East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened, What It All Means

East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl what happened, player of the game, and what it all means

East Carolina beat Coastal Carolina 53-29 to win the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?


East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means

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TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened

– Holton Ahlers threw five touchdown passes, the offense exploded with 21 straight points as part of a 35-7 run to put the game away by the end of the third quarter. Ahlers spread the wealth around with Isaiah Winstead coming up with two scoring grabs.

– Coastal Carolina was missing a slew of players along with head coach Jamey Chadwell, but it took a 14-10 lead and appeared to be in it until QB Grayson McCall was knocked out of the game in the second quarter. He completed 10-of-12 passes for 67 yards and ran for a touchdown before leaving the game.

Jarrett Guest filled in for McCall and threw two touchdown passes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Ahlers and the East Carolina offense. The Pirates outgained the Chanticleers 486 yards to 337.

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TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Player of the Game

Holton Ahlers, QB East Carolina 
He completed 26-of-38 passes for 300 yards and five scores, and ran seven times for 48 yards and a touchdown.

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TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Fun Stats

– The two teams combined for 22 penalties or 228 yards. Both were flagged 11 times.

– Coastal Carolina turned it over three times. East Carolina didn’t turn it over.

– Keaton Mitchell ran 22 times for 127 yards and a score for East Carolina.

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What It All Means

East Carolina was supposed to win this, but it was still impressive how it rose to the moment and came through. There were way too many penalties, and it wasn’t always smooth, but it was a good way to close out a season that got rocky in the finishing kick.

Not only was it the first bowl win under head coach Mike Houston in his four years, it was the first appearance. It was the first bowl game for the program since 2014, the first bowl win since 2013, and just the second bowl win since 2007. Yeah, it was a big deal.

It’s going to be lost in the wash that Coastal Carolina was 6-0 and then 9-1 with big things on the table. The defense went bye-bye, it allowed 45 points or more over the last three games, and … this was a rough beat. The team lost its head coach, a slew of key players, and Grayson McCall was giving it his all despite being in the transfer portal.

Don’t let this performance ruin an otherwise strong season and great run over the last few years. The program won 31 games over the last four seasons and went to three bowl games.

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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction Game Preview

East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl on Tuesday, December 27

East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, Tuesday, December 27


East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction Game Preview

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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, December 27
Game Time: 6:45 ET
Venue: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: East Carolina (7-5), Coastal Carolina (9-3)
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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl 5 Things To Know

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

Coastal Carolina came close to having a special season, and it could still be a ten-win campaign. It started 6-0 and then 9-1, got rocked by James Madison, and rolled in the Sun Belt Championship by Troy.

Head coach Jamey Chadwell decided he’d rather be working at Liberty, Grayson McCall entered the transfer portal, and now the program is in a holding pattern for the Tim Beck era to begin. On the plus side, McCall is still playing in this before leaving.

East Carolina had an interesting year. It was wildly inconsistent – good enough to blowout UCF and win at BYU, and flaky enough to get destroyed by Houston and lose to Navy – but it’s still going to be a winning season. The balanced offense knows how to crank up the yards. But …

East Carolina has been a bowl game nightmare. Since getting by Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii it lost four of the last five and went 4-9 since 1992. It was supposed to play Boston College in last year’s Military, but it got canceled thanks to COVID.

This is just the third bowl game for Coastal Carolina, with all coming in the last three seasons under Chadwell. The Chanticleers lost a thriller of a 2020 Cure Bowl to Liberty, and last year hung on for dear life to beat Northern Illinois in the 2021 Cure.

The 2020 Birmingham Bowl – coming at the end of the 2019 season – was a rough 36-6 Cincinnati blowout over Boston College, and the 2020 season version was canceled. Other than that, this has been one of the consistently best bowls of the season. Four of the last five were thrillers including Houston’s win over Auburn last season in the final moments.

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Why East Carolina Will Win The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Coastal Carolina’s missing parts are more of a problem than East Carolina’s. But even at full strength, the Pirates have the style to give the Chanticleers problems.

