Virginia Tech gets Old Dominion in Lane Stadium at noon Saturday, and both teams arrive at 1-0 with a fresh layer of history hanging over the matchup.
The Hokies are coming off a 73-3 demolition of VMI in James Franklin’s debut, while the Monarchs handled Norfolk State 31-10 and have now won seven straight dating back to last season. But this isn’t just another early-season meeting.
These teams played almost exactly a year ago, and Old Dominion walked out of Blacksburg with a 45-26 win - the program’s first over a Power Four opponent. Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry the next morning, and Pry is back on the sideline Saturday as Franklin’s defensive coordinator, tasked with calling the defense against the same school that ended his run.
One of the biggest reasons Tech looked so sharp last week was the chaos it created behind the line of scrimmage. The Hokies finished with 18 tackles for loss, the most in a Virginia Tech game since the school began keeping records in 1987.
Twelve came before halftime. It’s easy to wave that off because VMI is an FCS team and was running a first-year triple option, and the Keydets were held to minus-4 rushing yards on 43 carries.
That said, Norfolk State also managed 7.0 tackles for loss and two sacks against Old Dominion, so the Monarchs are not walking in here immune to disruption.
That matters because Old Dominion is built to run. The Monarchs piled up a program-record 3,098 rushing yards last season, good for seventh nationally at 238.3 per game.
Quinn Henicle led them in rushing in the opener and has already scored twice on the ground. A run-first offense with a mobile quarterback tends to create more chances for negative plays, not fewer.
Virginia Tech didn’t just get production from one disruptor, either. Nine different Hokies logged at least one full tackle for loss against VMI, and three Penn State transfers who came with Franklin - Mylachi Williams, Keon Wylie and Cortez Harris - combined for 6.0 of the 18.
There’s another reason Tech feels different on offense: it finally had a real answer in space. The Hokies went through all 12 games last season without a 100-yard receiver, and Que’Sean Brown needed just one.
The Duke transfer caught six passes for 109 yards against VMI, highlighted by a 51-yard touchdown from Ethan Grunkemeyer on a first-and-20 snap. Brown also chipped in 38 yards on two punt returns.
At the moment, he looks like the most dangerous weapon this offense has when the ball is in open field.
That said, Old Dominion brings a defense that can make life difficult. The Monarchs finished second in the Sun Belt in total defense last season, and they opened this year by holding Norfolk State to 94 passing yards on 20 attempts while adding an interception and five sacks.
Virginia Tech’s passing game needed a reset after ranking 125th out of 136 FBS teams last season at 166.3 yards per game, and the program made a clear move to address it by bringing in Grunkemeyer and offensive coordinator Ty Howle from Penn State. In his first start as a Hokie, Grunkemeyer completed 17 of 20 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Tech threw for 351 yards as a team, scored on its first six possessions and didn’t give up a sack.
The challenge for Old Dominion is that the last time it was in this building, it controlled the game from the start. The Monarchs ran for 250 yards in that 45-26 win, led 28-0 at halftime and helped send Pry out the door.
The biggest piece of that attack is gone. Colton Joseph, the 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns before signing with Wisconsin in January.
Henicle is still a real threat - he ran for 68 yards on 13 carries against Norfolk State - but Tech clearly went into the portal looking for answers against quarterbacks like him. Wylie was the first linebacker it targeted for that reason, and he arrived from Penn State with 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
The expectation here is simple: Virginia Tech should own the line of scrimmage and force Old Dominion into more of a passing game. That’s a problem for the Monarchs, who managed only 143 receiving yards in their opener.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Just Delivered The Response Hokies Fans Needed
A week after opening the season with a win, Virginia Tech followed it up with a more convincing statement, rolling past Old Dominion 44-21 and moving to 2-0 for the first time since 2021. The Hokies got the kind of balanced effort that travels well in September, with the offense staying ahead of the sticks and the defense making life miserable for an Old Dominion attack that never found much rhythm.
Ethan Grunkemeyer was sharp throughout the afternoon, pushing the ball downfield and keeping the Hokies on schedule, while Virginia Techs front dictated the game with constant pressure on Quinn Henicle. Old Dominion managed a couple of scoring drives, but the bigger story was how often the Hokies disrupted things behind the line of scrimmage, a sign this team may be building an edge that has been missing in recent seasons. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Got The ODU Revenge Fans Wanted With One Clear Concern
Virginia Tech got the sort of response it needed against Old Dominion, jumping out early and staying in control the rest of the way in a 44-21 win. Ethan Grunkemeyer delivered a poised outing at quarterback, completing 31 of 42 passes for 327 yards while adding a touchdown on the ground, and the Hokies did enough on defense to force three turnovers and keep the Monarchs from ever truly settling in.
The passing game was the clear strength, which is exactly why the postgame conversation still has a wrinkle to it. Virginia Tech moved the ball efficiently through the air, but there was also a noticeable imbalance in how the offense operated, and that left one part of the attack worth monitoring as the schedule toughens up. [Read more 🡒]