NORFOLK, Va (WAVY) — College football is back, folks.

Old Dominion begins its season Saturday with a trip to Big Ten country for the first time in program history as the Monarchs take on Indiana to open its 2025 schedule.

It’s a Hoosiers team fresh off a trip to the 2024 College Football Playoff and ranked second in the nation in team defense last year. It’s a tall task for Ricky Rahne and the Monarchs, but one that they embrace.

“They’re a well-coached team,” Rahne said. “I think that’s a challenge because they have a sound scheme on both sides of the ball. … I’m expecting that place to be popping pretty good. … You’re going to be pretty fazed if you’re not sure about your preparation. If you’re secure about your preparation, you’ll be able to handle that.”

Another intriguing part of the matchup involves Indiana’s coach, as the Hoosiers are led by former James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti, who coached the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff in his first year at the helm. The last time we saw Coach Rahne vs Coach Cig was a thriller back in October 2023, when the Dukes walked away with the 30-27 win.

Rahne expects another dynamic matchup from the sidelines this time, too.

“He has a way he wants to do things both offensively and defensively,” Rahne said. “Did it look exactly the same as it did at JMU? No, it didn’t because he had different players, but the overall feel of it was the same. … Our guys understand that there’s going to be a lot of eyes on that. It’s about making it more about the preparation and the execution than the external factors. That’s going to be important.”

Kickoff for ODU-Indiana is in Bloomington at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1.