East Carolina Pirates vs. West Virginia Betting Preview
Where: Milan Puskar Stadium – Morgantown, West Virginia
When: Saturday, September 9, 2017 – 12:00 PM ET
Line: East Carolina Pirates (+24.5) at West Virginia Mountaineers (-24.5) – total: 66.0 – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
TV Broadcast: FS2
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Betting on the East Carolina Pirates (0-1)
The Pirates are coming off an ugly loss. They got pounded by reigning FCS champion, James Madison Dukes, in Week 1, 34-14. It was a debut that had East Carolina lapsing on just about every drive.
Defense is among the key issues of the team, and it was quite evident this past week. Although they had one interception, they still allowed the opposing quarterback to have 192 yards and one touchdown in just 15 completions. To top it all off, they were also rammed by the Dukes’ running attack, as they surrendered enormous yardage on the ground – 422 yards and four TDs on 9.6 yards per carry.
Another problem is the quarterbacking. Gardner Minshew got benched after a horrid 7-for-18, 82-yard, one-interception showing. His replacement, Thomas Sirk, was serviceable, and went 21-for-35 for 210 yards – the bad takeaway, though, is he got picked twice.
Sirk has been given the nod to start against West Virginia, and it will be interesting how well he can fare opposite a defense that has more talent but recently underperformed. His weapons on the wing will include the returning Davon Grayson (back), who caught seven passes for 86 yards versus James Madison, and Jimmy Williams, who was quiet in Week 1 but was the solid number two receiver last year behind the now-pro Zay Jones.
East Carolina lost all of its six road games last season (SU and ATS).
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (0-1)
A loss also welcomed West Virginia into the 2017 season. There was nothing they can do defensively to stop Virginia Tech’s onslaught, and they eventually fell, 31-24.
It was similar to East Carolina’s woes, as the Mountaineers defense looked helpless experiencing the unpredictable attack of VT’s exciting freshman QB, Josh Jackson. Despite recording eight tackles for loss, their obvious clueslessness in handling Jackson’s skill set had them giving up a total of 469 yards, 234 of which were on the ground.
Now that they are expected to have hunger in redeeming themselves, and the QB they will defend doesn’t have blazing speed and quickness anymore, or even pocket presence, the situation definitely favors WVU’s stop unit. They should and would need to show up ready this time.
Over on offense, there shouldn’t be any problems. Momentum and rhythm will be present in this area. Will Grier’s West Virginia debut saw him play like he’s in mid-season form, as he threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns (one INT). It also appeared that he has good rapport with Gary Jennings and David Sills, with the former hauling in 13 receptions for 189 yards and a TD, and the latter having nine catches for 94 yards and a pair of TD grabs.
The passing game is poised to be lethal, but running back Justin Crawford could be the player to watch out for the most. The sophomore is an efficient rusher (7.3 yards per carry) who’s not getting feature back-like amount of attempts (12.5 per game), but with East Carolina fresh off an atrocious effort in defending the run, we may see him get more opportunities than the usual and rack up great stats.
Writer’s Prediction
The Mountaineers (-24.5) will take this, 42-16.
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