Listen up Carolina fans! This ones for you. On Saturday night, two schools cosplaying as actual states battle it out to see who the real, fake Carolina truly is, as the East Carolina Pirates take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Both teams had a rough outing on the road in their first game, following it up with a win at home over a much inferior squad. Now the two go head to head as they prepare for conference play starting here shortly. Will the home underdog bark at Myrtle Beach this Saturday night? Let's dive in to our favorite picks!
Ja'Vin Simpkins is running for four yards per carry so far this year
Alright, let's start with the hosts, the Chanticleers. They got Chanti-clocked by the Cavaliers of Virginia on the road in Week 1. Coastal Carolina only put up one touchdown and turned the ball over three times en route to their 48-7 butt-whooping. They converted just one third down and allowed 450 yards of offense and 48 points. The next week they shutout Charleston Southern, winning 13-0, and still had three turnovers. That win doesn't really do it for me.
On the other side, East Carolina had a couple of late scores against NC State in Week 1 to cover the two touchdown spread, where they moved the ball for 413 yards and did not turn it over. Last week they blew out the Campbell Fighting Camels 56-3 in their home opener, going for 535 total yards and zero turnovers again. However, they had 10 penalties in both contests. They'll need to clean it up if they want to cover this big spread on the road, or even avoid being upset.
Do the Chanticleers stand a chance? Or will the Pirates find some booty on Myrtle Beach?
Matchup Information – East Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina – September 13
Conference play starts very soon for both teams. Next week, the Chanticleers have to go face the South Alabama Jaguars on the road in the Sun Belt. They'll surely want to start off conference play after going just 3-5 last season. As for East Carolina, they get one more week before facing an American opponent, but they play their toughest battle next week. The Pirates get to host the BYU Cougars of the Big 12, which could be a chance for them to play spoiler against their hardest opponent all year long.
While neither team will be looking ahead too hard, I do see each of them struggling.
No points! Focusing more on ECU, I don't see them putting up 56 points like they did last week. If this gets ugly, which I think it might, the Pirates will eventually take their foot off the gas with a Power Four opponent coming to town. Regardless, I do not see Coastal Carolina contributing at all.
Transfer quarterback MJ Morris is the starter for the Chanticleers this season. This guy is interception happy. At NC State in 2023, he had five picks in just four games. Last year at Maryland, five picks combined in the two games where he had over 10 passing attempts. And so far this season, he has four picks in just two games, with zero touchdowns. He's thrown the ball 58 times, completing just 56% of his passes and adds just 21 rushing yards.
Coastal's offense has turned the ball over three times in each game this year, and they face an ECU defense that has forced three already. On top of that, the Chanticleers have scored just 10 points per game, but being at home they should be able to contain the Pirates offense enough to stay under. Get ready to sweat, as this one might touch 50, but getting over the hump would take a strong offensive showing from both sidelines, and I simply don't see that happening.
Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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