ECU is usually dominates the turnover battle, it’s great offensively on third downs, and it’s going against a team that’s struggles on defense at getting off the field.

The Pirates haven’t turned the ball over since October 8th, going six straight games without a mistake and with eight games on the year with no turnovers. Coastal Carolina struggled over the last three games – two losses and a close call against Southern Miss – partly because it gave it up seven times.

Combined the lack of turnovers with almost no issues with penalties, and East Carolina isn’t going to beat itself.

Combine all of that with what East Carolina is about to do against a Coastal Carolina pass defense that was the worst in the Sun Belt, and it’s a nice mix. However …

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Why Coastal Carolina Will Win The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Grayson McCall, have a day.

Assuming he’s really and truly going to still play in this – and not be off being a Florida Gator or something – he going to crank up huge numbers against a Pirate secondary that allowed a nation-worst 299 passing yards per game.

From Houston and Clayton Tune pushing for 435 yards, to Temple rolling up 527 yards and five scores in a loss, to everyone by Navy and BYU coming up with at least 200 yards, everyone got fat on the East Carolina secondary.

Even with McCall out for a few games with a foot injury, the offense still worked. One of the most efficient passing games in America should be able to fire at will, but …

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina Prediction, TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl History

East Carolina vs Temple Prediction Game Preview

East Carolina vs Temple game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 13 game on Saturday, November 26

East Carolina vs Temple prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 13, Saturday, November 26


East Carolina vs Temple Prediction Game Preview

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East Carolina vs Temple How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 26
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: East Carolina (6-5), Temple (3-8)
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Why East Carolina Will Win

The offense should get its groove back.

Nothing worked in the strange 42-3 loss to Houston last week, but that was one of the weirder blowouts. The offense wasn’t horrible, but the passing game couldn’t keep things moving, the defense wasn’t even close, and it turned into a disaster.

Normally the offense is far more efficient, there hasn’t been any problem with turnovers – none in the last five games – or penalties, and now it gets to deal with a Temple defense that’s not awful, but it doesn’t do enough to overcome the mediocre offense.

But …

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Why Temple Will Win

The defense is able to come up with plenty of third down stops.

The East Carolina offense stalls a bit too much at odd times. Again, it should be better than it was last week, but it has to overcome a defense that gives up way too many yards through the air and is too rocky on third downs.

Temple has been able to stay in most games lately, but it needs the passing game to keep on moving. Freshman QB EJ Warner struggled in the 23-3 loss to Cincinnati, but before that he was a yardage machine to build around.

He’ll be back to form in this – he’ll push for close to 300 yards.

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What’s Going To Happen

Can Temple turn all the yards into points? That’s been a problem, and it’ll be costly again here – it doesn’t do enough to close out drives.

East Carolina won’t have a smooth ride, but it’ll be consistent and balanced for a full four quarters. The defense will hold on in the third quarter and the offense will pull away.

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East Carolina vs Temple Prediction, Line

East Carolina 30, Temple 20
Line: East Carolina -9.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
East Carolina vs Temple Must See Rating (out of 5): 2

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Houston vs East Carolina Prediction Game Preview

Houston vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 12 game on Saturday, November 19

Houston vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 12, Saturday, November 19


Houston vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

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Houston vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 19
Game Time: 4:00 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Houston (6-4), East Carolina (6-4)
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Why Houston Will Win

Who wants to have some fun?

Houston games are a lot of things, but they’re sure as shoot not boring.

The offense continues to crank up yards in chunks. It’s the best in the AAC on third downs and bombs away with the league’s most efficient passing game.

The defense might have its issues, but the line is good at getting into the backfield, the run defense isn’t that bad, and again with the passing game – Houston is 4-1 when throwing for more than 275 yards.

East Carolina gave up 275 or more passing yards five times, but …

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Why East Carolina Will Win

No, really. Who wants to have some FUN?

Houston games are high-powered shootouts with the defense giving up lots and lots and lots of yards. If you thought the 77-63 Cougar loss to SMU was wild, a week later Temple threw for 486 passing yards and made things interesting.

