# 2021 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

The 2021 Old Dominion Monarchs football team represented Old Dominion University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Monarchs played their home games at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). The team was coached by second-year head coach Ricky Rahne.
On October 27, 2021, Old Dominion announced that this would be the last season for the team in C-USA, and they would join the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2022.

## 2020 season

On August 10, 2020, Old Dominion announced that they would cancel their 2020 FBS football season due to health, safety, and travel concerns for the COVID-19 pandemic. Since head coach Ricky Rahne was hired in December 2019, the 2021 season would be considered his second season as head coach due to team practices resuming in 2020, despite the cancellation of the season.

## Schedule

Old Dominion announced its 2021 football schedule on January 27, 2021. The 2021 schedule consisted of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 7:00 p.m. | at Wake Forest* | Truist FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | L 10–42 | 25,673 |
| September 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Hampton* | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN3 | W 47–7 | 18,363 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at Liberty* | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | ESPN3 | L 17–45 | 18,471 |
| September 25 | 6:00 p.m. | Buffalo* | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN+ | L 34–35 | 18,197 |
| October 2 | 9:00 p.m. | at UTEP | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX | ESPN+ | L 21–28 | 11,025 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at Marshall | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | CBSSN Facebook | L 13–20 $^{OT}$ | 24,172 |
| October 16 | 3:30 p.m. | Western Kentucky | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN3 | L 20–43 | 16,418 |
| October 30 | 3:30 p.m. | Louisiana Tech | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | CBSSN | W 23–20 | 13,309 |
| November 6 | 7:00 p.m. | at FIU | Riccardo Silva StadiumMiami, FL | ESPN3 | W 47–24 | 0 |
| November 13 | 3:30 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN+ | W 30–16 | 13,634 |
| November 20 | 3:30 p.m. | at Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 9,606 |
| November 27 | 2:00 p.m. | Charlotte | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl) | ESPN+ | W 56–34 | 15,874 |
| December 20 | 2:30 pm | vs. Tulsa* | Brooks StadiumConway, South Carolina (Myrtle Beach Bowl) | ESPN | L 17–30 | 6,557 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Demon Deacons | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| WF –32.0 | 61.5 |
| Statistics | ODU | WF |
| First downs | 17 | 20 |
| Total yards | 272 | 352 |
| Rushing yards | 145 | 164 |
| Passing yards | 127 | 188 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:19 | 27:41 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 11/17, 88 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Elijah Davis | 12 carries, 69 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Stone Smartt | 3 receptions, 26 yards |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Sam Hartman | 18/27, 188 yards, 3 TDs |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Christian Beal-Smith | 11 carries, 74 yards, 2 TDs |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | A. T. Perry | 4 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD |

### Hampton

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Monarchs | 10 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ODU –21.5 | 55 |
| Statistics | HU | ODU |
| First downs | 13 | 32 |
| Total yards | 187 | 572 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 358 |
| Passing yards | 83 | 214 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:55 | 33:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Hampton | Passing | Jett Duffey | 7/16, 83 yards, 1 TD |
| Hampton | Rushing | Elijah Burris | 12 carries, 45 yards |
| Hampton | Receiving | Jadakis Bonds | 5 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Passing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 11/22, 162 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Jon-Luke Peaker | 18 carries, 141 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Zack Kuntz | 3 receptions, 61 yards |

### At Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| • Flames | 14 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 45 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| LIB –27.5 | 53 |
| Statistics | ODU | LIB |
| First downs | 15 | 23 |
| Total yards | 201 | 424 |
| Rushing yards | 67 | 182 |
| Passing yards | 134 | 242 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 28:16 | 31:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 15/27, 134 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Elijah Davis | 11 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Zack Kuntz | 4 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD |
| Liberty | Passing | Malik Willis | 21/28, 242 yards, 4 TDs |
| Liberty | Rushing | Malik Willis | 9 carries, 77 yards, 2 TDs |
| Liberty | Receiving | CJ Daniels | 5 receptions, 70 yards, 2 TDs |

### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bulls | 7 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Monarchs | 7 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 34 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| BUF –13.0 | 50.5 |
| Statistics | BUF | ODU |
| First downs | 17 | 27 |
| Total yards | 297 | 433 |
| Rushing yards | 106 | 209 |
| Passing yards | 191 | 224 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 37:32 | 22:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Kyle Vantrease | 17/26, 191 yards, 1 TD |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Dylan McDuffie | 16 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Quian Williams | 9 receptions, 134 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Passing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 24/41, 224 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 18 carries, 84 yards, 2 TDs |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 7 receptions, 68 yards |

### At UTEP

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| • Miners | 3 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 28 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTEP –5.5 | 48.5 |
| Statistics | ODU | UTEP |
| First downs | 19 | 17 |
| Total yards | 282 | 333 |
| Rushing yards | 88 | 142 |
| Passing yards | 194 | 191 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:32 | 34:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 20/34, 194 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 13 carries, 35 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Zack Kuntz | 8 receptions, 54 yards |
| UTEP | Passing | Gavin Hardison | 10/20, 191 yards, 2 TDs |
| UTEP | Rushing | Deion Hankins | 23 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD |
| UTEP | Receiving | Jacob Cowing | 4 receptions, 118 yards |

