The Houston Cougars (-16.5) are heading northeast to battle their AAC foe East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. CBS Sports Network has the TV rights and the game’s scheduled to get underway at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Houston Cougars vs. East Carolina Pirates Betting Preview
In this Saturday American Athletic Conference game, Houston is labeled as the big favorite and is currently giving up 16.5 points. In order to take the favorite, moneyline gamblers would currently have to put up $1,200 to win $100 back on the Cougars (-1200). The Pirates are getting +710 moneyline odds. Should one side can find paydirt in the early stages, it would likely create a nice betting opportunity in-game.
The Cougars have gained 1.0 unit so far and are 2-3 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 3-2. The Pirates are down 1.0 unit this season. The team is 2-3 ATS and also has an O/U record of 3-2.
The Cougars have gone 4-1 straight up (SU), including 1-0 SU against conference opponents. The Pirates are 2-3 SU overall and 0-2 SU in conference play.
The Cougars are coming off a resounding 41-26 win over Tulsa last week where D’Eriq King completed 19 passes on 27 attempts for only 165 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Patrick Carr (91 yards on 13 rush attempts) and Mulbah Car (74 yards on 11 carries) led the ground attack in the win while Marquez Stevenson (seven receptions, 41 yards, one TD) and Romello Brooker (four catches, 44 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties.
One week ago, Temple knocked off this East Carolina crew by a score of 49-6. The Pirates defense let the Owls eat up the clock by rushing for 173 yards on 48 attempts, including two rush TDs. Ryquell Armstead had a good outing in the win for Temple, recording 91 rushing yards and a score on 20 attempts. For East Carolina, Reid Herring completed 17-of-31 passes for 112 yards. Anthony Scott (20 rushing yards on seven attempts) and Holton Ahlers (56 yards on five carries) mounted the ground game in the defeat while Leroy Henley (five receptions, 34 yards) and Blake Proehl (three catches, 17 yards) led the receiving attack.
Houston’s run the ball on 50.6 percent of its offensive possessions this year while East Carolina has a rush percentage of 44.9 percent. The Cougars have produced 265 rush yards per game and have 14 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Pirates are putting up 140 rushing yards per game (116 in conference) and have seven total rush TDs.
It seems like the Cougars should hold an edge in terms of efficiency in the ground game. Their running backs has generated 6.7 yards per carry while their defense is allowing 3.0 YPC to opponents. The Pirates have tallied 3.7 yards per carry and given up a YPC of 3.2 to opponents.
The Cougars offense has logged 317 yards/game through the air overall and has 20 passing TDs so far. The Pirates have produced 259 pass yards per game (188.0 against AAC foes) and have six total pass scores.
Defensively, Houston has allowed 131 rush yards and 357 pass yards per game. The East Carolina defense has allowed 229.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 110.4 yards per game on the ground. The Pirates are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 6.42 to opponents, while the Cougars have given up a 7.46 ANY/A.
Offensively, King is up to 1,162 passing yards on the year. He’s connected on 61 percent of his 136 attempts with 15 scores through the air and only two interceptions. King has a 10.01 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 6.73 over the last two games.
We expect the Houston offense to mix it up in this one. D’Eriq King, Marquez Stevenson and Mulbah Car have combined to account for 333 total yards and five touchdowns over the last couple of outings.
Reid Herring has connected on 94-of-176 passes for 964 yards, three TDs and three INTs for East Carolina. His ANY/A stands at a less-than-stellar 4.69 for the season and 4.68 over his past two outings.
Similar to the Cougars, expect a balanced approach offensively from East Carolina this Saturday. Holton Ahlers (140 rushing yards, three rush TDs, zero receiving yards on the year), Anthony Scott (166 rush yards, one rush TD) and Trevon Brown (268 receiving yards, one receiving TD) have combined for 328 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns the past two games.
When these two programs met a year ago, Houston won easily 52-27.
RELATED: Week 7 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
Free Pick: Houston Cougars at East Carolina Pirates
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Notes
Betting Trends
The East Carolina defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 18 times this year. Houston has recorded just 10 sacks.
The East Carolina offense has lost one fumble in 2018 while the Houston offense has lost three.
The Cougars offense has recorded seven pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Pirates have accounted for two such plays.
The Houston defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while East Carolina has given up three such plays.
The Houston offense has created 13 rushing plays of 20+ yards, while East Carolina has created seven such runs.
The Cougars defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Pirates have given up seven such runs.
East Carolina was favored by 10 points in its previous matchup and the Over/Under going into it was 53. The over cashed and East Carolina failed to cover in the 49-6 defeat to Temple.
In its last three matches, East Carolina is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Over its last three games, Houston is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Houston was favored by 17 points in its last game and the Over/Under was set at 71.5. The under cashed and Houston was not able to cover in the 41-26 win over Tulsa.
Houston has produced 6.31147540983607 yards per carry across its past three contests and 7.3 over its last two.
East Carolina has averaged 3.7 yards per carry over its last three outings and 3.9 over its last two.
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