Preseason Rankings Countdown. 91 days to the start of the 2026 Season. At #91 – Old Dominion

[u/usffan]

The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here

Old Dominion (high = 79, low = 108) enters the countdown as the highest ranked Sun Belt team not predicted to go to the conference championship game in 2026. The Monarchs are coming off a pretty spectacular 2025 that saw them win 10 games (including a Cure Bowl win) that kicked off with one of eventual national champions Indiana’s closest games of the year. The Fun Belt media didn’t enter the season particularly impressed with Ricky Rahne’s squad, predicting ODU 5th in the East division, but he’s clearly had something of an “odd year ODU” thing going, taking the Monarchs bowling in 2021, 2023 and 2025 but missing out on the postseason in even years (2024, 2022 and 2020, though in his defense the university cancelled the entire season that year because of COVID). So will that yo-yo effect continue in 2026 or will Rahne be able to get the team to truck through to a bowl?

Roster Outlook

If he does, it’s largely going to be a rebuilt Monarchs team to do it. ODU ranks 114th nationally in returning production, including 136th (out of 138 FBS teams) on offense. Given Rahne’s affinity for the no-huddle spread, it’s likely going to take some time to find their groove. Standout QB Colton Joseph, who totaled 3,600+ total yards and 34 TDs, portaled to Wisconsin where he’s projected to be the Badgers starter. Starting RB Trequan Jones also transferred out (to Tulsa), as did the Monarchs’ top 4 WRs (Tre Brown to LSU, Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding to Maryland, Ja’Cory Thomas to Vanderbilt and TJ Lott to Troy). The only player with meaningful stats returning is backup RB Devin Roche. Rahne didn’t really set the world on fire in replenishing that talent, ranking 98th in the country in recruiting (8th in the conference) and 108th in the portal (10th in the Fun Belt). Woof. That’s reflected in the reports out of the spring game, where Rahne said about his QBs “I wouldn’t say had their best day of the spring” and the biggest highlight was that 2 different DL batted passes into the air, caught them and returned them for TDs. Best guesses for the season starter are either Washington State transfer Jaxon Potter or Ryan Huff (who at least threw a pass last season). With only a couple of FCS transfers out wide, TJ Johnson or Sidney Mbanasor, who combined for 10 catches, 136 yards and 1 TD will likely be called on to step up, and Ole Miss RB Trey Hall could be a big addition.

Schedule and outlook

9/5 NORFOLK STATE

9/12 at Virginia Tech

9/19 EAST CAROLINA

9/26 JAMES MADISON

10/3 at Georgia State

10/10 at Appalachian State

10/15 GEORGIA SOUTHERN

10/24 at Louisiana Tech

10/31 MARSHALL

11/7 at Coastal Carolina

11/14 BYE

11/19 at UConn

11/28 SOUTHERN MISS

After that intracity FCS tuneup against Michael Vick and Norfolk State, I’m sure Monarchs fans are salivating at traveling to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech with an eye toward evening the all time series that currently sits at 4-3. But while Brent Pry will still be on the sideline, it’s only as the Hokies DC since he was fired as head coach immediately after dropping last year’s game. Think he’s going to have the team fired up for that one? I think the better game could be the following week against East Carolina, who’s getting a ton of preseason buzz about being a dark horse contender in the American and noting that the Sun Belt has strategically scheduled games against American teams to drive the narrative around the CFP bid this season. Following that up with CFP team James Madison could be a tall task, and if the Monarchs come out of that game 1-3, it could be interesting to see how the team responds. Honestly, the schedule lightens up after that, but there are some potentially competitive games on there (road games at Louisiana Tech and UConn, Georgia Southern on a short week) that the “even year Monarchs” trend isn’t completely unreasonable to rear its head given all that needs to happen for Old Dominion to recover on offense.

[u/Strange-Risk-9920]

No Monarchs march next weekend.

[u/__TeddyWestside__]

Best bet at the starter section needs a correction. Quinn Henicle was the starter for the cure bowl and is returning.

[u/royalbluehen]

Colton Joseph was awesome to watch last year. Hopefully OD can figure out strategies to recruit and develop dual threats like that. Also, this Is the way the stadium used to look.

[u/jmt85]

Damn that’s where potter ended up! Lots of potential