The East Carolina Pirates will travel to take on the BYU Cougars in a Friday night college football matchup in Provo, Utah. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our college football odds series, which includes an East Carolina-BYU prediction and pick, laid out below.
East Carolina has surged to a 5-3 record, on the brink of bowl eligibility. The team has gone 3-2 in their conference, currently riding a two-game win streak. In that win streak was a thrilling 47-45 four-overtime victory over Memphis. The Pirates are in a position to challenge for the conference title.
BYU has struggled to a 4-4 record, losing three in a row after an impressive 4-1 start. Kalani Sitake has been the head coach of this program since 2016 and has built a team that is perennially around the top 25. After giving up 93 points in their last two games, BYU desperately needs a turnaround.
Here are the East Carolina-BYU college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: East Carolina-BYU Odds
East Carolina Panthers: +3.5 (-122)
BYU Cougars: -3.5 (+100)
Over: 62.5 (-106)
Under: 62.5 (-114)
Why East Carolina Could Cover The Spread
Holton Ahlers has been impressive this season, completing 70 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards with 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Ahlers has added 114 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Keaton Mitchell leads the team with 687 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Rahjai Harris is third with 238 rushing yards and second with five rushing touchdowns. Isaiah Winstead has been a reliable target all season, leading the team with 59 catches for 808 receiving yards, scoring three touchdowns. CJ Johnson is second with 40 catches for 657 yards and leads the team with seven touchdown catches. Ryan Jones ranks second with four receiving touchdowns. ECU has averaged an impressive 33.3 points and 472.6 yards of offense per game.
ECU's defense has been decent, holding opponents to 23.1 points and 392.9 yards of offense per game. Julius Wood leads the team with 46 tackles and two interceptions. Shaundre Mims leads the team with four sacks. Both Jeremy Lewis and Myles Berry rank second with three sacks. The Pirates have sacked opponents 22 times. Wood, Malik Fleming, and Jireh Wilson all lead the team with two interceptions. Wood has returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown.
Why BYU Could Cover The Spread
Jaren Hall has been a great quarterback for BYU, completing 65 percent of his passes for 2,101 yards, nineteen touchdowns and only three interceptions. Hall has also rushed for 126 yards. Christopher Brooks leads the team with 463 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Puka Nacua is second on the team with four rushing touchdowns. Kody Epps leads the team with 39 catches for 459 yards and six touchdown catches. Keanu Hill is second with 22 catches and 399 yards, pulling in four receiving touchdowns. BYU is averaging 30.1 points per game, coming on 405 yards of offense per game.
BYU's defense has been downright awful recently, allowing 31.6 points per game and 422.3 yards of offense per game. Ben Bywater leads the team with 58 tackles, three of which have gone for a loss. Bywater has also intercepted two passes. John Nelson leads the team with two sacks, while the Cougars have totaled just nine sacks this season. Max Tooley leads the team with three interceptions, two of which have been returned for a touchdown.
Final East Carolina-BYU Prediction & Pick
BYU's defense is brutal, which is a good recipe for bettors of the over in this one.
Final East Carolina-BYU Prediction & Pick: BYU -3.5 (+100), over 62.5 (-106)