By David Asbury
Team from Lynchburg Travels to Norfolk
This Saturday, the 2-1 Old Dominion Monarchs will host that team from Lynchburg. The last non-conference game of the season should be a fun one and gives the Monarchs an opportunity to exact revenge for recent losses against the lone C-USA member from the Commonwealth. ODU started this series with a win way back in 2013 when both teams were FCS but has since lost four straight match-ups with the most recent one being in 2023. However, the 2025 version of that team from Lynchburg looks very different from the one from 2023.
In 2023, Head Coach Jamey Chadwell's team went 13-1 and was the G5 NY6 representative in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon. In 2024, they came back down to Earth a bit, going 8-5 and ending the season with a Bahamas Bowl loss. This season is trending much worse. They are off to a 1-3 start and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. With losses to Jacksonville State, Bowling Green and James Madison and their lone win coming against Maine, they have yet to win a game against an FBS opponent in 2025. The home game to JMU, which was recently dubbed as a rivalry, turned into a blow out loss.
Chadwell (61-30 in FBS) has a lot of issues on this team to clean up. Primarily turnovers and run defense (more on that later). If 2024 was a down year, this year is down right horrible.
So who will be their quarterback? We may not know just yet. The Monarch-killer Ethan Vasko was named the team's starter after transferring in from Coastal Carolina. He defeated the Monarchs twice before in '23 and '24 while playing for the Beach Chickens. This season, Vasko has been a mixed bag after throwing for eight touchdowns, three interceptions, and two fumbles (one lost). But as I alluded to, he may not play this week. He re-aggravated a shoulder injury against James Madison last week and was seen on the sidelines with an arm sling. Chadwell said he seemed better on Sunday and will be limited in practice but his return is very questionable. Vasko's backups are freshmen Michael Merdinger, Ethan Houck and Jayden Bradford. After Vasko left the game, Merdinger and Houck split time for the Flames. But neither could get any traction, throwing for just 38 yards combined. Chadwell said that if Vasko can't play, all 3 backups could see time. Once Chadwell figures out who is playing at quarterback, he's gonna need to find a way to put their quarterback in the best possible position for success. That may be difficult to do against this Old Dominion defense.
ODU sacks QB Ethan Vasko in 2023. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.
But whoever is manning QB for that team from Lynchburg, they will be supported by some talented offensive personnel. Running back Evan Dickens is averaging more than 5.5 yards per carry and has reached the endzone twice. Additionally, wide receiver Donte Lee Jr. is having a breakout season with nine catches, 208 yards, and three touchdowns. This up-tempo spread option offense has moved the ball fairly well, averaging 372 yards per game (5th in C-USA) with most of it coming from the ground game. The rushing attack is averaging 172.3 yards per game (3rd in C-USA). ODU needs its linebacker depth to step up and stop the run. But the Lynchburg offense has a huge weakness: turnovers. They have six turnovers thus far, three interceptions and three lost fumbles. It is contributing to their low points per game (19.5, 8th in C-USA). If the Monarchs generate turnovers on defense like they have the last two weeks, it could be a long day for the other team.
Turning to the defense from Lynchburg, it has been pretty sub-par. On the surface, they look great allowing the fewest yards per game in C-USA (362.5). It is led by the stellar pass defense (138.5 yards per game, 1st in C-USA). They pretty much shut out the Jax State passing game, holding them to a meager 52 yards. But if you peel back the curtain this defense starts to show some ugly warts. Their run defense is atrocious allowing 226.8 rushing yards per game. That is the worst in C-USA and the sixth worst in the entire country. The front four are not playing well at all. This defense is also struggling to get to the quarterback or to force negative plays for the opposition, averaging only one sack per game (119th in the country) and ranking 128th in the country in tackles for loss.
The Monarchs' offense has a very strong rushing attack averaging 245 rushing yards per game (1st in SBC, 15th in FBS). Colton Joseph and Trequan Jones have led that attack and done so against P4 competition. This is a match-up nightmare for that team from Lynchburg. The Monarchs might top 300 rushing yards if they do not do something to turn around that poor play. The ODU offensive line has the potential to manhandle this unit.
Overall, ODU's opponent is not doing great right now at 1-3, a three-game losing streak, and their quarterback out with injury. Chadwell has a lot to fix, such as turnovers on offense and stopping the run on defense. Moreover, he has to make sure his team stays focused and doesn't quit on him. After three losses in a row, some players could start thinking about where they want to be next year and may not focus or even care about the team in front of them. On the other hand, Chadwell is a talented coach and C-USA is not a strong league. If Chadwell can keep his team focused, there is a lot of talent there to get back into the C-USA race or at least go bowling. I would not quit on this team just yet.
Prediction: ODU 35, Liberty 17
Man, I really regret talking myself out of picking the Monarchs against the Hokies. I will not make that mistake again. Mike did the right thing and picked ODU so he takes the lead and is 3-0 in his predictions. Vegas, Aaron, Gary, and I are all tied for second place with a 2-1 record. This week we are all picking the Monarchs. Vegas opened favoring the Monarchs by 9.5 points. That line has moved significantly in the Monarchs favor and quickly moved to -16.5 where it seems to have settled. That is a lot of points so there is room for it to go back the other direction with the public entering their slips later in the week.
Not only may that team from Lynchburg be missing their quarterback, but this is a match-up nightmare for them. The Monarchs have one of the strongest rushing attacks in all of FBS and have had success against P4 talent in Indiana and Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, ODU's opponent struggled to stop G5 and FCS rushing attacks. I mean, they gave up 184 rushing yards against Maine. Their strong pass defense stats also seem to be a little skewed by the Jax State and Maine games and might be misleading. Afterall, why throw the ball when they can't stop the run? And James Madison had no problem passing against them which makes me believe a quarterback like Colton Joseph could hurt them through the air as well.
But I do caution ODU fans that the team from Lynchburg could get its act together and be dangerous. Their offense has a lot of weapons and has gained a lot of yards. If they can just take care of the football, the opportunity to score a lot of points is there for them. Turnovers on offense is one of the easier problems to fix, especially fumbles which can be a little fluky. Given the injuries on the ODU defense, it is very possible this could be a high scoring game. However, it can be hard to fix an offense when switching to a freshman quarterback who was intended to be learning while waiting in the wings as a back-up. Add on that the team is on a three-game losing streak and players may decide to quit. The Monarchs should easily take this one. Let's get revenge and PACK THE CASTLE!
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