The SMU Mustangs (7-2, 4-2 AAC) and East Carolina Pirates (2-6, 2-5) meet in Greenville, N.C., Saturday for a noon ET kickoff. Below, we analyze the SMU-East Carolina college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
SMU at East Carolina: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 1:25 p.m. ET.
- Money line: SMU -455 (bet $455 to win $100) | East Carolina +340 (bet $100 to win $340)
- Against the spread/ATS: SMU -13 (-110) | East Carolina +13 (-110)
- Over/Under: 67.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
SMU at East Carolina: Three things to know
- SMU is coming off a disappointing 28-24 loss at Tulsa two Saturdays ago. The Mustangs led 21-0 early in the second, and 24-7 late into the third quarter before the Golden Hurricane outscored SMU 21-0 in the final 17:51. SMU is 4-1 straight up and 2-3 ATS in five road contests this season.
- East Carolina picked up a 28-3 win at Temple, covering as 7-point road favorites. The good news, so far, is the Pirates do not seem to have any COVID-19 issues after playing the Owls. Temple had its game against Cincinnati called off due to contact tracing, etc.
- The Mustangs are just 2-7 ATS in their past nine road games and 3-7 ATS in their past 10 as road favorites. They’re also 0-5 ATS in their past five on the road against teams with a losing home mark. ECU is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 as a home underdog, and 17-37-1 ATS in its past 55 inside the AAC.
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SMU at East Carolina: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
SMU 40, East Carolina 33
Money line (ML)
SMU (-455) should be able to ease past East Carolina, but the Mustangs have struggled to cover big numbers on the road, and Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium will be no different. It might be closer than most anticipate, so you cannot lay four and a half times your potential return in what should be a close game. AVOID.
Against the spread (ATS)
EAST CAROLINA +13 (-110) is 2-1 ATS in three games as a double-digit underdog this season, The Panthers have struggled defensively, but they have proven recently they have enough offense to hang with the upper-division teams in the AAC.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 67.5 (-110) is the best play on the board in this AAC battle in Greenville. The Pirates are averaging 24.0 points per game in three home games while allowing 38.7 PPG. The Over has cashed in five straight meetings in this series, and the Over is a perfect 4-0 in the past four battles in Greenville, too.
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