25 Questions About ODU

 What is their body of work?

This is a home-and-home, with the return visit set for 2031, according to wikipedia.

They have never played BG.  They are 3-1 against the MAC overall, beating EMU 3 times and losing to UB (by 1) in 2025.  BG is 4-3 vs. the Sun Belt, beating FIU, South Alabama, Troy and Marshall, and losing to Georgia Southern, South Alabama, and Troy.  ODU has largely played without their two-time All-Amercian LB, Jason Henderson, who injured his knee late last season and has played only in their opener.  He was Defensive Player of the Year, pre-season, in the Sun Belt.  In the presser, Rahne said he would play whoever gave them the best chance of winning.

Phil Steele picked them #6 in the East Division of the Sun Belt.  Their official pre-season poll had the same pick.

They are 0-3 this year.  They lost by 4 @South Carolina (ODU fumbled in the 4th on their own 4 to give up the lead), to ECU by 6 at home and then by 20 @Va Tech.

BG is a 10-point favorite.  ODU is on a bye week.

How experienced are they?

They have 32 juniors and above on the two-deep, which is experienced.

Who are their national leaders?

Koa Noatala is #8 in tackles

Jahron Manning #8 in INT.

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -1.

Offense

How is their QB play? 

This is an interesting question mark.  Grant Wilson is the guy they want, but he was injured right at the end of the East Carolina game.  He missed VA Tech, and they had an off-week and in his presser, Rahne said that he was getting stronger but they would play whoever gave them the best chance of winning.  Rahne has not been great....58% completions and his 105.4 rating would be in the bottom 10 in the nation to date.  They played a couple guys in his place in Blacksburg.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are struggling on offense at 16.7 PPG, #122 in the nation out of 133.  They have 4.45 yards per play, 7th worst in the country.

Can they run the ball?

They are gaining 4.1 yards per play, which is #83.  Their #1 back averages 3.6 per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

This was mentioned above.   Actually, their starter has a QBR of 104, but the team's is 98, which is 129th in the nation.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 54% of their plays, sack adjusted.

Do they convert on 3rd Down, 

34% is 100th in the nation.

Do they score in Red Zone?

Very poor at 4 points per trip.

Do they protect the QB?

Average, at 7.5% of their pass attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are allowing 26.7 PPG, which is #87. They allow just under 5 yards per play, which is #50 in the nation.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are #73 in yards per carry allowed. 

Can they be passed on?

They are good against the pass, #26 in the nation. They allow only 57% completions and 11.5 yards per catch.  They have 5 INT and have allowed only 1 TD pass.

Teams run 59% of the time against them.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They allow 43%, which is #108.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are really good at 3.6 points per trip.  In 12 red zone trips, they have allowed 4 TDs.

Do they pressure the QB?

Yes.  They get sacks on 13.9% of opponent passing attempts.  That's #32 in the country.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 101st in net punting and have not been blocked or allowed a return over 20 yards.

Punt Return?

They have blocked a ton of kicks over the years and one so far this year.  Returns have been a non-issue.

Placekicking? 

They have only tried 3 and made all of them.  Long was 40.

Kickoff? 

Opponents start on the 23, which is good.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 22, which is not good.

Intangible Miscellany

Look, on paper, this is all of the 10-point spread.  They have played a tough schedule--all FBS--but not as tough as ours.  They have played without their top defensive player and one game without their starting QB, so if they are back they will be better than they have shown.

Even so, BG should be able to establish the run and pass only in opportune situations against their decent pass defense.  When ODU has the ball, BG should be able to keep the game controlled.

What the Falcons need to worry about here is a letdown, not unlike UT experienced.  It would be a terrible shame to do that at home on homecoming.  We need a strong performance to keep people coming back, especially with NIU here in a couple weeks.

The key test for us this year is whether we can bring a strong game consistently.  This is an opportunity to prove that we can.