Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 116. Old Dominion
Delicious, clear Heinicke
Old Dominion. A relatively new football team that didn’t play from 1940-2008, the team returned to the FCS in 2009 and enjoyed lots of success, going 46-14 in 5 years. Old Dominion made the FCS playoffs twice, finishing 2011 in the Second Round at #10 and 10-3, and 2012 in the Quarterfinal going 11-2 and finishing #3. After moving up in 2014, there have been struggles, but flashes of greatness to go with them.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+--------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+--------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 46 | Old Dominion | 2016 | 3.892 | 10-3 |
| 84 | Old Dominion | 2014 | -16.582 | 6-6 |
| 90 | Old Dominion | 2021 | -23.095 | 6-7 |
| 101 | Old Dominion | 2017 | -30.145 | 5-7 |
| 95 | Old Dominion | 2015 | -31.014 | 5-7 |
| 102 | Old Dominion | 2018 | -35.829 | 4-8 |
| 116 | Old Dominion | 2022 | -38.193 | 3-9 |
| 127 | Old Dominion | 2019 | -61.171 | 1-11 |
+------+--------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: -1455.6598 (116th)40-58 record
0 conference titles
1-1 bowl record
0 consensus All-Americans
5 NFL players drafted
Nope, we haven’t yet escaped those semi-mediocre <10 years in the FBS teams. Old Dominion at least had a 10-3 season and a #46 ranking. The Monarchs have had a few notable NFL players, including QB Taylor Heinicke and WRs Travis Fulgham and Zach Pascal. While they haven’t had any consensus FBS All-Americans, Heinicke was an FCS All-American in 2012 and won the Walter Payton Award for best FCS player.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2019 (1-11 overall, 0-8 Conference USA)
The season started with a 24-21 win over Norfolk State, and that was all she wrote. ODU averaged just 16.2 PPG the rest of the season, 4th worst in the country. The defense wasn’t actually that bad, giving up just 29.8 PPG to rank 79th in the country. Because of their defense, they’d lose 3 one-possession games, but their offense was so bad that even a good defensive performance would often go wasted, like their 3-20 loss to 9-4 Western Kentucky. 4 QBs played for them, and none of them threw more TDs than INTs. QB Steven Williams was so scarred by the experience that the next time he would step on the field (2021), he had converted to LB. Amazingly, QB Stone Smartt, who threw 1 TD to 6 INT, would convert to TE and has 4 catches in the NFL currently with the Los Angeles Chargers. The standout player on this team was DE Keion White, who had 3.5 sacks and 15.5 TFL, and would transfer to Georgia Tech and was just drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft.
5. 2015 (5-7 overall, 3-5 Conference USA)
This team had its highs and lows. Not much to write home about—they finished just 95th in my rankings. 6 of their 7 losses came by 20+ points, albeit mostly to good teams. All 5 wins came against teams with losing records. WR Zach Pascal was the standout with 975 receiving yards and 165 rushing yards. RB Ray Lawry had 1288 yards and 12 TD from scrimmage. Even the QBs combined for 20 TD to 9 INT, so there were some bright spots on this team. Ultimately, though, this is only on the list for being the “least bad” of bad seasons.
4. 2017 (5-7 overall, 3-5 Conference USA)
Finished ranked lower (101st) than in 2015 (95th), but a better team overall. Offensively? Definitely not. QBs Steven Williams and Blake LaRussa combined for 9 TD and 14 INT. WR Travis Fulgham hadn’t quite taken off yet with just 394 receiving yards and 1 TD in his junior season. Special teams was a surprising bright spot, though: KR Isaiah Harper and PR Darrell Brown were both 1st team All-CUSA, Harper returning 3 kicks for TDs. DL Oshane Ximines was also 1st team with 8.5 sacks and 5.5 TFL. After starting 2-6, ODU almost made a bowl, rattling off 3 straight wins over Charlotte, FIU (who went 8-5), and Rice, before finally getting dominated by Middle Tennessee, 41-10.
3. 2021 (6-7 overall, 5-3 Conference USA)
Coming into 2021, it seemed like things were falling off the rails for Old Dominion. In 2019 they had their worst season in school history, going just 1-11, and in 2020 didn’t play due to covid. Things were looking bleak in Norfolk, and ODU was picked to finish last in their 7-team division in Conference USA. After starting 1-6 and 0-3 in conference play, it appeared they were who people thought they were. Down 20-17 to LA Tech with 11 minutes to go, Old Dominion went on a 10 (TEN) minute, 20 (TWENTY!) play drive that went 58 yards to get a tying FG with 2 minutes to go. After stopping Tech on downs, Dominion went down quickly to get a 46 yard winning FG with no time left. The win turned the tide of the season, and they won their last 4 games to earn a spot in their 2nd bowl ever, where they’d lose to Tulsa. RB Blake Watson ran for 1000+ yards and WR Ali Jennings caught for 1000+ yards on the season. TE Zack Kuntz was 1st team all-conference and was just drafted in the 7th round—he posted the highest RAS (Relative Athletic Score) by a TE in NFL history!
2. 2014 (6-6 overall, 4-4 Conference USA)
Old Dominion’s first full FBS season. The offense transitioned just fine, averaging 32.7 PPG, but the defense gave up 38.0 PPG. ODU had 34-46 and 28-42 losses to NC State and Vanderbilt, respectively, which showed they could compete with even solid P5 programs. Taylor Heinicke ended his senior season with 3 straight 3-point wins over FIU, Louisiana Tech, and FAU, to finish the year 6-6 and 4-4 in C-USA. Heinicke threw for 3476 yards 30 TD 16 INT to end his career as by far Old Dominion’s best player ever. WR Antonio Vaughn and OL Josh Mann were both 1st team All-CUSA, and RB Ray Lawry was the C-USA Freshman of the Year.
1. 2016 (10-3 overall, 7-1 Conference USA)
This team had very little weaknesses, talent all around. After starting 1-2, they won 9 of their last 10 to finish as one of the 5 hottest teams in the nation alongside powers like Clemson and USC. Wins included 33-19 over 6-7 UTSA, 51-35 over 7-6 Southern Miss, and 24-20 in the bowl game over Eastern Michigan. QB David Washington threw for an outstanding 2836 yards 31 TD 5 INT along with 8.3 YPA. RB Ray Lawry ran for 1255 yards with 6.3 YPC and 11 TD. WR Zach Pascal caught 65 passes for 946 yards and 9 TD while Jonathan Duhart was a solid #2 wideout with 700+ and 9 TD, and future NFL WR Travis Fulgham added 478 yards and 8 TD (on just 29 catches!). The defense even had 4 different players with 5+ sacks.
5th Quarter
What happened in 2016 to be so good? Seemed like a very talented WR room to have both Pascal and Fulgham in there. Is Old Dominion just lacking another Taylor Heinicke to take them to the next level?
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