### At Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Monarchs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Thundering Herd | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MARSH –21.0 | 62.5 |
| Statistics | ODU | MAR |
| First downs | 19 | 24 |
| Total yards | 314 | 390 |
| Rushing yards | 208 | 91 |
| Passing yards | 106 | 299 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 29:56 | 30:04 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | D. J. Mack Jr. | 9/22, 106 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 26 carries, 168 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 1 reception, 33 yards, 1 TD |
| Marshall | Passing | Grant Wells | 30/46, 299 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Marshall | Rushing | Rasheen Ali | 21 carries, 77 yards |
| Marshall | Receiving | Shadeed Ahmed | 7 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD |

### Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hilltoppers | 14 | 16 | 3 | 10 | 43 |
| Monarchs | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| WKU –13.5 | 67 |
| Statistics | WKU | ODU |
| First downs | 29 | 23 |
| Total yards | 518 | 446 |
| Rushing yards | 121 | 119 |
| Passing yards | 397 | 327 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 30:39 | 29:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Bailey Zappe | 36/54, 397 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Adam Cofield | 10 carries, 67 yards |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Jerreth Sterns | 13 receptions, 221 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 26/41, 327 yards, 2 INTs |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 22 carries, 104 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 13 receptions, 172 yards |

### Louisiana Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| • Monarchs | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| LT –4.0 | 52.5 |
| Statistics | LT | ODU |
| First downs | 15 | 20 |
| Total yards | 335 | 311 |
| Rushing yards | 59 | 162 |
| Passing yards | 276 | 149 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 24:21 | 35:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Louisiana Tech | Passing | Austin Kendall | 22/36, 253 yards, 1 TD |
| Louisiana Tech | Rushing | Marcus Williams Jr. | 14 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD |
| Louisiana Tech | Receiving | Smoke Harris | 7 receptions, 63 yards |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 23/34, 149 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 28 carries, 108 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Zack Kuntz | 8 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD |

### At FIU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Monarchs | 24 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 47 |
| Panthers | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ODU –3.0 | 50.0 |
| Statistics | ODU | FIU |
| First downs | 29 | 19 |
| Total yards | 565 | 435 |
| Rushing yards | 282 | 107 |
| Passing yards | 283 | 328 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:49 | 28:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 22/42, 283 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 28 rushes, 158 yards, 2 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Zack Kuntz | 9 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| FIU | Passing | Max Bortenschlager | 18/32, 315 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Lexington Joseph | 11 rushes, 54 yards |
| FIU | Receiving | Bryce Singleton | 6 receptions, 199 yards, 2 TD |

### Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| • Monarchs | 2 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 30 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| FAU –6.5 | 48 |
| Statistics | FAU | ODU |
| First downs | 13 | 22 |
| Total yards | 308 | 447 |
| Rushing yards | 121 | 158 |
| Passing yards | 187 | 289 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 22:28 | 37:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing | N'Kosi Perry | 12/21, 187 yards, 1 TD |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing | Johnny Ford | 19 rushes, 101 yards, 1 TD |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving | Brandon Robinson | 1 reception, 59 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 21/33, 289 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 23 rushes, 163 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 4 receptions, 99 yards |

### At Middle Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Monarchs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Blue Raiders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MTSU –3 | 48.5 |
| Statistics | ODU | MTSU |
| First downs | 11 | 25 |
| Total yards | 341 | 414 |
| Rushing yards | 100 | 101 |
| Passing yards | 241 | 313 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 24:55 | 35:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 15/24, 241 yards, 2 TD |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 18 rushes, 57 yards |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 4 receptions, 146 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 31/45, 281 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Martell Pettaway | 13 rushes, 57 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Jaylin Lane | 10 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD |

### Charlotte

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| • Monarchs | 14 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 56 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ODU –8.5 | 56 |
| Statistics | CHAR | ODU |
| First downs | 26 | 22 |
| Total yards | 480 | 441 |
| Rushing yards | 203 | 113 |
| Passing yards | 277 | 328 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 36:11 | 23:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Charlotte | Passing | Chris Reynolds | 24/40, 231 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Charlotte | Rushing | Calvin Camp | 16 rushes, 90 yards, 1 TD |
| Charlotte | Receiving | Grant DuBose | 9 receptions, 94 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 17/26, 328 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 18 rushes, 106 yards, 2 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 9 receptions, 252 yards, 3 TD |

### Vs. Tulsa (Myrtle Beach Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • Golden Hurricane | 14 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TUL –7.5 | 55 |
Statistics
| Statistics | ODU | TUL |
| First downs | 10 | 35 |
| Total yards | 247 | 529 |
| Rushing yards | 71 | 244 |
| Passing yards | 176 | 285 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 20:17 | 39:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Old Dominion | Passing | Hayden Wolff | 19/28, 176 yards, 1 INT |
| Old Dominion | Rushing | Blake Watson | 14 rushes, 77 yards, 1 TD |
| Old Dominion | Receiving | Ali Jennings III | 6 receptions, 74 yards |
| Tulsa | Passing | Davis Brin | 22/34, 285 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulsa | Rushing | Shamari Brooks | 26 rushes, 107 yards, 1 TD |
| Tulsa | Receiving | Josh Johnson | 8 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD |