Old Dominion at Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion (2‑5) at Louisiana Tech (4‑2) — Louisiana Tech is favored by 13.5. The model gives Louisiana Tech a 72% shot. Old Dominion’s offense is at the 0th percentile on efficiency; Louisiana Tech’s defense is at the 78th.
How they got here
Last three games
Old Dominion · 2-5
Rated 65th in our preseason ratings, 122nd now.
1-2 in its last three, including a 7-point win over App State as an 8.5-point underdog.
Last three games
Louisiana Tech · 4-2
Rated 88th in our preseason ratings, 69th now, up 19 spots.
Three straight wins, one over ranked or top-40 competition.
Biggest mismatch: Old Dominion’s passing EPA against Louisiana Tech, 79 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
Old Dominion’s EPA/play against Louisiana Tech’s defense
Old Dominion offense, 0th percentile · Louisiana Tech defense, 78th
Old Dominion’s passing EPA against Louisiana Tech’s defense
Old Dominion offense, 3rd percentile · Louisiana Tech defense, 82nd
Old Dominion’s explosive plays against Louisiana Tech’s defense
Old Dominion offense, 53rd percentile · Louisiana Tech defense, 26th
What’s at stake
Old Dominion
- Old Dominion needs 4 more wins in the final 4 to reach bowl eligibility — 14% to get there with a win here, 2% with a loss.
- Old Dominion hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2018.
Louisiana Tech
- Louisiana Tech needs 2 more wins in the final 5 to reach bowl eligibility — 97% to get there with a win here, 82% with a loss.
- Louisiana Tech is coming off a 24-point win.
The series
Old Dominion leads the series 2-0
2 meetings since 2014 · Old Dominion has won the last 2
- 2021Old Dominion 23-20
- 2014Old Dominion 30-27
Each line is Louisiana Tech’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Old Dominion
The chip · vs the blue bloodsOld Dominion has beaten Virginia Tech three times now, and the 2025 rout in Blacksburg was the first on the Hokies' own field — a program that didn't exist a generation ago putting a Power Four neighbor on the floor. The fanbase keeps those nights close.
What this game touches
Built from nothing, doubted every step. Old Dominion didn't field a team between 1941 and 2009 — it had to construct an FBS program from scratch in the Tidewater. The wound is the doubt that follows a young program: that the Virginia Tech wins are flukes and that a school this new can't sustain a winner. The 2025 season was the loudest answer yet.
Louisiana Tech
The chip · vs the national mediaFans are tired of their program being treated as a footnote — they'll remind anyone who'll listen that the sport's most famous quarterback came from Ruston, and that the Bulldogs have a national title most of their peers can only dream about.
What this game touches
Carrying a big-time pedigree at a small-time station. Louisiana Tech sent Terry Bradshaw to four Super Bowl wins and won a national title in its division — yet lives as a quiet Conference USA stalwart, its biggest names long gone to bigger stages. The ache is gentle but real: a program with blue-blood roots stuck on the sport's back roads.
Best players
Old Dominion
- Lucas Struck (S) · 51 tackles
- Mario Thompson (LB) · 44 tackles
- Mario Easterly (S) · 41 tackles
Louisiana Tech
- Alonzo Jackson Jr. (LB) · 42 tackles
- Kolbe Fields (LB) · 40 tackles
- Jalen Mickens (WR) · 476 receiving yards
What to watch
The spread has moved 5.0 points toward Louisiana Tech since opening (−8.5 → −13.5).
The betting line, and the fans
Louisiana Tech fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (64th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.
- Model · 72%
- Line · 86%
- Louisiana Tech fans · 64th
- Old Dominion fans · 1st
Louisiana Tech favored by 13.5 · Total 45.5
Louisiana Tech by 13.5: where a favorite like this usually runs
Half of games8 in 10 games
Louisiana Tech’s chance through the game, if this goes like the 387 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.
Weather at kickoff
Typical at Joe Aillet Stadium: 7:30 pm Saturdays score 94, 3:30 pm Saturdays 83
Old Dominion at Louisiana Tech · Saturday, Oct. 24 · 5 pm ET · Joe Aillet Stadium.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
If it kicked off at
Typical at Joe Aillet Stadium: noon Saturdays score 84, 3:30 pm 83, 7:30 pm 94.
- noon: 84, Mixed
- 3:30 pm: 83, Mixed
- 7:30 pm: 94, Comfortable
Typical weather score at each kickoff time.
Typical means the average of regular-season Saturdays at this stadium, 2018 to 2025. It is not a forecast for this game.
Home field
Louisiana Tech is worth +7.5 points (±3.7) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 96th percentile.
61% at home, 27% on the road against FBS opponents (23-15 home, 14-37 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.4 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±5.8 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 975 miles to get here.
Season profile
Week by week
Louisiana Tech
- Wk 2Lat LSU14-45
- Wk 3Lat Baylor19-36
- Wk 5Wvs Army31-29
- Wk 6Wvs Louisiana32-31
- Wk 7Wat UL Monroe24-0
Old Dominion
- Wk 3Lvs East Carolina17-20
- Wk 4Lvs James Madison20-46
- Wk 5Lat Georgia State10-42
- Wk 6Wat App State10-3
- Wk 7Lvs Georgia Southern15-23
Power rating by week
Louisiana Tech is rated 5.5 points ahead as of week 8. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
The market
The spread moved 5 points toward Louisiana Tech.
The total rose 1 point.
Spread: −8.5 → −13.5 · Total: 44.5 → 45.5
The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds
Conference standings
Place in the conference, then conference record.
- Louisiana Tech2nd2-0
- Old Dominion12th1-3
Last meeting in our History pages
- Old Dominion 23, Louisiana Tech 20Oct 30, 2021