Georgia Southern football visits Old Dominion on Saturday: Kickoff, how to watch and more

The Georgia Southern Eagles (4-3, 1-2 Sun Belt) are seeking their first conference road victory this season on Saturday at the expense of new league member Old Dominion (3-3, 2-0), formerly of Conference USA. ODU leads the Sun Belt's East Division. Here's how to watch and listen to the game, and more.

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What time do the Georgia Southern Eagles play the Old Dominion Monarchs?

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.

Location: Ballard Stadium (capacity 21,944), Norfolk, Virginia

How to watch Georgia Southern at Old Dominion on TV

Chip Tarkenton (play-by-play), Andy Mashaw (analyst) will have the call on the ESPN+ digital streaming network.

Radio for Georgia Southern at Old Dominion

Danny Reed (play-by-play), Terry Harvin (analyst), Russ Brown (analyst) and Frank Sulkowski (sidelines) have the call on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. The pregame, in-game and postgame shows can be heard in Savannah on WIXV 95.5 FM and on the network's flagship station WPMX 94.9 FM in Statesboro.

Betting: Over/under & point spread

As of Saturday morning, Old Dominion was a 1.5-point favorite, according to the Tipico Sportsbook. The over/under was 66.5 points. The money line was +102 for Georgia Southern and -125 for Old Dominion.

Series history

Georgia Southern leads the series 2-0, with both meetings coming in the FCS playoffs. The first matchup was in the 2011 FCS Round of 16 with the Eagles winning 55-48 at Paulson Stadium. In the 2012 FCS quarterfinals, the Eagles topped the host Monarchs at Ballard Stadium 49-35.

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Game notes

Georgia Southern quarterback Kyle Vantrease was selected the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after throwing for a school-record 578 yards (third-most in SBC history) in the 45-38 win over then-No. 25 James Madison last Saturday. The sixth-year player completed 38 of a school-record 64 passes for four touchdowns and one interception — and didn't get sacked. The Eagles have allowed only two sacks in seven games.

He has thrown at least one TD pass in seven straight games for another school mark. Vantrease's school-record 17 passing TDs for one season ranks 10th in the country, as does running back Jalen White's nine total TDs.

Vantrease is second in FBS in passing yards (2,512), tied for second in completions per game (30.0) and eighth in passing yards per game (358.86).

Vantrease is continuing his revenge tour against teams he faced while suiting up for the University of Buffalo, such as Nebraska, Ball State, Coastal Carolina and Marshall. Except revenge isn't the best word choice, as Buffalo edged ODU 35-34 in 2021.

Thus far, Vantrease and GS have defeated Nebraska and Ball State, and lost to CCU.

The Monarchs are 3-3 overall, and have scored 157 points and allowed 157 (26.17 a game). That's how even this season has been. But they are 2-0 in what really matters, the Sun Belt Conference and lead the East Division standings.

ODU is coming off of a huge upset of host and previously undefeated Coastal Carolina 49-21 in which Blake Watson rushed 19 times for a school-record 259 yards, including touchdown runs of 25, 58 and 67 yards. Watson averaged 14.2 yards a carry, another school record.

The 5-foot-9, 195-pound redshirt junior has in five games rushed 79 times for 514 yards, a 6.5 average, four TDs and 102.80 yards per game.

The Monarchs rushed for a season-high 324 yards, besting the previous high of 118 in a 38-24 loss to Liberty. They had just 15 yards in a win over Arkansas State.

Old Dominion's opponents have the advantage in average time of possession, 35:20 to 24:40, and total plays, 473-367. Foes average 5.7 yards per play, to 5.8 for the Monarchs. Opponents are averaging a total of 451.3 yards a game (173.0 rushing, 278.33 passing), compared to ODU's 356 total per game (113.3 rushing, 242.67 pasing).

ODU has recorded 25 sacks, to 15 for opponents. GS had 10 sacks, opponents 2.  ODU leads the nation with 4.17 sacks per game.

Monarchs linebacker Jason Henderson tops the FBS with 15.0 tackles per game (90 in six games). Ali Jennings leads in receiving yards per game (129.2) is second in receiving yards (775) and tied for sixth in receiving TDs (seven).

They said it

Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton on beating James Madison 45-38 when the Eagles had 12 net yards rush and 578 yards passing:

"If you would have told me before the game that you could have 590 (total) yards and 45 points versus the No. 2 defense in the country (in FBS), I don't care how it comes. I don't care if we're walking backward and scored, it doesn't matter."

Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne on Georgia Southern's offense:

"They put up crazy numbers against a lot of people. They're playing very, very well. Their quarterback is doing a fantastic job of getting the ball out quick and they're doing a nice job of protecting him. Their wide receivers are making contested catches when they need to. They're also running after the catch and doing a great job with that. Obviously, coach Helton and his staff have done a tremendous job of designing a great scheme and the players are executing.

Twitter follows

Follow Georgia Southern beat writer Nathan Dominitz of the Savannah Morning News/savannahnow.com @NathanDominitz for Eagles updates and follow the ODU Monarchists podcast for Monarchs updates.

You can follow the teams' official Twitter accounts at @GSAthletics_FB and @ODUFootball

Podcast

Listen to the new and previous episodes of the "Georgia Southern Extra" podcast at https://omny.fm/shows/georgia-southern-extra/playlists/podcast

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Southern Eagles football vs. Old Dominion: Here is how to watch