by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Nov 07, 2022
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Where to watch: ESPN2
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Cincinnati -6
FanDuel: Cincinnati -6.5
BetMGM: Cincinnati -5.5
Caesars: Cincinnati -5.5
Season record
East Carolina: 6-3 (3-2 AAC)
Cincinnati: 7-2 (4-1 AAC)
We're coming down to the wire in what should be an exciting final month of the college football season. The conference championship chases are on, bowl games are to be decided, and who gets into the College Football Playoff is anybody's guess to this point. If you're still trying to figure out who's the best to play at this point of the year, look no further than our champion handicappers leading the way in the college football world. Our own Kyle Hunter is 23-8-0 over the last month, while Brian Bitler is 21-13-0 in the run. Kyle's reeled in a net profit of over $14,000. Now you feel like you should be getting on the action, huh? Make sure you go check out bigal.com to see all of the work our champion handicappers are trying to do to get money in YOUR pocket with our selections. Make sure to hit up our Best Bets page for more!
East Carolina - Cincinnati preview, analysis and prediction
Last week
East Carolina: won 27-24 at BYU
Cincinnati: won 20-10 vs. Navy
This might be the week of the American Conference if you’re looking for some fun college football matchups. Of course, we know the top one featuring a certain school from New Orleans, but Friday will give us a nice little No. 2 matchup in the conference with the East Carolina Pirates taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats.
This might be the week of the American Conference if you’re looking for some fun college football matchups. Of course, we know the top one featuring a certain school from New Orleans, but Friday will give us a nice little No. 2 matchup in the conference with the East Carolina Pirates taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Right now, these two are looking up at Tulane and UCF with a month to go. Cincinnati just lost to UCF a few weeks ago, while East Carolina lost to red-hot Tulane a month ago. But East Carolina did get a shocking 21-point win on Oct. 22 against UCF at home, so there’s some offsetting. Alas, two bowl-eligible teams will meet up with each other and things will get exciting.
East Carolina is coming off their third straight win, 27-24 at BYU on Oct. 28 thanks to a game-winning field goal from Andrew Contrad that looked about as knuckle-like as could possibly be. But Keaton Mitchell dominated running for 176 yards and a touchdown, with ECU outgaining the freefalling BYU 424-388.
The Pirates have found the formula that puts them in the upper-echelon of the conference. They have a strong offense averaging 32.3 points per game while throwing for nearly 300 yards a contest and still running for 170 per game. Holton Ahlers has been an incredible quarterback for this group and has been a weapon that East Carolina hasn’t had in a while, someone who can go toe-to-toe with these other high-octane offenses.
Much like Cincinnati. Even though it’s not Desmond Ridder anymore, Ben Bryant has been efficient and very good throwing the ball. Charles McClelland has been a great weapon running the ball at nearly 6 yards per carry. That was evident in CIncinnati’s 20-10 win over Navy a couple of weeks ago, with Bryant throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Scott caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Hopefully that starts a new winning streak for Cincinnati, who won 19 in a row in the conference before losing to UCF the week prior.
Prediction
East Carolina, overall, has been a .500 team over the past few years. This is really the first time this program has been in the state that it is in. But Cincinnati has been a tough cookie to crack for the longest time. Defensively, they’ve remained consistent and have continued to play great football. That’s what separates teams later on down the road.and it’s why Cincinnati has been so good for so long. That’s why I trust them more to win this game. Cincinnati by 13
Betting trends
East Carolina is 7-3 ATS as a road underdog the last three years.
East Carolina is 10-4 ATS off an under the last three years.
East Carolina is 26-9 ATS since 1992 as a road underdog of 7 points or less.
East Carolina is 22-41 ATS since 1992 off a road win.
Cincinnati is 14-13 ATS as a favorite the last three years; 28-0 straight up.
Cincinnati is 11-7 ATS in its last 18 home games; 18-0 straight up.
Cincinnati is 9-10 ATS off a conference win the last three years.
Statistical leaders
East Carolina:
Passing: Holton Ahlers -- 2,632 yards, 18 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Keaton Mitchell -- 863 yards, 9 TD
Receiving: Isaiah Winstead -- 871 yards, 3 TD
Cincinnati:
Passing: Ben Bryant -- 2,358 yards, 18 TD, 6 INT
Rushing: Charles McClelland -- 727 yards, 6 TD
Receiving: Tyler Scott -- 686 yards, 8 TD
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this East Carolina Pirates - Cincinnati Bearcats prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college football projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
