How many conference games will ODU win in its inaugural CAA football season?
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SEPT. 3 vs. Campbell, 6 p.m.

The skinny Campbell’s program is a year older than the Monarchs, but it appears ODU has outgrown the Camels. This is the third game of a four-year agreement, and it has quickly become a yawner for ODU. Campbell will start a lineup flush with seniors, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The Camels have not recruited better players than the ones ODU has manhandled in a 28-17 victory the first year and a 44-13 beatdown last season.

SEPT. 10 at Georgia State, noon

The skinny Georgia State had an offseason of turmoil, with players in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Last fall, the Monarchs led 34-6 before easing off and emptying the bench in a 34-20 victory. This year, ODU travels to the Georgia Dome to take on the Panthers, who will join the Colonial Athletic Association for football in 2012.

SEPT. 17 vs. Hampton, 6 p.m.

The skinny The Monarchs beat the Pirates on their home turf 28-14 a year ago. Now, Hampton must play in front of a sellout crowd in Norfolk. MEAC rookie of the year Antwon Chisholm returns, but the Pirates’ touted running back is also coming off knee surgery. As usual, the Pirates had a BCS transfer in the mix in middle linebacker Lyndell Taylor, who transferred from Virginia Tech.

SEPT. 24 at Delaware, noon

The skinny This is the game Monarchs fans have been waiting for: ODU’s first as a full-fledged football member of the CAA. Delaware made it to the FCS title game a year ago, falling to Eastern Washington 20-19. But Delaware lost a lot of talent, including eight starters on defense and quarterback Pat Devlin. Delaware also opens the season at Navy, and there’s always the chance of significant injury when playing the Midshipmen and their unusual blocking scheme.

OCT. 1 vs. Massachusetts, 6 p.m.

The skinny Here one minute, gone the next. The Minutemen are leaving the CAA after this season, but ODU gets them on the schedule for this season in a game that counts toward the Monarchs’ CAA record. It’s ODU’s first home game against a CAA team, and it’s Family Weekend. The Monarchs catch a break in the fact that UMass will be coming off a game against Boston College the previous week and could be banged up.

OCT. 8 at Rhode Island, 1 p.m.

The skinny The Rams are quarterbacked by Steve Probst, who, like ODU defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron, was at Hofstra until the Pride disbanded its football program at the end of the 2009 season. Probst has very close to a full deck with 10 starters returning on offense. This series with Rhode Island is short-term; the Rams are joining the Northeast Conference in 2012.

OCT. 15 vs. Towson, 3:30 p.m.

The skinny While ODU was picked to finish 10th in the 11-team CAA, this is the team that was picked last. Try as they might, the Towson Tigers have been pitiful in the CAA and have had two winless CAA marks in their seven years in the league, including last season when they went 1-10 overall. This will be ODU’s homecoming game. Towson gets that a lot.

OCT. 22 at Villanova, 3:30 pm.

The skinny National champions in 2009, the Wildcats were decimated by graduation following the 2010 season and are in rebuild mode. Coach Andy Talley, though, has had just one losing season in the past 10, and with 216 career victories knows something about finding a way to win. No surprise here: ODU will be Villanova’s homecoming foe.

OCT. 29 vs. James Madison, noon

The skinny This game will serve as a rebirth of the Oyster Bowl, but it doesn’t need that kind of brand appeal to help its popularity. This is a rivalry game that has its deep roots in basketball and should immediately fire up both fan camps. The Dukes have been dominant of late defensively but had trouble scoring points last season. An underlying theme to this game is that Hampton Roads was once a hotbed for JMU recruiting. ODU now dominates the market.

NOV. 5 vs. Richmond, 3:30 p.m.

The skinny The Spiders won the national title three seasons ago, but that was with Mike London as their head coach. London is at Virginia and the Spiders under Latrell Scott struggled last season when quarterback Aaron Corp, a transfer from Southern Cal, went down with a knee injury. Corp is back, but the Spiders lost more than half their starters on defense.

NOV. 12 at William and Mary, TBA The skinny This rivalry began last fall when The Tribe visited Foreman Field and posted a come-from-behind 21-17 victory that gave everyone a clear indication that ODU wasn’t too far from being able to compete in the CAA. Now the outcome really counts, and by this time in the season the Monarchs could be contending for a Football Championship Subdivision title.

ABOUT ODU HOME TICKETS The Monarchs have sold out season tickets and have no single-game tickets available. If the students or opposing team do not claim their full allotment, single-game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. the Thursday before game day.

By Rich Radford, The Virginian-Pilot
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/glance-odus-2011-schedule