The East Carolina Pirates and Cincinnati Bearcats face off on Friday in an AAC college football showdown at Nippert Stadium. When these two teams faced off in 2021 it was Cincinnati that secured the 35-13 victory.
East Carolina comes into this game with a 6-3 record overall, and they have gone 6-3 against the spread. In the last game, they went on the road against BYU and were able to secure a 27-24 victory. It was a competitive game, but they didn’t give up any points in the 4th quarter. Holton Ahlers completed 15 of his 22 passes for 197 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Running back Keaton Marshall had quite the game, rushing 21 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. East Carolina is averaging 32.6 points, while their defense is giving up 23,2 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is Cincinnati, who sits with a 7-2 record, but they have gone 2-6-1 against the spread. In the last game against Navy, the Bearcats defense was strong, giving up only 10 points, and that led to the 10-point victory. Ben Bryant completed 25 of his 35 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Cincinnati is averaging 33.22 points, while their defense is giving up 21 points per game. The defense is ranked 25th in the league, and they need the defense to be good here.
East Carolina is 7-1 against the spread in their last 8 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. The under is 5-0 in the Bearcats last five games. The Under is 5-0 in Pirates' last 5 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. The under is 5-0 in Cincinnati’s last five conference games.
East Carolina is coming off a big win over BYU because of the defense late, and I don’t trust this Cincinnati defense. East Carolina is averaging 32.6 points, and they are going to have no issue running up the score in this game. I think East Carolina will pull off the upset, but we will take the points to be safe. Back East Carolina against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