Welcome to the Houston defense, Holton Ahlers.

The long-time East Carolina quarterback has been fantastic – throwing for over 2,900 yards so far with 20 touchdowns and just five picks. He hasn’t given it away in the last four games. The Pirate offense hasn’t turned it over int he last four games, and …

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What’s Going To Happen

Yeah, Houston wins when it throws for a gajillion yards. East Carolina is 4-0 when it throws for 300 yards or more.

The Cougars allow 262 passing yards per game and, again, they’re getting ripped apart over the last two weeks. Get your popcorn ready because this is about to be another wild Houston game.

East Carolina is 6-0 when it scores more than 20 points. It’s going to score more than 20 points.

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Houston vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

East Carolina 44, Houston 38
Line: East Carolina -5.5, o/u: 67.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Houston vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 3.5

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East Carolina vs Cincinnati Prediction Game Preview

East Carolina vs Cincinnati game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 11 game on Friday, November 11

East Carolina vs Cincinnati prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 11, Friday, November 11


East Carolina vs Cincinnati How To Watch

Date: Friday, November 11
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
How To Watch: ESPN2
Record: East Carolina (6-3), Cincinnati (7-2)
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East Carolina vs Cincinnati Game Preview

Why East Carolina Will Win

The Pirates have been fantastic over the last few weeks, and there’s a lot to go.

They’re still in the hunt for the American Athletic Conference Championship if they can win out and have a whole ton of things break the right way, but for now, the team is bowl eligible, they won four of their last five games against a decent slate, and now they get to have some fun.

So what’s going right? The offense has been steady, the defense is coming up with big plays when needed, and the turnovers for both sides have been a big deal.

East Carolina hasn’t given the ball away in three weeks, it forced six takeaways against Memphis and UCF, and the team has figured out how to win.

However …

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Why Cincinnati Will Win

Cincinnati might have a slew of issues – too many penalties and too many problems on third downs – but they’re slowing down.

The flags aren’t as bad as they were earlier in the season, there haven’t been any turnovers over the last two games, and the mediocre rushing attack has perked up with the passing game playing well.

The defense and pass rush are good enough to bother the East Carolina backfield and limit the downfield passes. East Carolina might have a nice passing game, but almost everything is midrange. The Bearcat pass defense should be able to hold up, so …

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What’s Going To Happen

Can the East Carolina running game take over?

It’s 5-0 when it runs for over 150 yards and 1-3 when it doesn’t. On the flip side, Cincinnati is 6-0 when it allows fewer than 220 yards and 1-2 when it gives up more.

East Carolina will be in the game throughout with a balanced attack, but it won’t run enough to control the game and pull this off.

Win this, beat Temple and Tulane, play for the conference championship.

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East Carolina vs Cincinnati Prediction, Line

Cincinnati 28, East Carolina 24
Line: Cincinnati -5.5, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
East Carolina vs Cincinnati Must See Rating (out of 5): 4
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UCF vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

UCF vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 8 game on Saturday, October 22

UCF vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 8, Saturday, October 22


UCF vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 22
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ESPNU
Record: UCF (5-1), East Carolina (4-3)
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UCF vs East Carolina Game Preview

Why East Carolina Will Win

This is the big chance for the Pirates to make some noise.

They’re 4-3 and need two more wins to get bowling, but that’s going to be tough with three of the final four games on the road – at BYU, at Cincinnati, Houston before finishing at Temple.

The offense is the best in the AAC at converting third down tries, the penalties and turnovers are kept to a bare minimum, and they’ve got the passing game to crank up a UCF defense that hasn’t exactly been tight lately against the teams that can throw.

SMU bombing away was expected, but Georgia Tech and Temple threw well, too, and …

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Why UCF Will Win

UCF won all three of those games.

No, the Knight D isn’t air tight, but the offense has been humming with John Rhys Plumlee on a tear.

He hit everything in the 70-13 win over Temple for his fourth 300-yard passing day of the season, he still runs well, and East Carolina is going to have a hard time with all of it.

