East Carolina Pirates vs. South Florida Bulls
East Carolina’s Shane Carden sees his star on the rise as he leads the 19th-ranked Pirates (4-1) into Tampa for their first American Athletic Conference road game against South Florida (2-3). The Pirates won the AAC debut last week at home, beating SMU 45-24 as Carden threw for 410 yards and four scores. The Bulls are 1-0 in the AAC, but lost on the road at Wisconsin two weeks ago 27-10. South Florida leads the all-time series 4-0. The teams last met in December 2006 at the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., with the Bulls taking a 24-7 decision.
Details for Saturday’s game are below:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 11
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium
TV Info: ESPNU
Live Stream: Click here
Radio: For a list of South Florida affiliates, click here. For a list of East Carolina affiliates, click here.
Ticket information: For South Florida ticket info click here. For East Carolina ticket info click here
Keys to Victory
While the Pirates get noticed for their high-powered offense, East Carolina’s defense has its chops, too, ranking 17th in the nation against the run at 106.4 yards allowed per game. South Florida has problems at quarterback with Mike White struggling, but should get a boost with the return of wide receiver Andre Davis, who has been out four games with a bruised sternum. Still, the Bulls have averaged just 233 yards per game in their last four games, going 1-3.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: East Carolina minus-15
Moneyline: East Carolina minus-700/South Florida plus-500
O/U: 58
Prediction
East Carolina has quickly established itself as the team to beat in the AAC with its back-to-back wins over ACC foes Virginia Tech and North Carolina. South Florida’s struggling offense going against the Pirates’ high-powered attack is the football equivalent of trying to fight off tanks with squirt guns—it’s just not going to happen.
Final Score: East Carolina 37, South Florida 20