NC State at East Carolina – Preview and Prediction
NC STATE 5.5 E CAROLINA (56.5)
Implied Projected Score: NC State 31 E Carolina 25.5
MEGALOCKS LINE – NC State 6
The Game
NC State goes on the road after taking care of William & Mary 48-14 in their opener. Meanwhile, HC Scottie Montgomery started his tenure with the Pirates with a 52-7 win over Western Carolina. The offense was humming in that one.
The Match-Up
NC State offense vs E Carolina defense
QB Ryan Finely and RB Matthew Dayes looked sharp in last week’s opener. We feel confident the offense can move the ball effectively on the Pirates. To be truthful, East Carolina does have a shot in the match-up DL vs OL, it is just too early in the season for us to know for sure. The mere fact that NC State has a good ground game (202 yards rushing per game last year) makes us think they can have success and get into the high 20s+.
E Carolina offense vs NC State defense
Whoa. New East Carolina QB Phillip Nelson was throwing darts on Saturday and looks to be a great fit for the Pirates offense. They have a fine selection of targets in the passing game as last week’s 398 passing yards and 5 TD passes make perfectly clear. Yes, it was a game vs an FCS foe, but they come into the game full of confidence.
We do worry about their ability to be balanced. They only had 133 yards rushing per game last season, and exciting as it may be to throw the ball 90 times, those are not usually the teams we like to back against the number. The Wolfpack defense held opponents to 26 points per game last season and is very experienced. The Pirates are tough to defend but the Pirates will need to at least show they can run a bit on the NC State defense.
Tasty Tidbits
NC State HC Dave Doeren is 5-1 as a road fav in his tenure #smallsamplesize….This is another one of the Saturday match-ups that is not a conference game but will sure feel like one…..The Pirates have three wins over ACC teams in the past two seasons not saying just saying.
Summary
The spread looks about right. Maybe take a peek at the total ?
Conclusion
No official play.
Lean: Under any number 57 or better.