Since returning to the FBS level, Old Dominion had been 0-9 against Power Five teams, with eight of those losses coming to schools from the ACC. And then Saturday afternoon/evening happened.
Coming in as a 27.5-point underdog, Old Dominion left Foreman Stadium with a stunning 49-35 upset over No. 13 Virginia Tech. The Monarchs had been 0-3 entering the game — losses to Liberty, FIU and Charlotte — while the Hokies were a perfect 2-0.
Tech had allowed just two touchdowns in two games; ODU had four in the fourth quarter alone and seven total in the game.
The two teams traded the lead six times, while it was tied on another six occasions. The Monarchs took its first lead of the game with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, only to see the Hokies tied it up nearly three minutes later.
With 5:11 left in the contest, ODU took the lead for good on a tremendous one-handed catch by Jonathan Duhart on the back-end of a 29-yard touchdown pass from Blake LaRussa.
Both teams ended the game with their backups quarterbacks on the field. LaRussa passed for 495 yards and four touchdowns after he replaced the starter before the second offensive series, while Ryan Willis went eight-of-15 for 115 yards and a touchdown in place of the injured Josh Jackson (8-16, two touchdowns, one interception).
Tech was the second ranked ACC team to go down in defeat at the hands of a previously-winless squad. Earlier in the day, No. 23 Boston College was railroaded 30-13 by a Purdue team came in 0-3.