East Carolina at Memphis Football Odds & Predictions

The 4-3 East Carolina Pirates take on the 2-5 Memphis Tigers at the Liberty Bowl Tuesday night to kick off Week 9 NCAA football betting action. The game is being broadcast on ESPN 2. East Carolina is coming off a 49-13 rout of Rice while Memphis enters off a 36-16 loss to Southern Miss. East Carolina has won three straight in this series, including a 30-10 home win and cover as a 9-point favorite last year. College football odds makers have listed the East Carolina Pirates as 4-point road favorites Tuesday night.

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ECU owns an 11-6 edge in the all-time series with Memphis and stands a solid chance of improving on that mark when you consider that the Pirates have won six of their last eight road games against Conference USA East opponents. Memphis was able to hang with ECU for a half last season, but the Pirates rattled off 23 unanswered points in the second half and really kicked things in high gear defensively, allowing only 49 yards after halftime. Defense figures to be the key again in this year’s meeting. The Pirates have held their last two opponents (SMU, Rice) to just 53 rushing yards per game. The run defense will have to remain stiff against Memphis running back Curtis Steele, who has racked up 376 yards in the Tigers last two games, if the Pirates hope to get the win and the cover. Forcing Memphis to beat them through the air figures to be the recipe for success when you consider that the Pirates are ranked second in the league with 10 interceptions and Tigers quarterbacks have thrown the second most picks in the league with 11. It is also worth noting that ECU has 44 non-offensive touchdowns since 1999, which is good for 15th in the nation during that time frame. Tackle Linval Joseph leads the Pirates run-stuffing unit. He has 11.5 tackles for loss in his last eight ball games.

Offensively, I’ll be watching QB Patrick Pinkney and wide receiver Dwayne Harris. Pinkney is coming off his 12th career 200-yard passing day and tied a personal best with three touchdown passes last time out. Harris was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after taking back a kickoff 92 yards to the house. He finished with 264 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against Rice. It is worth noting that the Pirates are 10-1 against the number in the last 11 meetings with Memphis. If you expect this dominant trend to continue, bet East Carolina at -4 at Sportsbook.com.

Memphis will be pumped up for this home contest with the defending conference champion Pirates, which are currently alone in first place in the Conference USA East Division. The good news for Memphis is that the Pirates haven’t looked nearly as good on the road this season, going just 1-3 thus far, including a loss to SMU as a 4-point road favorite. Memphis’ defense is not often a dominant unit. The Tigers are at their best when they are trying to outscore their opponents rather than trying to stop them. In fact, Memphis is 34-8 since 2001 when scoring 30 or more points in a game, including 2-0 this season.

In order to put up 30-plus on ECU, the Tigers are going to have to get their playmakers the ball in a variety of ways. Wide receivers Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton have combined for 40 touchdown catches in the their careers, which makes them the third best scoring tandem in the country. Calhoun is ranked sixth among all FBS wideouts with 2,724 career receiving yards. And Singleton is a matchup nightmare at 6′7”. The key to Memphis’ success in this game will be the productivity of Curtis Steele, however. He has eight rushing scores in his last 11 games and is in the top 10 in career rushing at Memphis with 1,740 yards. If the offensive line can open up lanes for him, it will also open up lanes in the passing game for easy play-action completions against ECU’s aggressive secondary. The Tigers will be without QB Tyler Bass, who suffered a season ending shoulder injury, but this isn’t as big a blow as it would be to some teams as they have a capable performer in Will Hudgens, who has been splitting the duties with Bass. It is worth noting that the Pirates are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games as a road favorite of 3.5-10.0 points and 2-10 against the number in their last 12 road games overall. If you like the Tigers in the home dog role, bet Memphis at +4 at Sportsbook.com.

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