Old Dominion Picked Up Its First Win Of The Year By Stunning No. 13 Virginia Tech

College football saw a major upset last week, as Wisconsin played host to BYU and fell despite being a 21-point favorite. Fast forward to Saturday and suddenly, the Badgers no longer have the most shocking loss that we’ve seen this year.

That title now belongs to Virginia Tech, which were stunned by Old Dominion. The Monarchs played host to the Hokies, and despite being 28.5-point underdogs, came out on top, 49-35. It was the first win of the year for Old Dominion, as the team had came into this game 0-3 due to losses to Liberty (by 42 points), Florida International, and Charlotte.

But part of the magic of college football is that anything can happen on a given Saturday, including a team with aspirations of winning the ACC falling to the squad ranked 111th in S&P+. While the Hokies did lose starting quarterback Josh Jackson early on in the fourth quarter, Virginia Tech’s defense was unable to keep the Monarchs out of the end zone during the game’s final frame.

Old Dominion outscored the Hokies, 28-7, over the game’s final 15 minutes. Their first lead of the fourth quarter came with just under 10 minutes to go, as Jeremy Cox — a 6-foot, 235 pound battering ram of a running back — trudged his way into the end zone.

Virginia Tech was able to respond, though, as backup signal caller Ryan Willis connected with tight end Chris Cunningham in the end zone on a fourth down call deep in Monarch territory.

However, from there, Old Dominion managed to make the plays needed to win the game. The highlight of the afternoon was this toss by Blake LaRussa to Jonathan Duhart, who made quite the snag despite being draped by Hokies defenders.

Virginia Tech got the ball back, and despite driving down the field, turned the ball over on downs by failing to convert a fourth-and-four on the edge of the Old Dominion red zone. The Monarchs got the ball back, and instead of running down the clock, Cox got the opportunity to drive a dagger into the Hokies. Cox took a handoff, plowed through the line of scrimmage, and put an exclamation point on the win 40 yards later.

LaRussa was outstanding, going 30-for-49 with 495 yards, four touchdowns, and no picks. Both Travis Fulgham (nine receptions, 188 yards, one touchdown) and Duhard (nine receptions, 142 yards, three touchdowns) were unstoppable through the air, while the 20 carries for 132 yards and two scores by Cox were also noteworthy.

While it’s not the end of the world for Virginia Tech, which drops to 2-1 on the year with a 1-0 record in conference play, this is about as stunning of a loss as you’ll find. The Hokies will have plenty of chances to avenge this one going forward — the two teams will meet nine more times between next year and the 2031 campaign — but even if Virginia Tech wins every game in the future, this is a win that no one in Norfolk will ever forget.