Dominion faces Virginia Tech on Friday, Sept. 2 in Norfolk.

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