The battle for the two spots in the American Conference Championship is going to be closely contested. A game like this – even if it’s early – could end up proving pivotal in the race for a league title.
East Carolina has shown it has the talent to be competitive in the American this year. The Pirates are 2-2 going into conference play. They started out by narrowly losing at NC State, 24-17, then defeated Campbell and Coastal Carolina in blowouts. A week ago, ECU lost to BYU 34-13.
ECU’s defense won’t have an easy time this week, either. The Pirates are hosting Army, which is 1-2 but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Black Knights lost their season opener against Tarleton State in double overtime then bounced back and upset Kansas State on the road.
Then Army dropped its first conference contest at home against North Texas, another team that has a chance to make it to the conference championship game.
Now Army and ECU will face off on primetime television.
Army vs. East Carolina Betting Odds
East Carolina is a -4 college football betting odds favorite against Army, with the Over/Under being 52.5 as of this writing.
The moneyline for Army is +155, while it’s -190 for East Carolina.
Army vs. East Carolina On TV
The matchup between Army and East Carolina will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 25. The contest is taking place at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.
Army vs. East Carolina Prediction
I predict East Carolina will win and cover the four-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 52.5 total points.
Army won the American Conference last year because of its potent rushing attack and its strong defense. But the Black Knights have looked vulnerable on defense so far this year. Losing to Tarleton State the way they did and then giving up 45 points against North Texas – even though UNT does have a great offense – could be reason for concern.
Now, ECU’s offense hasn’t been perfect. The Pirates only scored 13 points against BYU at home. But they looked pretty good on that side of the ball during their previous two outings.
Katin Houser has done pretty well at quarterback for ECU. He’s thrown for 1,258 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions with a 68% completion rate.
He also doesn’t need to rely on one particular receiver. Brock Spalding (19 catches, 285 yards, and one touchdown), Yannick Smith (23 catches, 282 yards, and two touchdowns), and Anthony Smith (25 catches and 265 yards) all have at least 250 yards through the air through four games.
That’s a lot of playmakers Army will have to keep up with.
I think Army will find some success on offense as well, but I ultimately expect the Black Knights won’t keep up with the Pirates in terms of scoring points.
