David Power Ranks ODU's Opponents of 2025

By David Asbury

Tough but manageable 
There are a lot of power rankings for the Sun Belt Conference and college football that include ODU.  I prefer to do something different.  I prefer to rank the Monarchs opponents.  The purpose is to help ODU fans gauge how difficult and meaningful each game is.  In other words, it tells them not to fret if the Monarchs lose to a team like Indiana but also not to gloat if they defeat a team like NC Central.

Like most seasons, the Monarchs have a pretty tough schedule.  Sports Illustrated uses last year's records to rank strength of schedule and has ODU with the 41st toughest schedule in the country. That's tough. But one could debate that this one is easier than last season's.  For starters, ODU is playing a FCS team early in the season, a luxury they did not have last year.  Secondly, there has been a lot of turnover with its opponents in the Sun Belt. So while the conference games will remain challenging, it may not be as difficult as last season.  Overall, it is a great schedule with a variety of teams at all levels that should make it a fun season for all fans.

Tier 1 - The P4 Road Games

1. Indiana - Preview and Prediction forthcoming. 
8/30, Bloomington, IN - The Indiana Hoosiers had a Cinderella playoff season last year losing to only two teams; Notre Dame and Ohio State.  There is no shame losing to the teams that played in the National Championship.  2024 was a huge accomplishment for the Hoosiers but it will be difficult to replicate it in 2025 with 3 opponents on the schedule ranked in the preseason and have had their own fair share of turnover.  Yet this Big Ten school should be the best team on the Monarchs' schedule. The Coaches poll has them ranked 19th in the country.  ODU is also 0-2 against IU head coach Curt Cignetti.  If Old Dominion were to go into Bloomington and defeat the Hoosiers (which is not impossible) it would shock the college football world.

2. Virginia Tech - Opponent Preview.
9/13, Blacksburg, VA - The Hokies are coming off a disappointing season for Tech fans going 6-7 and finishing it off by losing their bowl game.  They had been expected to compete for the ACC and had the returning personnel to do so.  Head coach Brent Pry is now on the hot seat and it would not be surprising if he loses his job with another disappointing season.  But again, the Hokies are a P4 team with a budget that dwarfs ODU's.  The Monarchs have never defeated them in Blacksburg and doing it this year will be an uphill battle.  On the bright side, the Hokies face two SEC teams the weeks before the matchup while the Monarchs will probably be coming off an easy FCS win.  The Hokies could be beat up after such competition and play a down game against an ODU team that historically plays up to them. 

Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

Tier 2 - The Top G5 Opponents

3. James Madison - Opponent Preview.
10/18, Harrisonburg, VA - The damn vassals are probably ODU's top competition in the Sun Belt.   Bob Chesney returns good pieces from his team last season and also picked up a top quarterback Matthew Sluka from the transfer portal that already knows his system from their time together at Holy Cross.  Alonza Barnett's availability is up in the air after his knee injury against Marshall last season but was recently cleared for contact.  Rahne needs a win here as he is 0-3 in the Royal Rivalry and Monarch fans have a right to be mad about that.

 
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

4. Liberty - Opponent Preview.
9/27, Norfolk, VA - This Liberty team is not the same as the stellar 2023 team that won C-USA, embarrassed ODU and went to a NY6 Bowl.  Jamey Chadwell had a down season in 2024 and star quarterback Kaidon Salter left for Deion Sanders' Colorado.  However, Liberty returns a lot of its 2024 production and replaced Salter at quarterback.  The local kid who decommitted from ODU to sign with Kansas, Ethan Vasko transferred to Liberty from Coastal Carolina and will return to the Castle where he won the high school state championship for Oscar Smith and got his first college start and win against the Monarchs in 2023.  While starting at CCU, Vasko defeated the Monarchs twice in varying fashion.

5. Georgia Southern - Opponent Preview.
11/22, Statesboro, GA - Clay Helton's Eagles have a pretty strong identity.  They can pass the ball on anybody and will score a lot of points, even if his quarterbacks are prone to throw interceptions.  Meanwhile Helton's defenses are always a work in progress and have a tendency to let just about anybody score on them.  Still, Helton returns his quarterback in JC French as well as many other playmakers.  Expect high scores in their games and to compete with JMU and ODU for the East.

Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography

Tier 3 - The Middle Sun Belt Teams

6. Troy - Opponent Preview. 
Thursday, 11/13, Norfolk, VA - Troy was a juggernaut in the Sun Belt not too long ago but first year head coach Gerard Parker had a down season in 2024 going 4-8.  That's okay though, first-year head coaches can have mulligans while they rebuild.   This year, much more is expected from Troy as Parker should have this team progressing and because they have the most returning production in the Sun Belt.  But will they though?  The West may be more difficult to win with a rebuilt Southern Miss. competing with the other good teams that division already has. However, their return to competitiveness is something they'll have to prove.

7. Coastal Carolina - Opponent Preview.
10/4, Norfolk, VA - Tim Beck's CCU might be going in the wrong direction.  They have 61 new players.  Last season, they played their bowl game in their own stadium for the Myrtle Beach Bowl and got throttled by UTSA.  Beck's third season at Coastal with two new coordinators will be a huge test for him.  If they miss a bowl game, expect him to be on the hot seat in 2026 or even looking for a new job this offseason.  On the other hand, with the turnover at Marshall and App. State, maybe he can sustain himself for another season.

Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

8. App. State - Opponent Preview. 
10/25, Norfolk, VA - After a disappointing 5-6 season and missing bowl eligibility, the App. State Mountaineers will have a new head coach and a lot of roster turnover.  They did very well in the transfer portal getting two of the better quarterbacks in the portal but it is still a lot of turnover.  Given so much turnover, it is a little mysterious if they can climb these rankings fast or drop these rankings fast.  It really could go either way so eight is a good place for them until we get more information.

Tier 4 - The Bottom Sun Belt Teams

9. Marshall - Opponent Preview.
10/11, Huntington, WV - Prognosticators are really low on the Marshall Thundering Herd.  Phil Steele ranks them last in the Sun Belt East and CFBudge ranks them last in the entire conference.  Vegas is not much better giving them the 12th likeliest odds to win the SBC.  These are not very hot takes.  Marshall is NOT the same team that won the conference last year.  They have a new AD, new coach, new players, new everything.  The new guys just do not look like world beaters right now.  This Marshall team could still go bowling with their (mostly) Charmin-soft nonconference schedule (@UGA, Missouri State, EKU and @MTSU), but they have to do a lot more than that to rise up this list.  Despite all the turnover I am still ranking them above ULM and Georgia State.  I feel like although they may not be good, they could still surprise this year with so many unknowns.  I just do not think ULM or Georgia State are capable of doing the same.

 
Meeks (57) and Payne (81) are almost all that return from last year's Marshall team.  Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

10. UL-Monroe - Opponent Preview.
11/1, Monroe, LA - ULM has been a basement dweller in the Sun Belt for years.  Every other team SBC team expects to defeat them.  Surprisingly, last year first-year head coach Bryant Vincent started the team 5-1 with an impressive win against James Madison at home.  Running back Ahmad Hardy played well enough to be named the SBC Freshman of the Year.  Many thought they might shock the world and make it to the SBC Championship Game.  But all that was fool's gold hiding behind an easy start in their schedule.  They ended 2024 losing their last six conference games and missing a bowl game for the 12th straight year. In fact, ULM only has 1 bowl appearance since moving back to FBS in 2001.

This season, the Warhawks have a lot of returning production on defense and might have one of the best defenses in the conference.  However, the offense looks questionable at best after Hardy transferred to Mizzou.  Also, Bryant Vincent was named the interim athletic director.  He will be Mr. ULM as the AD, head coach, and offensive coordinator.  Are there enough hours in the day to do all three jobs competently?  He very well might but that is a ton of work on his desk to expect success.

11. Georgia State - Opponent Preview.
11/29, Norfolk, VA - Dell McGee's Panthers can hang their hat on their win against Vanderbilt but otherwise 2024 was a bad season going 3-9.  However, we shouldn't judge him too harshly for season #1. McGee deserves a little grace given that it was his first year, they had significant roster turnover, and he was hired very late in the process. At the time, I genuinely liked the hire but nothing the Panthers have done this offseason makes it look like 2025 will fare any better.  There were major shakeups at both coordinator positions.  McGee promoted former-NFL head coach Hue Jackson to be the team's offensive coordinator position.  Is that really an improvement to hire the guy that went 3-36 as the Cleveland Browns head coach?  His recent time in college football at Tennessee State and Grambling State were not impressive either.  I have my doubts.  The Panthers need to prove it before climbing this list. I am excited to see how Ted Hurst follows up his amazing junior year though. 

Tier 5 - The FCS Tune-Up Game

12. NC Central - Opponent Preview.
9/6, Norfolk, VA - Coming in at last place is, of course, the FCS team from the MEAC.  NC Central is a very good MEAC school that can compete to win their conference and maybe even push to get ranked in the FCS.  However, ODU should easily defeat any team from the MEAC because it is just not a top FCS conference.  ODU is 8-0 against teams from the FCS since the Monarchs promoted to FBS in 2014.  ODU is also 2-0 against NC Central playing them back in the FCS days way back in 2009 and 2010.  That streak should continue here.  The Monarchs cannot take this team lightly.  A loss here would be an unrecoverable embarrassment.  In fact, in 2023 the Monarchs just barely defeated Texas A&M-Commerce from the FCS by a single point and that was embarrassment enough. Lets not repeat that.