Following one of the most shocking results of the college football season, Old Dominion's football team will still enter Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this coming weekend as an underdog.

Old Dominion, which started the season 0-3, almost inexplicably took it to unbeaten and top 25 rival Virginia Tech, 49-35, on Saturday in Norfolk, Va. The Monarchs had previously lost three disappointing games, falling 52-10 to Liberty in the season opener, 28-20 to FIU in Week 2 and 28-25 at Charlotte in Week 3. The Hokies were four-touchdown favorites over Old Dominion entering the contest.

VegasInsider released an opening line of ECU being favored by 6.5 points on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates are 1-2 on the season and are coming off a hard-fought 20-13 loss at unbeaten South Florida. ECU was upset by FCS foe North Carolina A&T in the season opener, 28-23, before rebounding with an impressive 41-19 victory over North Carolina. East Carolina's Week 3 contest at Virginia Tech was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Florence.

Old Dominion is coached by Bobby Wilder, who's in his 10th season in charge of the program. The Monarchs went 6-6 and 5-7 in their first two years at the FBS level in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before tallying a 10-3 season capped by a Bahamas Bowl win in 2016. The team has seemingly taken a few steps back since, going 5-7 last season prior to this year's 0-3 start, though Saturday's result could be a turning point for the Monarchs.

The Sept. 29 contest will mark the first of two games in the home-and-home series between the Pirates and Monarchs. ODU will host ECU in Norfolk in 2019.

Kickoff on Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on ESPN3.

This year's meeting will mark the first since 2013 when ECU dispatched of Old Dominion 52-38 in Greenville just before the Monarchs made the transition from FCS to FBS.

Junior quarterback Blake LaRussa surprisingly was inserted on ODU's second drive against Virginia Tech. He threw for a program record 495 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for a score. Running back Jeremy Cox tallied 130 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Monarchs receiver Travis Fulgham grabbed nine catches for 188 yards and a score, while fellow wide out Jonathan Durhart nabbed three receiving scores and more than 140 yards.

Sophomore Steven Williams was ODU's regular starting quarterback entering Saturday's game against Virginia Tech.

The Pirates fell to USF despite out-gaining the Bulls 412-296. It marked the second time ECU has out-gained an opponent this season by a significant margin, only to fall short on the scoreboard (North Carolina A&T being the other). Old Dominion is ECU's final scheduled non-conference game for this season. The Pirates will travel to Temple on the first weekend in October.