James Franklin coaches against a former assistant for the first time in his 16-year coaching career when Virginia Tech (1-0) hosts Ricky Rahne’s Old Dominion (1-0) on Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
Rahne worked on Franklin’s staffs at Vanderbilt and Penn State from 2011-19, serving as the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator for the final two years before taking the Old Dominion job.
The Monarchs went 10-3 last year, matching their best record since joining the FBS in 2014. They have beaten Virginia Tech twice in four matchups under Rahne, including a 45-26 win in Blacksburg last season.
What Franklin does know: Rahne will “bring a team in here that’s going to be confident” after last year’s victory. But Virginia Tech’s first-year coach said he’s not letting the personal connection distract from the Hokies’ task at hand.
“In my mind, we’re playing Old Dominion and that’s kind of our focus, not necessarily the people or the history,” he said. “I’ve got a job to do for Virginia Tech and (Rahne’s) got a job to do for Old Dominion.”
The Hokies defeated VMI 73-3 to kick off Franklin’s tenure in Blacksburg. The Virginia Tech special teams evoked the program’s “Beamer Ball” era with two blocked punts.
The Monarchs are also off to a winning start after dispatching Norfolk State 31-10 in Week 1. In doing so, they set a school record with seven straight wins dating to last season.
Quarterback Quinn Henicle played a part in all four Old Dominion touchdowns, throwing for two and rushing for two. He led the team in rushing with 68 yards.
Despite coming away with the win, Rahne wasn’t satisfied with his team’s fundamentals after watching the game back.
“I thought we played with great effort, I thought we played with violent intent, and we lacked some of the violent execution because our technique wasn’t where it needed to be,” he said.
Rahne knows the level of difficulty will go up when they face a Virginia Tech rushing attack that gashed VMI for 268 yards on the ground.
“We’re going to have to defeat blocks, and that’s going to be a challenge,” he said.
