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The East Carolina Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the App. State Mountaineers at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
While it was all tied up 10-10 at halftime, East Carolina wasn't quite Marshall's equal in the second half on Saturday. East Carolina received a tough blow as they fell 31-13 to Marshall. The over/under was set at 43.5 points, so nice work oddsmakers; you were right on the money.
QB Mason Garcia put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 118 yards (he passed for an additional 62 and tossed a touchdown through the air). TE Shane Calhoun also helped out by posting a receiving touchdown.
The Pirates were unfortunately pretty good at collecting yards the wrong way and finished the game with 112 penalty yards. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Marshall only lost 39.
Meanwhile, App. State fought the good fight in their overtime match against North Carolina on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. App. State took a 40-34 hit to the loss column at the hands of North Carolina. Considering how many points were scored, both coaches might be spending a little more time focusing on defense before their next games.
Despite their loss, App. State saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. QB Joey Aguilar, who threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 43 attempts, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of RB Nate Noel, who rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
East Carolina will need to dig deep on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. They finished last season with a 7-5 record against the spread.
That disadvantage in the odds might be especially worrying for East Carolina considering the team was a sub-par 2-3 as the underdog last season. A bettor who placed a $100 dollar bet on them to lose every one of the 12 games they played last year would have netted $766.58. On the other hand, App. State will play as the favorite, and the team was 5-6 as such last season.
