East Carolina wasn’t really seen as an American Conference Championship contender for most of the season. But that isn’t reflective of how great the Pirates were in 2025.
ECU (8-4) started the season out 2-2 overall with losses to NC State – a seven-point game – and BYU – which made it to the Big 12 Championship. The Pirates did beat Campbell and Coastal Carolina during that time.
But then ECU won six of its eight conference games. The Pirates beat Army, Tulsa, Temple, Charlotte, and FAU all by at least two touchdowns. ECU also defeated Memphis, which was in the College Football Playoff discussion midway through the season, 31-27.
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Losses to Tulane – another seven-point decision – and UTSA kept ECU from appearing in the American title game. But the Pirates still finished the season 11th in HERO Sports’ Group of Five Top 25 media poll and will want to keep the momentum going during Blake Harrell’s tenure as head coach with a Power Four win to close out 2025.
East Carolina will take on Pitt (8-4) in the Military Bowl. The Panthers went 6-2 during ACC play but lost two of their last three games against Notre Dame and Miami with a win over Georgia Tech during that stretch.
Pitt vs. East Carolina Betting Odds
East Carolina is a +10.5 college football betting odds underdog against Pitt, with the Over/Under being 53.5 as of this writing. The moneyline for Pitt is -375, while it’s +290 for East Carolina.
Pitt vs. East Carolina On TV
The matchup between Pitt and East Carolina will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 27. The contest is taking place at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
Pitt vs. East Carolina Prediction
I predict Pitt will win but East Carolina will cover the 10.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 53.5 total points.
While East Carolina is expected to have some of its players available, like All-American Conference wide receiver Anthony Smith, the Pirates will also be without some of their stars like quarterback Katin Houser due to opt-outs.
Still, ECU is a pretty well-rounded squad with some depth. The Pirates are 14th in the country in total offense (464.7 yards per game) and 22nd in scoring offense (33.5 points per game). And I think they’re capable of putting up some points in this matchup.
Pitt is also pretty solid on both sides of the ball, ranking 15th in the country in scoring offense (35.1 PPG) and 39th in total defense (337.2 YPG allowed). So I do believe the Panthers will get the win here, but I think ECU will keep it closer than 10 points.
