East Carolina Pirates vs. BYU Cougars Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

The East Carolina Pirates head west to tangle with the BYU Cougars Friday at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN2.

Updated on 11/23/2024

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EAST CAROLINA PIRATES vs. BYU COUGARS BETTING PREDICTION

The Pirates of East Carolina travel to take on the Cougars of BYU in an out-of-conference matchup. The Bucs are coming off an impressive 34-13 shellacking of UCF at the Rowdy Dowdy in Greenville, their second consecutive win at home, while going for an average of 40.5 PPG during the mini two-game win streak. East Carolina has won five of the past seven games since a narrow 21-20 loss to NC State in the opener, and that includes a pair of overtime games, going 1-1 SU. Win or lose, this team is right there at the end.

After a quick start, Top 25 rankings, etc., the Cougars have fallen off - hard. This team was 4-1 SU after a 38-26 win over rival Utah State on Sept. 29, but something happened when flipping the calendar from September to October. The Cougars lost in Las Vegas against Notre Dame, it was hammered at home by Arkansas, and then it was trampled on the road at Liberty last weekend. The past two losses to the Flames and Razorbacks have been by an average of 22.0 PPG. BYU is also on an 0-6 ATS slide.

This is the third all-time meeting between these schools. BYU won in Provo 45-38 on Oct. 10, 2015, while East Carolina offered no quarter to BYU in Greenville on Oct. 21, 2017, winning 33-17.

Score Prediction: East Carolina 34, BYU 32
Best Bet: East Carolina +3.5 (-122)
Best Bet: OVER 61.5 (-115)

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES vs. BYU COUGARS BETTING ODDS

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EAST CAROLINA PIRATES vs. BYU COUGARS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Friday, Oct. 28, 2022
Matchup: AAC vs. Independent
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium
Location: Provo, Utah
Time-TV: FS1, 10:00 p.m. ET
Expert Picks

• Week 9 Odds Movements
• Week 9 Betting Trends
• Week 9 VI Title Rankings

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES BETTING ANALYSIS

The Pirates need just one victory to become bowl eligible, and you know that's important to East Carolina after missing out on the Military Bowl last season. ECU was scheduled to face Boston College of the ACC, but an outbreak within the Eagles program canceled the game, and the Pirates weren't able to move things around and figure out a way to play in another game. As such, the Pirates are looking to go bowling, for real this time, for the first time since losing 28-20 in the Birmingham Bowl to Florida back on Jan. 3, 2015.

The Pirates have been a fun team to watch, especially if you like offense and a lack of defense. ECU piles up 472.6 total yards per game, ranking 21st in the nation, while passing for 309.3 yards per game (16th). The Pirates are also good for 33.3 PPG, 40th in the country.

Defensively, ECU is not very good against the pass, allowing 280.5 yards per game, 119th out of 131 FBS teams. The Pirates are hard on the opposing run, however, yielding only 114.6 yards per game to check in 26th. And this bend-don't-break defense yields only 23.1 PPG, good for 49th overall.

ECU is 11-5 ATS in the past 16 games overall dating back to last season, while cashing in five of the past seven on the road. It is also 4-1-1 ATS in the past six non-conference tilts, but just 1-9 ATS in the previous 10 appearances on a Friday. On totals, the Pirates have hit the OVER in 10 of the past 12 on a Friday, while going 5-1 in the past six against Independents.

BYU COUGARS BETTING ANALYSIS

BYU was gassed from the cross-country travel, or just hit some sort of a wall last week at Liberty. The Flames barely scraped by Gardner-Webb of the FCS in the previous game, but beat the brakes off of the Cougars 41-14 in Lynchburg last weekend. It was the third straight loss, and sixth consecutive non-cover for BYU.

After a hot start, BYU has some rather ordinary numbers lately. Their best unit on offense is the pass game, posting 266.1 yards per game, good for 43rd in the country, but it struggles to run the ball. Overall, the Cougars have a healthy 30.1 PPG, though.

On defense, this team has allowed 422.6 total yards per game to rank 106th, while coughing up a dismal 203.4 rushing yards per game, 117th out of 131 FBS schools. The Cougs also allow 31.6 PPG, which is rather unseemly.

BYU will be saying TGIF, as it is 5-0 ATS in the past five Friday appearances, while going 0-6 ATS in the past six overall, 1-4 ATS in the past five at home and 2-5 ATS in the past seven against winning teams.

As far as totals are concerned, BYU has cashed the OVER in seven of the 10 games overall, while going 6-1 to the OVER in the past seven at home. The OVER is also 4-1-1 in the past six against AAC teams, including a 50-21 win at South Florida in the opener on Sept. 3.

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES vs. BYU COUGARS BETTING TRENDS

• East Carolina is 11-5 ATS in the past 16 games overall
• East Carolina is 5-2 ATS in the past seven road games
• East Carolina is 4-1-1 ATS in the past six non-AAC games
• East Carolina is 1-9 ATS in the past 10 Friday games
• BYU is 0-6 ATS in the past six games overall
• BYU is 1-4 ATS in the past five home games
• BYU is 5-0 ATS in the past five Friday games
• BYU is 4-1 ATS in the past five vs. AAC teams
• OVER is 10-2 in East Carolina's past 12 Friday games
• OVER is 5-1 in East Carolina's past six vs. Independents
• OVER is 7-3 in the past 10 games overall for BYU
• OVER is 6-1 in the past seven home games for BYU
• OVER is 4-1-1 in the past six vs. AAC teams for BYU

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish