NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- After a Thursday night loss at home to Georgia Southern, Old Dominion hits the road looking to revive its campaign.
The Monarchs head to Louisiana Tech to face a Bulldogs team that is off to a solid start. They're 4-2 with their only losses coming at LSU and at Baylor. LA Tech is unbeaten at home and coming off a 24-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe this past Saturday.
In Ruston, ODU will seek an offensive spark. The Monarchs' 266.9 yards per game rank last in FBS football and their -3 turnover margin is 100 out of 138 teams.
"Obviously we have to take care of the football," head coach Ricky Rahne said. "Particularly in the fumbles. We've put the ball on the ground too much, bottom line."
"We just need to harp on the details a little bit more," added receiver T.J. Johnson. "Focus on being 1-0 each and every play and not trying to be too perfect or be too incredible, not be a super hero and do everybody's job. Do your job and once you do your job, everything's going the right direction."
The Monarchs fell to 2-5, 1-3 in the Sun Belt with Thursday's 23-15 loss to Georgia Southern. Old Dominion got the ball back late in the fourth quarter, but a Ryan Huff fumble ended the silver and blue's hopes at a comeback. Despite the misfortune, Rahne says the energy is still good around the team.
"It's not like you want guys walking out there smiling and having fun," Rahne noted of practice after a loss. "You want them to have fun when it's there. You're not exactly expecting that, but you are expecting the guys to compete all of practice and I thought we did that."
"I feel like the energy is great," added defensive lineman DeAndre Lynch. "We're brothers and we know that we always have to fight for each other and we've put ourselves in a position where we have to fight our way out."
The last time ODU and Louisiana Tech met was 2021 when the two were Conference USA foes. The Monarchs had started 1-6, but picked up a victory over the Bulldogs to start a regular season-ending five game winning streak.
Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech kick off Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
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