Old Dominion Football Prediction: Game-By-Game Predictions for the Monarchs in 2020

Since arriving in the FBS in 2014, Old Dominion is routinely mentioned as a Group of Five program bursting with potential. We saw some of that potential with a flawless FBS transition in which Bobby Wilder led the Monarchs to 21 wins over their first three seasons, including 10 wins in 2016. Since then, they've slowly dipped to the unassuming depths of Conference USA. And while the potential of a program in a talent-rich region never deteriorated, it might be a long road back in realizing that potential.

Old Dominion had five passing touchdowns last season. Five. Total. All Season. The Monarchs were not a run-heavy triple-option team—they ranked 43rd in the FBS in passing-play rate—yet threw five touchdowns in nearly 400 attempts. And while the arrival of head coach Ricky Rahne (listen to Rahne on the April 29th episode of the High Motor podcast) and his spread no-huddle system will bring more variation and explosiveness, passing volume probably won't climb; in Rahne's two seasons as Penn State offensive coordinator, the Nittany Lions ranked 87th and 88th nationally in passing-play rate, throwing the ball about 44 percent of the time. Even at that rate, Old Dominion will have far more than five passing touchdowns in 2020, though growing pains will lead to several duds.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Defensively, it won't be as dramatic of a scheme transition. With nine returning starters headlining an experienced unit that played better last year than one victory may suggest, Old Dominion could have a top-half defense in the conference.

With a coaching change and jumbled offseason, there's a lot working against Old Dominion, ranked 123rd in the HERO Sports Preseason College Football Rankings, this year. The schedule is not working against them; with one of the weakest schedules in the country, the Monarchs have several winnable games.