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Michigan begins its quest for a third straight playoff birth against East Carolina. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with an East Carolina-Michigan prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The East Carolina Pirates went 8-5 last year, capping their season off with a Birmingham Bowl victory over Coastal Carolina. After a loss to start the season by one point to NC State, East Carolina would win their next two. They would then go 4-4 in conference play and make a bowl game. The team was highly efficient on offense. They made a few mistakes and controlled the ball. Still, they lost most of their offensive playmakers. Their top targets quarterback and running back are all gone. On defense, they struggled against the pass, and their top corners are gone from last year. Still, there are hopes for a return to a bowl game this year.
Last year, Michigan went 12-0 in the regular season, then won the Big Ten title game over Purdue before falling to TCU in the playoffs. This comes off an 11-1 regular season in 2021, which saw another Big Ten Title but a loss to Georgia in the playoffs. Michigan brings back the core of their offense. J.J. McCarthy returns as the starter for his second season in that role. Blake Corum will be a Heisman hopeful and will be leading the backfield. Corum will be joined by Donovan Edwards in the backfield again, creating a dangerous one-two punch. Even more, they bring back nine guys on defense who took over 400 snaps. They will be missing their head coach and offensive coordinator in this game though, as they serve suspension for infractions during Covid.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: East Carolina-Michigan Odds
East Carolina: +35.5 (-105)
Michigan: -35.5 (-115)
Over: 51.5 (-115)
Under: 51.5 (-105)
How to Watch East Carolina vs. Michigan
TV: Peacock
Stream: Peacock
Time: noon ET/ 9:00 AM PT
*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why East Carolina Will Cover The Spread
Mason Garcia will be coming in to take over duties at quarterback. Garcia has seen limited game action in his time as the backup for East Carolina. He played in just two games last year, going 7-12 passing for 54 yards without a touchdown. Still, Garcia has a tall frame with a cannon of an arm. He was one of the larger and more physical quarterbacks coming out of the 2020 cycle of recruits. Garcia has some good accuracy and can use his large frame to run and convert short-yardage situations. He is not going to make a lot of plays with his legs, but he can do enough to avoid some danger.
The Pirates will also need to control the ball and the running game will be a big part of that. Rahjai Harris will be one of the main focuses in the backfield. Last year he scored five times with 238 yards rushing. In his three years at ECU, he has over 1300 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Marlon Gunn Jr. will join him in the backfield. He ran for 344 yards last year but did not score. He averaged over 5.1 yards per carry to the team and can make some big plays in the running game.
The defense will be a major point to watch in this game. Last year they were 19th in the nation against the rush. They are facing an elite stable of quality running backs from Michigan, so they will need to be stout again. The big issue was against the pass. They were one of the worst units in the nation in the past. They brought in TyMir Brown and Dontavius Nash from North Carolina, but they are replacing their top two defensive backs. East Carolina struggled to get pressure on the quarterback as well. They will need to do that if they are going to force some bad throws from JJ McCarthy.
Why Michigan Will Cover The Spread
JJ McCarthy will lead this offense without Cade McNamara looking over his shoulder. McCarthy was great last year in his first year as a starter. He threw for 2.719 yards and 22 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also did it on the ground, with 306 yards rushing and five touchdowns on the ground. McCarthy will need to get used to some new wide receivers though. Ronnie Bell and Luke Schoonmaker are gone. Still, Cornelius Johnson is back. He had 499 yards last year with six touchdowns and will become the primary target for McCarthy. Roman Wilson and Colston Loveland are also back. They had a combined 576 yards last year and six scored.
The focus of the offense will be the running game though. Blake Corum was a Heisman candidate last year until he went out with an injury. He ran for 1.463 yards last year with 18 scored. He is a fast but powerful and bruising back that will attack the ECU front seven. Donvana Edwards provides a change of pace to Corum. He had 991 yards last year and seven scores. Even as the game wears on, the Wolverines will bring in CJ Stokes. He was used heavily in two games last year with Corum and Edwards dealing with injuries. He ran well in those games and had 273 yards with a score last year.
The defense should also be solid this year for Michigan. They had one of the best defensive units in the nation last season. Junior Colson and Mike Barrett are back, as are each of the top five tacklers from the team last year. Colson had 101 tackles with six tackles for a loss last year, while Barrett had 72 tackles with three sacks and two interceptions. In the secondary, Rod Moore is back. He had four interceptions last year and will be looking to add more to his career total in this one.
Final East Carolina-Michigan Prediction & Pick
Michigan is going to come out with some extra motivation with Harbaugh out. East Carolina lost a lot from graduating seniors and breaking in new players. Michigan is coming out with an amazing offensive line and lots of firepower. They will win this game with ease and score plenty of points in the process. If Michigan is going to cover, they probably hit the over as well, which is the best play in this one.
Final East Carolina-Michigan Prediction & Pick: Michigan -35.5 (-115) and Over 51.5 (-115)
