NORFOLK — The gold standard of Old Dominion football’s 10 previous Bowl Subdivision seasons is easy to identify. Indeed, it is the program’s lone winning FBS year.

Coached by Bobby Wilder and ignited by quarterback David Washington (31 touchdown passes and only five interceptions) and running backs Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox (1,987 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns combined), the 2016 Monarchs finished 10-3, 7-1 in Conference USA. Moreover, they defeated Eastern Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl — as non-championship postseason destinations go, you can do a lot worse than Nassau.

Ricky Rahne’s 2025 team is poised to surpass that benchmark.

The latest evidence came Thursday night at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Playing in an exclusive national television window on ESPN and with Virginia Tech’s primary c

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