Old Dominion pulled off the biggest upset of the college football season so far when they knocked off Virginia Tech on Saturday 49-35. The Monarchs were 28-point underdogs (!) at home, a touchdown bigger than the year’s previous biggest upset.
They won impressively, too. This wasn’t one of those games where they get out ahead by a ton of points and barely hold on — they traded blows with Virginia Tech the entire game, with the biggest lead being a touchdown until Jeremy Cox’s final touchdown.
This beast mode of a catch by Jonathan Durhart was the score that put Old Dominion up for good, which was his third of the game (he had nine total receptions and 142 yards).
WHAT A CATCH. OLD DOMINION BACK OUT FRONT.
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 22, 2018
The 0-3 Monarchs are 5 minutes away from shocking No. 13 Virginia Tech! pic.twitter.com/761zh6EQU2
For good measure, the Monarchs got another one in because when you beat a Power 5 school like Virginia Tech, you put all the points on the board that you can, time left be damned.
"Why take a knee when you can celebrate in the end zone!???"
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 22, 2018
Old Dominion puts an exclamation point on the upset bid over No. 13 Virginia Tech! pic.twitter.com/XHt3CRdCMb
Also of note: the Monarchs scored 46 more points on Virginia Tech than Florida State did.
Also of note, again: the Monarchs lost 52-10 to Liberty.
You might recall another large Virginia institution being upset by a smaller school.
Nope
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) September 22, 2018
Well, let’s do it anyway.
Fans of the Virginia Cavaliers are undoubtedly going to be celebrating Tech’s loss, and they should. That’s sports. But perhaps it shouldn’t be too loud, considering what happened just over six months ago in Charlotte.
UMBC (that’s the University of Maryland-Baltimore County) became the first 16-seed to knock off a 1-seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament, beating Virginia 74-54. They were 20-point underdogs that came out of the game 20-point victors.
It was also the first time many of us saw somebody licking what was either a peanut butter or cheese cracker on the sideline:
Both Virginia and Virginia Tech lost to schools where the network broadcasting the game likely puts up a How Far The Schools Are From Each Other map.
When it’s not a big rivalry game (like if the Cavaliers and Hokies played each other) and you lose, it’s probably embarrassing. That holds true in both of these cases.
Congrats, Virginia and Virginia Tech, on bringing these games up for the rest of time.