Group Of Five Underdog Of The Week: Charlotte +6 at USF

East Carolina never gave itself a chance.

In last week’s 10-0 loss to Navy, the Pirates coughed up the ball four times and found no type of offensive traction. They couldn’t take advantage of Navy’s two turnovers and two missed field goals and failed to cover the spread as last week’s Group of Five Underdog of the Week. College football betting odds had ECU as 2.5-point dogs. 

The loss kept us from closing out the regular season on a winning streak, but we’ll try to bounce back and cap the year strong. 

Charlotte (spread: +6, moneyline: +200) at USF

Does anyone know if this invite was accepted?

Perhaps Harbaugh could have been of some assistance during Charlotte’s loss to Rice last week. The 49ers struggled to move the ball and put three different quarterbacks on the field while mustering just 158 total yards and seven points. 

Gross.

While Charlotte’s offense isn’t the greatest, they’ll be going up against the worst scoring defense (36.8 PPG) in the AAC and the team allowing the second most yards per game (469.7 YPG). Although they average just south of 18 PPG, the 49ers put up a combined 71 points in the previous two games in a win over Tulsa and an overtime loss to Memphis. 

QB Trexler Ivey played well in those contests before a rough outing last week. I’ll put some faith in him to get back on track this week, especially following some postgame comments from Poggi. The coach should have his team — and especially the offense — motivated to not roll over in the final game of the season.

I’m also putting some faith in Charlotte’s ability to play well on the road. They’re 5-0 ATS on the road and 1-5 at home. South Florida is 2-3 both at home and as a favorite. 

Charlotte has landed on the honorable mentions list three times this year, and each time they’ve covered the spread. We’ll see if they can do it again and spoil the Bulls’ chances at a bowl game in the process.

Honorable Mentions

Arkansas State (+2.5, +114) at Marshall

These squads are moving on opposite sides of the spectrum, and it seems like Marshall has lost interest in playing at times this season. I’m not sure which of its teams will show up on Saturday against an Arkansas State team that has been somewhat of a surprise in the Sun Belt.

The Red Wolves have simply just found ways to win this season. They rank in the bottom half of the league in offense, defense, and forced turnovers but are still bowl-eligible and are seeking their first season above .500 since 2019.

Arkansas State is 6-4 ATS as an underdog this season, and Marshall is 3-8 ATS in 2023.

Air Force (+6.5, +202) at Boise State

What a brutal month it has been for the Falcons.

With Saturday’s loss to UNLV, Air Force is now on a three-game losing streak — its first since 2018. The Falcons looked like their usual self during the second quarter, outscoring the Rebels 20-7 and doing whatever they wanted on the ground. That all changed in the second half.

Despite the skid, the Falcons are still in a position to make it to the Mountain West championship. Fresno State’s loss to New Mexico helped tremendously, and with a win over Boise and a UNLV win over San Jose State, the Falcons will be the only team in the conference with a 6-2 record, just behind a 7-1 UNLV. 

Air Force’s first league title is still within reach.

Since 2015, the Falcons are 12-4-1 ATS as road dogs.

Texas State (+6, +190) at South Alabama

After starting the season 4-1, the Bobcats have since gone 2-4. Even so, Texas State has exceeded expectations this year, eclipsing its 4.5 preseason win total. 

I think the big loss to Arkansas State last week might be having too much of an impact here against a suspect South Alabama team. The Jaguars have looked better as of late, but have been inconsistent this season. 

I’ll take the Bobcats to keep it within a TD here.