Colton Joseph’s big day carries Old Dominion to 45-26 upset of Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Colton Joseph threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns to lead Old Dominion to a 45-26 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Joseph completed 16 of 22 passes and also rushed for 63 yards and a score for the Monarchs (2-1), who registered the program’s first road win over an ACC opponent.

The Monarchs, who entered the game as 6.5-point underdogs, converted two first-half Virginia Tech turnovers into touchdowns and jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead. They moved the ball at will against the Hokies defense in the first 30 minutes, amassing 334 yards and going on scoring drives of 93, 97, 88, and 77 yards.

Trequan Jones added 101 yards rushing and a score. Old Dominion finished with 527 total yards, including 250 on the ground.

Kyron Drones threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns for Virginia Tech (0-3), which fell to 0-3 to start a season for the first time since 1987. The Hokies have lost four straight dating to last season.

ODU: The Monarchs, who have now beaten Virginia Tech three times in this series, played arguably their best game in coach Ricky Rahne’s six seasons. They could be a sleeper in the Sun Belt Conference race.

Virginia Tech: Can coach Brent Pry survive the season? That may be the biggest question in Blacksburg these days. The Hokies are now 16-24 under Pry and have been especially abysmal the past two games, getting outscored 89-46 and allowing 1,017 yards.

ODU will host Liberty on Sept. 27.

Virginia Tech will host Wofford on Saturday.