East Carolina Pirates (3-4) vs USF Bulls (2-5)
Game Info: Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium)
Betting Odds: East Carolina Pirates -10 -- Over/Under: 56.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The South Florida Bulls will travel to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to take on the East Carolina Pirates this Thursday night in College Football action.
The South Florida Bulls snapped their 3-game losing streak and improved to 2-5 on the season after defeating the Temple Owls, 34-14, this past Saturday. South Florida dominated Temple on both ends of the field and had no trouble securing the victory after a 2-yard TD run by Kelley Joiner gave the Bulls a 27-14 lead with 2:41 left in the 3rd quarter. South Florida outgained Temple by a 526-231 margin and won the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Bulls was RB Jaren Mangham who had 153 rushing yards & 2 TD on 26 carries.
On the season, South Florida is averaging 23.9 ppg on 351.7 total yards per game (169.6 passing yds/g; 182.1 rushing yds/g). Offensively, South Florida has been led by RB Jaren Mangham who has 416 rushing yards & 12 TD on 96 carries. QB Timmy McClain has completed 56.9% of his passes for 1000 yards, 2 TD, & 2 INT. The top receiving threats for the Bulls have been Xavier Weaver (21 rec, 380 yards, TD), Jimmy Horn Jr. (16 rec, 180 yards), & Demarcus Gregory (9 rec, 147 yards, TD).
Defensively, South Florida is allowing their opponents to average 32.3 ppg on 464.0 total yards per game (262.6 passing yds/g; 201.4 rushing yds/g).
The East Carolina Pirates lost their 2nd straight game and dropped to 3-4 on the season after being defeated by the Houston Cougars, 31-24 (OT), this past Saturday. East Carolina forced OT after scoring 14-unanswered points over the final 6:59 of the 4th quarter, however, Houston was able to score on their 1st play in OT and the Pirates fumbled on their ensuing possession. East Carolina outgained Houston by a 360-256 margin, however, lost the turnover battle by a 3-1 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Pirates was QB Holton Ahlers who completed has 23 of 37 passes for 278 yards & 2 TD.
On the season, East Carolina is averaging 28.7 ppg on 418.6 total yards per game (268.4 passing yds/g; 150.1 rushing yds/g). Offensively, East Carolina has been led by the RB duo of Keaton Mitchell (88 att, 677 yards, 4 TD) & Rahjai Harris (87 att, 325 yards, 2 TD). QB Holton Ahlers has completed 60.3% of his passes for 1763 yards, 10 TD, & 6 INT while also rushing for 4 TD. The top receiving threats for the Pirates have been Tyler Sneed (35 rec, 450 yards, 2 TD), Audie Omotosho (21 rec, 281 yards, 2 TD), C.J. Johnson (19 rec, 263 yards, TD), & Jsi Hatfield (11 rec, 242 yards, 2 TD).
Defensively, East Carolina is allowing their opponents to average 28.4 ppg on 431.6 total yards per game (280.7 passing yds/g; 150.9 rushing yds/g).
The Bulls are 3-14 ATS in their last 17 Thursday games and 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS win. The Pirates are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
South Florida has been playing better as of late, however, this is still a team that has struggled defensively and is currently 0-3 on the road while losing road games by an average of 25.7 ppg. East Carolina has lost two in a row, however, they were both single-digit losses on the road to UCF & Houston and as I think the East Carolina offense at home is going to have plenty of success putting up points in this one, I think they win this one by two TD and over this spread. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick East Carolina Pirates -10
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05