Old Dominion is coming off a memorable, 10-win season. After being tabbed to finish near the bottom of Conference USA, the Monarchs won nine of their last 10 games, finishing with a Bahamas Bowl win over Eastern Michigan in the school’s first bowl appearance.
Across the state, Virginia Tech also won 10 games in Justin Fuente’s first year taking on the unenviable task of replacing the legendary Frank Beamer. Fuente took Tech to the ACC championship game, where it lost by a touchdown to national finalist Clemson. The Hokies then rallied from a 24-0 deficit to upend Arkansas 36-24 in the Belk Bowl.