East Carolina Pirates vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/28/2024

Game Time: 5:45 pm ET, Saturday, December 28, 2024

Venue:  Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  ECU +6, NCSU -6; Over/Under:  58.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  ECU +6.5, NCSU -6.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  ECU +6.5, NCSU -6.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

East Carolina Pirates:  7-5 (5-3) (5th place, AAC)

North Carolina State Wolfpack:  6-6 (3-5) (12th place, ACC)

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East Carolina Pirates:  lost their last game at home against the Navy Midshipmen 34-20.

North Carolina State Wolfpack:  won their last game on the road against the North Carolina Tar Heels 35-30.

East Carolina is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 5-3 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Navy 34-20. Katin Houser was the starting QB and he completed 20/36 passes for 219 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Rahjai Harris led the team in rushing yards with 88. Yannick Smith led the receivers with 66 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Ja'Marley Riddle led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Samuel Dankah led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

NC State is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 3-5 record in their conference games too. They are 4-3 in their home games, 2-2 in their road games, and they are also 0-1 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against North Carolina 35-30. CJ Bailey was the starting QB and he completed 14/20 passes for 242 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Daylan Smothers led the team in rushing yards with 83 and 2 TDs. Dacari Collins led the receivers with 62 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Kamal Bonner and Donovan Kaufman each led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Davin Vann and Jackson Vick each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have NC State listed as a 6 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. NC State hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 6-6 record overall and their 3-5 conference record which has them right near the bottom of the ACC, but that record was still enough to get them to this bowl game. They are going to have some momentum coming into this one since they ended the regular season with a nice rivalry win on the road over UNC. Meanwhile, East Carolina has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which has them in the top half of the AAC. They have been a really up and down team this year as they were terrible under Mike Houston, but they have looked a lot better in their games lately with their interim head coach. They won 4 games in a row after letting Houston go, but they did end the regular season with a home loss to a much better Navy team. As good as they were under their interim head coach, putting up a ton of points in their games, their defense was still terrible as they would also give up a ton of points in their games. That was also against weaker teams in the AAC as the conference is not as strong. NC State wasn't great this year, but they did play in a tougher conference being in the ACC and they have a lot more talent on their team too. The best way to place a bet here is on NC State to cover the spread in this game. 

East Carolina North Carolina State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, December 28, 2024 (5:45 pm ET start time) is NC State 38 ECU 24.

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East Carolina Pirates: 8-5 ATS as an underdog. 9-4 ATS in non-conference games. 10-4 UNDER as an underdog. 8-4 UNDER versus good offensive teams - averaging 5.9 yards/play or more. 12-6 1H UNDER after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses.

North Carolina State Wolfpack: 15-23 ATS in all lined games. 5-14 ATS as a favorite. 3-11 ATS in non-conference games. 8-3 UNDER off a win against a conference rival. 8-4 UNDER vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game. 13-6 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record.

East Carolina Pirates:  B. Spalding (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Robinson (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Sowell (WR) Questionable - Hamstring. S. Revel (DB) Out - Knee.

North Carolina State Wolfpack:  B. Raphael (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Fordham (LB) Out - Knee.

“Coach Aldridge, known him for, for, you know, 10 years plus and just when he was at West Georgia, every place he’s been, he’s been successful and then the job he did at Liberty as a defensive coordinator when I was there. Even through that, through the stint when they went to a bowl game, he was the interim head coach of the bowl game. Also just the personality and what he’s going to bring to us in recruiting, I think really fits our staff. It fits our players and I’m really excited by him being here.” - Blake Harrell on his new DC Josh Aldridge.

“These kids just get up and fight — these grown men get up and fight, and I'm proud of them. Every time they made a play on their sideline, we responded with a play on our sideline.” - Dave Doeren after his team’s win against UNC in their regular season finale.

WR Smith, Anthony 

WR Smith, Yannick

WR Wright Jr., Winston 

TE Kelly, Casey

QB Garcia, Jake

RB Harris, Rahjai 

WR Collins, Dacari 

WR Rogers, Noah 

WR Grimes, Wesley

TE Daniels, Dante

TE Joly, Justin 

QB Bailey, CJ

RB Waters, Jordan

Passing: K. Houser (1859)

Rushing: R. Harris (946)

Receiving: A. Smith (767)

Touchdowns: R. Harris (10)

Passing: C. Bailey (2183)

Rushing: J. Waters (445)

Receiving: J. Joly (620)

Touchdowns: K. Concepcion (8)

Coaches:

East Carolina Pirates: Blake Harrell (Interim)

North Carolina State Wolfpack: Dave Doeren (12th season)