The Pirate pass defense will give up yards in chunks against the AAC’s best offense, its gong to have a hard time controlling the clock, and …

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What’s Going To Happen

Weird things happen in Dowdy-Ficklen.

This a good, veteran East Carolina team that’s going to keep pressing and bring the pressure on both sides, but the UCF running game will be great, Plumlee will be fine, and the road side will come away with a nice win in a back-and-forth four quarter fight.

College Football Expert Picks, Week 8

UCF vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

UCF 30, East Carolina 24
Line: UCF -5, o/u: 63.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
UCF vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
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Memphis vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

Memphis vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 7 game on Saturday, October 15

Memphis vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 7, Saturday, October 15


Memphis vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 15
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ESPNU
Record: Memphis (4-2), East Carolina (3-3)
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Memphis vs East Carolina Game Preview

Why Memphis Will Win

Everything was going great for Memphis. It was on a roll with a four game winning streak, and it had Houston down 29-13 in the fourth before a monster comeback led to a 33-32 loss.

Even with the disaster, the offense did a good job over the last several weeks, the special teams have been great, and the team is winning the turnover battle.

The Tigers have only turned it over four times this year – there haven’t been multiple giveaways in any game – and the defense is great at generating takeaways.

East Carolina isn’t above turning it over. After the loss to Tulane last week, it’s 0-3 now when giving it up multiple times and 3-0 when it doesn’t.

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Why East Carolina Will Win

Here comes the Pirate passing game.

East Carolina’s offense isn’t quite as explosive as it should be, but it’s effective enough to be great at keeping the chains moving and it’s averaging well over 300 yards per game.

Memphis doesn’t generate a lick of pressure, and Holton Ahlers is good enough to take advantage of it. Give the veteran time to work, and he’ll be deadly.

On the other side, the Tiger offensive front is struggling to keep defenses out of the backfield, the running game stalls a bit too much, and …

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What’s Going To Happen

This should be a blast.

Both offenses will trade big shots, the passing games should work, and the defenses will struggle against the hot quarterbacks.

East Carolina will be a bit better on third downs with two late scoring drives to pull out the thriller.

College Football Expert Picks, Week 7

Memphis vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

East Carolina 38, Memphis 34
Line: East Carolina -5, o/u: 58.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Memphis vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
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East Carolina vs Tulane Prediction, Game Preview

East Carolina vs Tulane game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 6 game on Saturday, October 8

East Carolina vs Tulane prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Saturday, October 8


East Carolina vs Tulane How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 8
Game Time: 2:30 ET
Venue: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA
How To Watch: ESPNU
Record: East Carolina (3-2), Tulane (4-1)
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College Football Week 5 Roundup
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East Carolina vs Tulane Game Preview

Why East Carolina Will Win

The Pirates are piling up wins. The passing game has been solid enough to overcome the shaky defense, there aren’t a lot of turnovers, and no one in the American Athletic Conference is better on third downs.

There’s a nice combination of things happening with their style – they’re explosive, but they’re also controlling the ball and the clock.

Tulane doesn’t come up with enough of a pass rush to be a problem, which is only part of the reason why the defense isn’t forcing takeaways, but …

NFL Expert Picks, Week 5

Why Tulane Will Win

The Green Wave have their groove back.

After a 2021 when nothing seemed to go right, they managed to come up with a huge performance in a win over Kansas State and bounced back from a tough home loss to Southern Miss with a fantastic rally to beat Houston.

What’s going right? The offense has been balanced, the defense has been solid, the pass D leads the nation, and there aren’t a slew of mistakes – they’re keeping the penalties to a bare minimum.

– Schedules, Previews CollegeNFL

What’s Going To Happen

East Carolina is going to push the Tulane secondary that hasn’t faced a slew of passing teams.

Houston is the first offense that can push the ball a bit and Tulane gave up over 200 yards for the first time all year. The Pirate offense is going to wing it around enough to make this fun, but the Green Wave attack will do its part with enough balance to keep up.

Like it did against Houston, Tulane will pull this off late.

