Temple vs East Carolina Prediction College Football Picks 10/26/24

The Temple Owls and the East Carolina Pirates meet Saturday in college football action from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Here’s a Temple vs East Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Temple vs East Carolina pick. We will examine:

The Temple Owls’ recent form and player performance

The East Carolina Pirates’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Temple Owls

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the East Carolina Pirates

Recent betting trends in games played between Temple and East Carolina

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Temple vs East Carolina game

Temple Owls Betting Preview

Temple started out the year with three straight losses, falling to Oklahoma, Navy, and Coastal Carolina. The Owls would get their first win 45-29 over Utah State, but the next two games were losses 42-14 versus Army and 29-20 against UConn.

In the Tulsa game, Temple went into the break with a 17-0 lead and held on for the win 20-10. QB Evan Simon finished with 297 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Terrez Worthy led the rush with 41 yards and a score, while Landon Morris caught four balls for 97 yards.

East Carolina Pirates Betting Preview

Over on the East Carolina side, they went 3-3 over their first half-dozen games this year. The Pirates beat Norfolk State, Old Dominion, and UTSA at that time. Otherwise, it was losses to Appalachian State, Liberty, and Charlotte for a .500 run.

Matched up against Army last weekend the Pirates scored 21 cosmetic points in the fourth quarter but really had no chance in a 45-28 loss. Katin Houser threw for 282 yards, three scores, and a pick while Rahjai Harris had 34 yards on nine carries as the top rusher. Chase Sowell caught seven balls for 138 yards and a TD.

Why the East Carolina Pirates will win

• Temple has lost each of its last 17 road games.
• The home team has won each of East Carolina’s last four games.
• Temple has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five road games against conference opponents.
• The home team has covered the spread in three of East Carolina’s last four games.

Why the Temple Owls will win

• East Carolina has lost four of its last six games as a favorite.
• Temple has covered the spread in four of its last five games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• East Carolina has failed to cover the spread in each of its last three October games as a favorite.

Total Points Facts

• Seven of East Carolina’s last eight home games have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Five of Temple’s last six road games have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• East Carolina ranks T124th among FBS teams for Q2 points per game this season (4.4).
• East Carolina ranks T118th among FBS teams for average point differential in second quarters this season (-4.9).
• Temple ranks 130th among FBS teams for average point differential in the first quarters this season (-6.3).
• Temple ranks 127th among FBS teams for rushing yards per game this season (89.0).

Temple vs East Carolina Prediction

I’m staying with East Carolina. The Pirates need a good bounce-back here after falling to a great Army team, though. ECU gave up 442 yards (295 rushing) and 22 first downs in that one. The nine Pirates penalties and 3-of-11 success rate on third-down tries didn’t help matters.

As for Temple, they logged 10 penalties for 104 yards in their latest win. The defense stood tall though, giving up 245 yards (170 passing), 17 first downs, and a 2-of-11 rate on third-down conversions. That said, I like East Carolina to regain their form and pull off a cover this Saturday.