The South Florida Bulls (2-5, 1-2 AAC) travel to meet the East Carolina Pirates (3-4, 1-2) Thursday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the South Florida vs. East Carolina odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Bulls are coming off their most impressive win of the season against an FBS opponent, spanking Temple 34-14 in Tampa (as 2-point favorites) to cover in consecutive games for the first time this season. The defense also allowed a season-low in points.
The Pirates lost a 31-24 overtime heartbreaker in Houston but easily covered as 13.5-point underdogs. East Carolina has covered three straight outings, and it’s 2-1 overall and 1-1-1 against the spread at “Rowdy Dowdy” this season, going Under in two of those games.
South Florida at East Carolina odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: South Florida +290 (bet $100 to win $290) | East Carolina -380 (bet $380 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): South Florida +9.5 (-102) | East Carolina -9.5 (-122)
- Over/Under (O/U): 55.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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South Florida at East Carolina odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
East Carolina 31, South Florida 26
Money line
East Carolina (-380) will cost you 3.8 times your potential return. That’s a hefty wager on a team under .500.
AVOID.
Against the spread
SOUTH FLORIDA +9.5 (-102) is the play coming off its most impressive showing of the season. The defense shut down Temple last week, allowing just 48 yards on the ground and 183 yards through the air while gashing the Owls for 421 yards on the ground. USF also had 34 first downs to just eight for the Owls.
East Carolina should be able to win the game, but traditionally, it has struggled with USF. The Bulls lead the all-time series 9-2 and have covered seven of the past nine in the series with a 4-1 ATS mark in Greenville.
Over/Under
OVER 55.5 (-110) is worth a small-unit play. The Over is 6-0-1 in the past seven for USF against teams with a losing overall record, while going 6-2-1 in the previous nine inside the AAC.
For East Carolina, most of the trends point to the Under lately, but the Over is 9-4 in the past 13 games following a straight-up loss. The Over is also 11-5 in the previous 16 against league foes.
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