Bowl eligible just two years ago, last year was something of a come down for the Old Dominion Monarchs as they struggled in their first season in the Sun Belt. How will Ricky Rahne’s team fare in the 2023 college football campaign? Our Old Dominion season predictions hold the answers.
Old Dominion Season Predictions: Predicting the Game-By-Game Results
Using groupthink, College Football Network analysts have painstakingly gone through every game for every team in the Sun Belt and across the country.
Find Every Sun Belt Season Prediction per team: App State | Arkansas State | Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern | Georgia State | JMU | Louisiana | UL-Monroe | Marshall | ODU | South Alabama | Southern Miss | Texas State | Troy
Picking these games straight up with a projected score using the rosters as up-to-date as the last spring practice, what do the Old Dominion season predictions reveal about expectations for the Monarchs in 2023?
Week 1 – Old Dominion at Virginia Tech: Loss 17-20
The Monarchs and Hokies have split the four games between the two programs since the series started in 2017. Although Old Dominion defeated their in-state foe last fall, Virginia Tech’s offseason additions — including a familiar face in an unfamiliar uniform with Ali Jennings III getting an early opportunity to face his old team — should prove too strong for the Monarchs.
Week 2 – Old Dominion vs. Louisiana: Win 21-15
The first-ever matchup between the two programs comes at a good time for the Monarchs. Louisiana isn’t quite the Sun Belt superpower that they once were, and Old Dominion takes advantage of a team that lost some of its best talent to the NFL and the transfer portal.
Week 3 – Old Dominion vs. Wake Forest: Loss, 17-31
Even without quarterback Sam Hartman for the 2023 college football season, Wake Forest has the talent on its roster to record a comfortable victory over Old Dominion in Winston-Salem. A Monarchs secondary that lost several key playmakers may struggle to hold down Deacs’ WR Donavon Greene.
Week 4 – Old Dominion vs. Texas A&M Commerce: Win, 38-8
Old Dominion hasn’t lost to non-FBS opposition since transitioning to the level themselves in 2014, and we don’t expect that to change when the Monarchs welcome Texas A&M Commerce to Norfolk in Week 4.
Week 5 – Old Dominion at Marshall: Loss, 21-27
The Monarchs failed to score a single point against Marshall last season and haven’t beaten their old CUSA foe since 2016. After allowing over four yards per carry to the ground game last year, it would be a surprise to see Old Dominion stop the Sun Belt’s top running back, Rasheen Ali.
Week 6 – Old Dominion at Southern Miss: Loss, 20-21
Southern Miss and Old Dominion meet for the first time since they were CUSA foes in 2016, when the Monarchs won 51-35 in Norfolk. With the wholesale loss of talent on both sides of the ball, including at quarterback, the Golden Eagles offensive duo of Zach Wilcke and Frank Gore Jr. should be able to counter anything the Monarchs have to offer.
MORE: Old Dominion Monarchs Coaching Staff 2023
Week 8 – Old Dominion vs. Appalachian State: Loss, 24-29
Appalachian State has overthrown the Monarchs in all three previous occasions, and the perennial conference power should prevail once more according to our season predictions. The Mountaineers have the ability to turn games into a shootout, and Old Dominion lost too much offensive talent to keep up.
Week 9 – Old Dominion at James Madison: Loss, 19-29
Don’t expect a sophomore slump out of the second-year Sun Belt Dukes when the Monarchs travel to Harrisonburg in Week 9. James Madison dished out a shellacking to Old Dominion last fall, and a retooled wide receiver room should be more than capable of ensuring a comfortable win.
Week 10 – Old Dominion vs. Coastal Carolina: Loss, 20-29
Can Old Dominion pull off another shock of the scale of last season? The Monarchs put a suspect Coastal defense to the sword last fall, but with the return of Chanticleers quarterback Grayson McCall, a competitive WR room, and one of the best RB rooms in the conference, a repeat result feels unlikely.
Week 11 – Old Dominion at Liberty: Loss, 24-17
Liberty has won the last three matchups between these two teams by more than two touchdowns.
However, making these season predictions at an early stage means there are far too many question marks facing Jamey Chadwell’s team at this point to be confident in picking them that big here. Overcoming an Old Dominion team shouldn’t be that difficult a task as even Liberty has the clear advantage at the quarterback position.
MORE: Conference USA RB Rankings 2023
Week 12 – Old Dominion at Georgia Southern: Loss, 25-29
Georgia Southern has never lost to Old Dominion, and the Monarchs’ offseason departures might be too difficult to overcome when it comes to battling toe-to-toe with an Eagles team that has one of the most high-volume passing attacks in the nation.
Week 13 – Old Dominion vs. Georgia State: Loss, 21-24
According to our season predictions, Old Dominion will only have pride to play for in Week 13 whereas Georgia State will have bowl eligibility on the line when they travel to Norfolk. In a close game, Panthers’ QB Darren Grainger gives them a slight advantage. It’s a two-win season for the Monarchs — taking a further step back from their 2022 campaign.
