Liberty hits the road for its final non-conference game of the season playing at Old Dominion.

Game Overview

  • Matchup: Liberty Flames (1-3, 0-1 CUSA) vs Old Dominion Monarchs (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
  • Date & Time: Saturday, September 27, 2025, at S. B. Ballard Stadium, Norfolk, Virginia. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
  • Series History: Liberty leads, 4-1. Liberty won the previous matchup, 38-10, on Nov. 11, 2023.

Preview of the Monarchs

The Flames have owned the series between these two programs since making the move to the FBS, winning four straight against the Monarchs, including Liberty’s first ever game as an FBS member in 2018. Liberty has won these four games by an average of 43.25-15.25.

Fifth year head coach Ricky Rahne is hoping to guide the Monarchs to its first winning season since 2016 and are coming off a 5-7 mark a season ago. Rahne has a 22-31 mark at ODU, including an impressive 2-1 start to the 2025 campaign. In the season opener, the Monarchs lost at Indiana, 27-14, which is actually an impressive score based on what the Hoosiers have done the rest of this season including a 63-10 win over top 25 Illinois. Following the opener, Old Dominion defeated North Carolina Central, 54-6, in their home opener and then put the final nails in the coffin of Brent Pry at Virginia Tech with a 45-26 trouncing in Blacksburg.

Redshirt-Sophomore Colton Joseph returns at quarterback for the Monarchs after making eight starts last year. So far this year, Joseph has completed 46 of 68 passes for 629 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He also leads the team with 30 rushing attempts for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is the single biggest reason why ODU has seen an early season turnaround. Joseph currently ranks second in the nation in rushing yards per carry (9.7), 14th in total offense (307 yards per game), and 15th in points responsible for (18).

Trequan Jones is second on the team with 265 rushing yards and 4 scores, including a 93-yard scamper as he is averaging 14.7 yards per carry. Maurki James and Ke’Travion Hargrove also factor into the rushing attack for ODU. Ja’Cory Thomas, Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, and Tre Brown have combined for 31 receptions for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Monarchs have a really solid offensive line that enters this week ranked 12th in the country in sacks allowed, only allowing two so far this season, and 2nd in tackles for loss allowed. They have been able to add to their front group through the transfer portal. Dawson Johnson (Florida), Zach Barlev (Illinois), Ryan Joyce (Fordham), Griffin Duggan (Virginia Tech), and Logan Cox (Kansas State) have all added to the ODU offensive line. Joyce is on his 7th year of football after six years at Fordham, where he started games in all six years. That front group has helped ODU to the 16th best rushing offense, averaging 245 yards rushing per game. The Monarchs are 30th in total offense (461.3) and 35th in scoring offense (37.7). ODU is also the only team in the country that has scored a touchdown on every single one of their trips to the red zone, going a perfect 10 for 10 so far this season.

On defense, Old Dominion has the 51st ranked scoring defense (19.67) and 96th ranked total defense (390.7). They have struggled against the run, allowing 204 yards on the ground per game, which ranks 124th in all of FBS. Where the Monarchs have had some success on the defensive side of the ball is in creating some havoc, ranking 14th in tackles for loss with 24 in three games. They are also 10th in the country in red zone defense, holding opponents to scores on just 61.5% of their opportunities.

Defensive back Mario Easterly leads ODU in tackles with 26 this season to go along with one tackle for loss, one pass breakup, and one QB hurry. Linebacker Jeremy Mack, Jr. is second on the team with 21 tackles while leading the team in TFLs (3.5) and sacks (2). Defensive back Jerome Carter has 20 tackles and a team-leading two interceptions. Safety Nickendre Stiger (Kansas State) and corner Botros Alisandro (Purdue) are first year transfers who have had immediate impacts in the defensive secondary. An eye-dropping 17 different Monarchs have a tackle for loss this season.

Coach Rahne on the Flames

“We’re looking at how can we defend this offense which is a difficult offense to defend with. They have some playmakers at receiver. They’ve got some experience at offensive line, and they’ve really settled in and come up with an offensive line group that’s going to be their guys. They had three different lineups the first three games, but the last two have been the same one. They’ve got some dynamic playmakers at running back and then the number one, he’s kind of half-receiver, half-running back. He’s a very, very, very good player. They’ve got some option base to their offense, but they will take some shots down the field. It’s an interesting offense we have to be prepared for.”

“I want to get a win. It’s our next game. I don’t think we’ve played our best football against this team in the past. I would like to see us go out there and play our best game and see where it ends up. That, to me, is the most important thing. Let’s go out there and play really good football and put our best foot forward.”

Coach Chadwell on the Monarchs

“We’ve got another really good opponent this week, from the Sun Belt, who is playing really well. We’ve got our hands full again.”

“Their quarterback is playing lights out. He can run. He can throw. He’s throwing darts. When your quarterback is playing at a high level, then you can do a lot of different things, especially in the red zone. When he is a threat to run, then you load up the box. Then, he’s been able to drop dimes on one-on-ones. Then, you think you got to play coverage. Their offense is playing at a high level.”

“Defensively, they play a unique scheme that gives you a lot of challenges, so you have to do a good job of being patient and try to find out what they’re trying to do to you. They are a robber team. They play with an extra safety, so they play with three safeties. They give a bunch of different looks out of that. You have to scheme for those certain looks. It’s something you don’t see typically weekly. There’s a lot that goes into that. They create chaos and are able to cause some turnovers and tackles for loss because of the different things they do. They get the ball back to their offense, and their offense has been explosive. So, they are able to get a lead and then they can really go after you.”

“This is going to be a challenging game for us. We have to take care of the ball. We have to try to limit the opportunities we give them. Besides Indiana, who is a really good team, they’ve torched everybody including the people down the road. They are talented. They are playing with a lot of confidence. So, it’s a big challenge for us.”

Prediction

Spread: Liberty +14.5

My forecast: Old Dominion 31, Liberty 20

My record this season: 2-2 straight-up, 2-2 against the spread