Bryant Shirreffs and the Connecticut Huskies take on Blake Kemp and the East Carolina Pirates in a game that will feature two of the best players in the AAC. Coming into the game, the Huskies are 3-5 while the Pirates are 4-4. The game will air Friday, Oct 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPU.
In last week’s matchup, Connecticut struggled mightily against Cincinnati 37-13. Noel Thomas had a quality performance in the loss, grabbing four receptions for 38 yards. East Carolina also fell short, losing to Temple 24-14. Isaiah Jones had a great game for the Pirates, pulling in 10 receptions for 106 yards. Chris Hairston had 65 rushing yards and a TD on eight carries.
East Carolina is a seven-point favorite in this game against the Huskies.
With a 3-5 record both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Huskies will look to improve as they head into Week 9. In their five most recent matchups, the Huskies went 1-4 for both SU and ATS. During their last five games, the Huskies have improved their pass coverage, giving up an average of 234.6 passing yards. Concentration could be a key factor in this week’s game. The Huskies hope to profit on East Carolina’s mental lapses, which contributes to 73 penalty yards per game.
As for their opponent, the Pirates head into Week 9 with records of 4-4 for both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Pirates have a SU and ATS record of 3-2 for those betting with them. Connecticut’s front seven will be going up against the unstoppable Pirates running game, which has averaged 171.8 yards per game over their last five, quite a bit more than their season average of 142. Moving on to the East Carolina defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Huskies. The Huskies are matching up with East Carolina’s run defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, opponents only averaged 122.4 yards on the ground, lower than East Carolina’s season average of 171.8 yards. The Connecticut offensive line, which ranks 125th in the country with 3.5 sacks allowed per game, could be an area where the Pirates attack.
Predictions: SU Winner – East Carolina, ATS Winner – East Carolina
Notes
Connecticut is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Connecticut is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Connecticut’s last 8 games.
Connecticut is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Connecticut is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games at home.
East Carolina is 3-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Connecticut is 2-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, East Carolina is only 2-4 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (2-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
Connecticut is only 1-3 SU this season when allowing at least 3.0 sacks in a game. The East Carolina defense is averaging 3.4 sacks over its last five games.
East Carolina has drawn an average of 8.2 penalties on opponents over its last five games. Connecticut is an even 2-2 SU this season when penalized at least eight times in a game.
