Through 1 Quarter
The East Carolina Pirates are ahead after one, as expected, but they’ll have to keep working the rest of the way. After one quarter neither squad has the game in the bag, but East Carolina leads 6 to nothing over the South Florida Bulls.
RB Rahjai Harris has led the way so far for the Pirates, as he has punched in one rushing touchdown.
Who’s Playing
South Florida @ East Carolina
Current Records: South Florida 2-5; East Carolina 3-4
What to Know
After two games on the road, the East Carolina Pirates are heading back home. The Pirates and the South Florida Bulls will face off in an American Athletic battle at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. East Carolina is out to stop a four-game streak of losses at home.
East Carolina fought the good fight in their overtime contest against the Houston Cougars last week but wound up with a less-than-desirable result, falling 31-24. Despite the defeat, East Carolina got a solid performance out of QB Holton Ahlers, who passed for two TDs and 278 yards on 37 attempts in addition to punching in one rushing touchdown. Ahlers hadn’t helped his team much against the UCF Knights three weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround for him.
The East Carolina defensive unit accumulated five sacks for a loss of 51 yards. It was a group effort with five guys contributing.
Meanwhile, South Florida ran circles around the Temple Owls last week, and the extra yardage (526 yards vs. 217 yards) paid off. South Florida captured a comfortable 34-14 win. Their RB Jaren Mangham looked sharp as he rushed for two TDs and 152 yards on 26 carries.
The Pirates are the favorite in this one, with an expected 9.5-point margin of victory. They are currently three-for-three against the spread in their most recent games, a trend bettors might want to take into account.
East Carolina is now 3-4 while the Bulls sit at 2-5. A couple defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: East Carolina is stumbling into the game with the 224th most passing yards allowed per game in the nation, having given up 297.5 on average. South Florida has experienced some struggles of their own as they are 233rd worst in the nation in yards allowed per game, with 502 on average. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
How To Watch
- When: Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium — Greenville, North Carolina
- TV: ESPN
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket Cost: $6.00
Odds
The Pirates are a big 9.5-point favorite against the Bulls, according to the latest college football odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Pirates as an 8.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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Series History
South Florida have won five out of their last six games against East Carolina.
- Oct 10, 2020 – East Carolina 44 vs. South Florida 24
- Oct 26, 2019 – South Florida 45 vs. East Carolina 20
- Sep 22, 2018 – South Florida 20 vs. East Carolina 13
- Sep 30, 2017 – South Florida 61 vs. East Carolina 31
- Oct 08, 2016 – South Florida 38 vs. East Carolina 22
- Nov 07, 2015 – South Florida 22 vs. East Carolina 17
