On Saturday, December 28th, the East Carolina Pirates face the NC State Wolfpack in the Go Bowling Military Bowl. This is one of eight games on the schedule for the day, and this really should be a fun one. With that in mind, keep reading for odds, analysis and predictions for this showdown. But make sure you also check out our College Football Bowl Games Hub for all of our VSiN college football betting content.
Go Bowling Military Bowl: East Carolina Pirates vs. NC State Wolfpack
How To Watch East Carolina vs. NC State
Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland
When: 5:45 pm ET on Saturday, December 28th
Channel: ESPN
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East Carolina vs. NC State Odds
Moneyline: NC State -230, East Carolina +190
Spread: NC State -6 (-112), East Carolina +6 (-108)
Total: Over 58.5 (-108), Under 58.5 (-112)
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publish. They can change. And shop around for the best prices!
East Carolina vs. NC State Prediction
NC State is dealing with less talent out the door than East Carolina heading into this game. The Pirates lost starters Chase Sowell, Isaiah Brown-Murray and Zakye Barker to the transfer portal, and wide receiver Winston Wright declared for the NFL Draft and doesn’t look like he’ll suit up. Meanwhile, star wide receiver KJ Concepcion is transferring out of NC State, but Davin Vann, Tim McCkay and Anthony Belton are all on the Wolfpack depth chart. Considering NC State is already the more talented team here, it’s hard to ignore all of that.
Despite playing against stronger competition throughout the year, the Wolfpack have a better EPA per play (-0.022) than the Pirates (-0.042). NC State is also much stronger when it comes to EPA per play allowed (-0.010 vs. 0.035). The Wolfpack also happen to have a future stud under center, as freshman CJ Bailey was one of the best freshman quarterbacks we saw all year. At 6-foot-6, Bailey is tough to bring down when he takes off and uses his wheels. But he also has the ability to stand in the pocket and beat bad defenses. I’m surprised he hasn’t been given a massive contract to leave.
Realistically, it’s just hard to imagine East Carolina keeping up with NC State over the course of this game, so the Wolfpack should end up winning this one. But instead of laying the points with NC State, I’d suggest going Over the total.
These are two very bad defensive teams, so points shouldn’t be hard to come by. With Blake Harrell as head coach, the Pirates went Over in in three of their five games — with one of the other two being a push. The Over also hit in four of the final five games that the Wolfpack played during the regular season. And some of those NC State games weren’t even close. Over the final five games of the year, the average total points scored in Wolfpack games was 61.2 points per game. So, with their offense going against a Group of Five defense, you’d think we’re going to see a massive point total from NC State. That said, if you believe in East Carolina’s offense, you should just hope for points here. And that’s where I’m at with this game.
The Pirates have a stud at running back, as Rahjai Harris shredded teams on the ground late in the year. And Katin Houser is capable of making plays through the air. Also, NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is off to be the coach at Marshall. So, this Wolfpack defense might not be ready to go.
Pick: Over 58.5 (-105)
