The East Carolina Pirates (+22) are flying south to battle their conference foe South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium. The matchup is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET and ESNN will televise the action.
Betting Preview: South Florida Bulls vs. East Carolina Pirates
South Florida has been tabbed as the heavy favorite and is currently giving up 22 points to East Carolina. There could be multiple good in-game betting opportunities in this matchup, and Oddsmakers have placed the over/under (O/U) at 64.5 points.
Square bettors have been the over, as this game’s O/U initially opened at 63.5.
The Pirates are 1-1 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 0.0 units so far. The team has posted an O/U record of 1-1.
The Bulls have gained 2.5 units this season. The team is 1-2 ATS and also has an O/U record of 1-1.
The Pirates have gone 1-1 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any AAC competition yet. The Bulls are 3-0 SU overall and are also 0-0 SU in conference play.
The Pirates are coming off a resounding 41-19 win over North Carolina on September 8Their defense allowed the Tar Heels to rush for 161 yards on 25 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Antonio Williams had a productive day for the Tar Heels in that one with 96 rushing yards on six attempts. Offensively, Reid Herring completed 19-of-32 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown. Anthony Scott (73 rushing yards on 17 attempts, one TD) and Hussein Howe (50 yards on 15 carries) provided the ground attack in the win while Deondre Farrier (five receptions, 52 yards) and Trevon Brown (four catches, 90 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties.
South Florida enters this one after just earning a 25-19 win over Illinois. The defense allowed the Fighting Illini to rush for 212 yards on 48 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Mike Epstein was a force to be reckoned with, recording 113 rushing yards and a score on 19 attempts, along with 56 yards on five catches for Illinois. For South Florida, Blake Barnett completed 23-of-40 passes for 411 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jordan Cronkrite (136 yards on 22 rush attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Barnett (17 yards on 10 carries) spearheaded the ground attack in the win while Mitchell Wilcox (eight receptions, 109 yards) and Randall St. Felix (six catches, 120 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
East Carolina’s run the ball on 44.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while South Florida has an overall rush percentage of 51.7 percent. The Pirates have rushed for 144.0 yards per game and have four touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Bulls are logging 194.0 rush yards per game and have five total rushing TDs.
The Pirates offensive scheme has tallied 302.0 yards/contest through the air overall and has three passing scores so far. The Bulls have put up 328.3 pass yards per outing and have seven total pass TDs.
Defensively, East Carolina has allowed 121.5 rush yards and 210.5 pass yards per game. The South Florida defense has allowed 131.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 274.3 yards per game on the ground. The Bulls are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 2.42 to opponents, while the Pirates have given up a 6.30 ANY/A.
Offensively, Herring has put up 290 passing yards this year, and has connected on 19-of-32 attempts with one passing scores and has yet to throw an interception. He’s got a 9.00 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 5.57 over the past two games.
In the other huddle, Blake Barnett has completed 47-of-74 passes for 716 yards, five TDs and two INTs. Barnett’s ANY/A stands at 9.42 for the season and 7.38 over his past two outings.
These two programs faced off last year with the final outcome being a 61-31 victory for South Florida.
East Carolina Pirates vs. South Florida Bulls Free Pick
SU Winner: South Florida, ATS Winner: East Carolina, O/U: Under
