East Carolina Pirates vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 10/23/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021

Location: TDECU Stadium in Houston, TX

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Cougars (-12)

Total/Over-Under: 58

The Houston Cougars (5-1) will take on the East Carolina Pirates (3-3) at TDECU Stadium on Saturday. East Carolina is 12-point underdogs. The betting total comes in at 58.

The East Carolina Pirates head into this game 3-3 this season. In their last contest, the Pirates faced the UCF Knights and ended up losing by a score of 20-16. Holton Ahlers connected on 20/32 with 219 yds passing and 1 touchdown. He had a QB rating of 124.1 and walked away from the contest with 1 pick. Keaton Mitchell was the leader on the ground for the Pirates with 17 carries for 65 yards (3.8 yards per carry). The East Carolina Pirates ended up rushing 39 times and amassed 141 yards, which came out to an average of 3.6 yds per carry. In the game, they tallied 71 plays which gave them a total of 360 yards. East Carolina surrendered 23 completions on 35 tries for 194 yards, and a completion percentage of 65.7%. When it came to the battle of the line of scrimmage, the Pirates gave up 165 yds on 31 tries, which is 5.3 yards per run allowed.

The Pirates have earned 2,565 total yards over the course of this year. In terms of distribution of touchdowns, East Carolina has totaled 11 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns. They have surrendered the football 10 times. East Carolina has amassed 119 1st downs, and they have committed 33 infractions for 349 yards. As a team they hold an average of 160.7 yards on the ground ranking them 70th in D-1. When talking about getting in the endzone, the East Carolina Pirates have an average of 29.5 PPG.

In terms of passing yards, the Pirates are giving up 1,785 yards which has them ranked 124th in the nation. They are conceding 297.5 yards per contest through the air in addition to conceding a completion percentage of 62.7%. Overall, they have given up 457.5 yards per contest ranking them 131st in college football. They have yielded 7 touchdowns via the pass as well as 13 touchdowns on the ground. They are giving up 4.5 yards per attempt on the ground and 160.0 yards on the ground per game this year. For the year, they have given up 960 rushing yards through 6 outings. The Pirates are sitting in 94th in D-1 when it comes to team defense, allowing 28.0 PPG.

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The Cougars come into this matchup with a record of 5-1 for this season. When they last stepped on the field, the Cougars got the win with a final of 40-22 against the Tulane Green Wave. Clayton Tune (3 touchdowns) ended the contest with 288 yds on 23/36 passing while his QB rate was 158.6. He didn't toss any interceptions and his Y/A was 8.0. Alton McCaskill ran the ball 18 times for 93 yards, ending the contest with 5.2 yds per attempt for Houston. Houston ended up running for 4.1 yards per attempt, finishing the contest with 147 yds on 36 carries. The Cougars finished with 435 yards while running 72 plays (6.0 yds per play). The Cougars secondary allowed a completion rate of 64.5%, relinquishing 214 yards on 20 for 31 passing. Houston gave up 38 rushing attempts for 94 yards (2.5 yds per rush).

When discussing the points being put on the board, the Cougars are ranked 17th in the country holding an average of 37.2 points per outing. During this campaign thus far, the Cougars have thrown for a total of 1,487 yards through the air along with an average of 247.8 passing yards per outing, which has them sitting 54th in the country. The Houston Cougars maintain an average of 381.7 yards/game, which ranks them 80th in Division 1. The Houston offense has totaled 363 yds of penalties on 40 violations, which ranks 62nd in the country in terms of helping out the other team.

The Cougars are conceding 16.2 points per contest, which has them ranked 23rd in Division 1. Houston has allowed a total of 651 rushing yards (108.5 yards/game) and 6 touchdowns via the rush so far this season. In total, they have allowed 97 points in total. They have given up 5 touchdowns through the air and 156.0 yards/contest, which has them sitting 18th in Division 1. The Cougars defense has participated in 352 plays, which ranks 16th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's Pirates/Cougars college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Cougars -12

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