CFN Expert Picks, Week 6

East Carolina vs Tulane Prediction, Line

Tulane 27, East Carolina 23
Line: Tulane -4, o/u: 55.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
East Carolina vs Tulane Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
Predictions of Every Game

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East Carolina vs USF Prediction, Game Preview

East Carolina vs USF game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 5 game on Saturday, October 1

East Carolina vs USF prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 5, Saturday, October 1


East Carolina vs USF How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 1
Game Time: 2:30 ET
Venue: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: East Carolina (2-2), USF (1-3)
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East Carolina vs USF Game Preview

Why East Carolina Will Win

The Pirates are getting this on a neutral site. Not that the home field advantage for USF at Raymond James Stadium is a killer, but thanks to Ian this was moved to Boca Raton and Florida Atlantic’s stadium.

The Pirates bonked in a strange loss to a bad Navy team, but they’re balanced, they’re great at keeping things moving on third downs, and they’re strong at controlling the clock.

As long as they can methodically keep things moving and not let the Bulls get into a passing groove, they should be okay. But …

NFL Expert Picks, Week 4

Why USF Will Win

Turnovers appear to be a big deal to the East Carolina game plan.

The Pirates turned it over twice against NC State and Navy and lost both games. They didn’t give the ball away in the wins over Old Dominion.

Obviously it’s hardly that simple, but the USF defense has been solid lately at forcing takeaways, the pass defense hasn’t been all that bad, and the ground game has been strong enough to give the Pirates problems.

– Schedules, Previews CollegeNFL

What’s Going To Happen

Can USF limit the mistakes? The six giveaways on the road to Florida and Louisville ended up being a big deal in different ways. On the plus side, East Carolina doesn’t force a slew of takeaways.

This is a funky game that’s going to have a funky feel, but East Carolina should get past it all with the ground attack taking over in the second half.

CFN Expert Picks, Week 5

East Carolina vs USF Prediction, Line

East Carolina 30, USF 20
Line: East Carolina -8.5, o/u: 57.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
East Carolina vs USF Must See Rating (out of 5): 2

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Navy vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

Navy vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 4 game on Saturday, September 24

Navy vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 4, Saturday, September 24


Navy vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 24
Game Time: 6:00 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficken Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Navy (0-2), East Carolina (2-1)
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Navy vs East Carolina Game Preview

Why Navy Will Win

The team got two weeks to prepare.

This hasn’t gone well so far for the Midshipmen with an 0-2 start, losses to Delaware and Memphis, and with the season slipping away before it could even get going.

However, this might be fixable.

The turnovers have to stop. They gave it up six times in those two games – three in each. Start there, come up with more on the outside with the running game against an East Carolina defense that hasn’t really been tested on the ground, and this might turn around fast.

The Navy D is getting into the backfield, it’s not bad at controlling the clock ben when the running game is working, and it’s only allowing 1.7 yards per carry.

With that said …

CFN Expert Picks, Week 4

Why East Carolina Will Win

Yeah, the Navy ground game isn’t working.

It’s not generating the push needed inside, QB Tai Lavatai and others aren’t getting enough space to blow up big yards on the outside, and there’s absolutely no passing game to speak of other than the occasional big play down the field.

East Carolina got past the tough late loss to NC State with two solid performances against Old Dominion and Campbell. There hasn’t been a turnover in the last two games.

Be +2 in turnover margin, take an early lead, and this should be no problem.

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What’s Going To Happen

Can Navy find any sort of a rushing groove?

It’s got the parts, and the defense hasn’t been all that bad, but the team simply isn’t able to do what makes it so good.

It needs East Carolina to implode, and it needs this to be a low scoring fight. Neither thing will happen.

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Navy vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

East Carolina 34, Navy 14
Line: East Carolina -16.5, o/u: 48.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3.5
Navy vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 2

College coaches all over America this week are raising awareness and research dollars for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive genetic disorder that takes the lives of young men. Fans can donate to Coach To Cure MD online or by texting the word CURE to 501501 to give $25.

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