NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It's a fun time to be a fan of Old Dominion football.
The Monarchs are out to their best start since 2012, have won four in a row and looked primed to, at the very least, tally their first winning season since 2016.
On top of that, ODU is coming off arguably its best game under Ricky Rahne is is receiving votes in a national poll for the first time as an FBS program (13 votes in this week's AFCA Coaches Poll). But among the increase in national attention, Ricky Rahne is business as usual.
"To me, that's not a big thing," Rahne said of the poll. "We're focused on going 1-0, we're focused on doing whatever we can to continue to stack great days of preparation together and see where that can lead us each and every week."
"From a guy that's been here at the top and bottom, obviously it feels good," added linebacker Kris Trinidad. "It's a boost in morale a little bit, but that's not the kind of thing that we value as a program. We're more about finding the rewards in the process."
Old Dominion takes aim at its fifth straight victory at Marshall this Saturday afternoon, where the Monarchs are 0-5 all-time. ODU is 1-9 in the series with the Thundering Herd and has lost seven in a row, but the silver and blue head to Huntington playing some of their best football. As for Marshall, the Herd enters Saturday's showdown 2-3 and coming off a 54-51 overtime loss to Louisiana this past weekend.
"The record speaks for itself," Rahne said. "They've had my number, in particular, so obviously I want to go 1-0 this week. Going 1-0 this week isn't going to wipe out any of the other ones. It will mean that we went 1-0 this week and I think that's the important part that we've got to go do and it will be the next phase for us because this is a different challenge of a team."
Rahne's team was clicking on all cylinders this past Saturday in a 47-7 victory over Coastal Carolina. The Monarchs' 47-7 win was their largest margin of victory ever against an FBS opponent. They out-gained the Chanticleers, 619-189, in total offense and their 498 yards per game is good enough for 10th in the country. Quarterback Colton Joseph ranks fourth in the country in total offense, gaining 329 yards per outing. It's not hard to see this ODU team is different than the others in Rahne's tenure at the head of the program.
So what's behind the success? In addition to following the process and the 1-0 mentality, Rahne says it's a locker room full of guys who just love football.
"I think we have more guys who love the game and that love of the game transcends into the preparation," the head coach noted. "They don't just love Saturdays, they love all the other parts of it, too, and that doesn't mean they enjoy every part of practice. But it does mean that, overall, the preparation they enjoy."
"I feel like a lot of guys on the team would agree with me, this team has a lot of grit," Trinidad said. "We're never satisfied. Even after a great win on Saturday, we came out Sunday thinking about 'how can we get better?'"
Old Dominion and Marshall kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
