Liberty (9-0, 7-0 CUSA) will step out of conference play to welcome Old Dominion (4-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) to Lynchburg, Virginia on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Flames lead the all-time series against the Monarchs, 3-1, and have won three straight. Since moving to the FBS, Liberty is 3-0 against their in-state foe, Old Dominion.

The two teams met Sept. 1, 2018 in Lynchburg, in what was Liberty’s first ever game as an FBS team. The Flames dominated that day, winning 52-10. Liberty has also picked up wins over ODU in each of the past two seasons, winning 45-17 in Lynchburg in 2021 and 38-24 in Norfolk, Virginia last year.

Ricky Rahne is in his third season as head coach of the Monarchs. He sports a 13-21 record in his time leading ODU, a spot he took after a stint as offensive coordinator at Penn State.

Rahne and the Monarchs faced off against Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell and most of his coaching staff while they were at Coastal Carolina last year. Rahne got the edge in that game played in Conway, South Carolina on Oct. 15, 2022, winning 49-21 over Chadwell and the Chanticleers.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Rahne and their program and how physical and how tough their players are,” said Chadwell. “We know it is going to be a huge game. It’s against a great opponent coming from a great conference, a respected conference. This will be a great barometer for us and see where our program really is. Our guys will look forward to being back here Saturday.”

The Monarchs have lost their last two contests, falling to James Madison, 30-27, on Oct. 28 and losing to Coastal Carolina, 28-24, on Nov. 4. ODU sports wins this season over Louisiana, Texas A&M Commerce, Southern Miss, and Appalachian State. Each of their last eight games have been decided by 7 points or fewer.

“They are very physical and they are tough and they are resilient,” Chadwell said. “That shows up. They never think they are out of the game, they are in it close, they find a way, and they just keep believing.

Grant Wilson has completed 110 of his 188 passes for 1,475 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions this season. The junior quarterback transferred to ODU from Fordham where he completed 10 of 13 passes for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns in two seasons at the FCS school.

Wilson spreads the ball around quite a bit for the Monarchs. He has six pass catches with at least 100 yards receiving this season and a total of nine with at least one touchdown.

“They try to spread you out,” Chadwell said of the ODU offense. “They use every last yard of the field, and they do a really nice job of running the ball and mixing in going as fast as possible, maybe faster than Jax State, potentially. Also, using the clock to try and get in the best situation. It’s going to be very unique for us, not that we’ve not seen it, but we’ve not seen it with the type of athletes that they have.”

Keshawn Wicks leads the team with 91 rushing attempts, going for 523 yards and 4 touchdowns. Kadarius Calloway has 58 rushing attempts for 523 yards and 4 scores.

“From a defensive standpoint, they play a unique defense that you don’t see all the time,” Chadwell said of the Monarchs. “They are very aggressive with that. It really makes you have to, I’m not saying change your rules, but do some different things to try and account for everybody. They do a nice job of that and create turnovers.”

The Monarchs need to win two of their final three games to get back to a bowl game, and they will likely be underdogs in all three of those contests.

“Coach has been there four years, three years coaching and then with the COVID year,” said Chadwell. “They’ve recruited to what they want to be. He’s got an established thing that he’s trying to do. This will be the best overall group of athletes and talent that we’ve seen from a team standpoint. We will have to be ready for that. There is a lot of challenge there. I think arguably probably the best special teams overall unit. They do a nice job there.”

PREDICTION

Liberty 35, ODU 21

Line: Liberty -13.5

Picks results this year:
Straight-up: 9-0
ATS: 4-5