Look at Old Dominion's last 5 scores and the problem is obvious: 17, 20, 10, 10, 15. The defense is the reason this team isn't in worse shape. It held App State to 3 points in a 10-3 road win, and it kept Georgia Southern out of the end zone often enough that the Eagles needed 3 Tripp Bryant field goals. Rahne put it simply after that loss: Georgia Southern "took advantage of more of their opportunities more than we did."
Louisiana Tech's streak is better than its margins. The Bulldogs beat Army 31-29 and Louisiana 32-31, both at home, so 2 of the 3 wins were basically coin flips. The 24-0 at UL Monroe was the first one they won comfortably. Their 2 losses came on the road against LSU and Baylor, by a combined 48 points. Old Dominion isn't in that class, and its losses to James Madison and Georgia State were just as lopsided.
The schedule helps the visitors a little. Old Dominion played Georgia Southern on a Thursday night, so it gets 9 days off before this trip. Louisiana Tech played a Saturday night game at UL Monroe and gets the normal week. The forecast for Ruston is 84 and clear with almost no wind, so the weather shouldn't decide anything. That leaves the matchup itself: an Old Dominion defense that can keep games close against a Bulldogs team that keeps finding ways to win them.