Season Preview : Old Dominion

When the season kicks off Buffalo’s coaching staff will have had less than six months to prepare for the task of leading the Bulls. When the Monarch’s kick off their coaching staff will have had almost two years to prepare.

Head coach Ricky Rahne was hited by Old Dominion in December of 2019 and Conference USA sat out the football season due to covid, so getting onto the sideline is something the former Penn State offensive coordinator has been looking forward to.

Rahne was hired because ODU had one of the worst offenses in college football. They had a very young and inexperienced line in 2019 and no solid answer at running back. Chances are you’re going to see some transfers on the line. Offensive tackle Tyran Hunt transferred from Maryland and they seem set at center with Isaac Weaver. But after that there are a lot of questions for a line that’s probably going to have a true freshman running behind them.

To compensate for the line, and the questions at halfback, ODU is going to lean on UCF transfer quarterback DJ Mack who has good size and is a big threat in the run game.

Defense was going to be the strength of ODU last season, but they were gutted by the transfer portal. (we identify with that).

Every single unit of the Monarch’s defense is rebuilding. A few players are still around to try and be a nucleus. Guys like Marcus Haynes on the line and Jordan Young with the linebackers are going to have to get 7 or eight new players up to speed, and fast.

ODU looks like a good chance for Kevin Marks to cut loose, it could be a great chance to gauge where the Bulls are under coach linguist before hitting MAC play.