4. TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl: East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina
Tuesday, December 27, 6:45 ESPN
ATS Line East Carolina -7
Pick East Carolina
Yeah, all that stuff I mentioned in the Georgia Southern pick over Buffalo about taking the team that has more regular starters returning – take that and throw in a head coach.
East Carolina is missing a few guys, but nothing to get into a big twist over. On the other side, Coastal Carolina lost head coach Jamey Chadwell to Liberty, new head man Tim Beck isn’t around, and the team is missing some key parts on the lines.
And then there’s Grayson McCall.
He’s in the transfer portal and going through the whole process, and the star Coastal Carolina quarterback is preparing to play in this, and he’s still trying to get back up to speed after missing time hurt, and his team got rocked by James Madison 47-7 to close out the regular season and was rolled by Troy 45-26 in the Sun Belt Championship.
All of that, and the East Carolina offense should throw at will as it tries to win the program’s first bowl game since 2013.
And now I’m about to make a pick that totally contradicts things …