UCF vs. East Carolina Total Prediction
The UCF Knights dodged a potential loss a week ago versus Memphis and will need to avoid a letdown this Saturday night when they visit the East Carolina Pirates at 7:00 p.m. ET. Will the game turn high-scoring?
Game Snapshot
315 UCF Knights vs. 316 East Carolina Pirates
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 20, 2018
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, North Carolina
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Knights are 21-point favorites to beat the Pirates. The total, meanwhile, sits at 48 points. As of this writing, 68% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Knights.
UCF Knights
UCF junior QB McKenzie Milton completed 17-of-29 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday’s 31-30 comeback win at Memphis and he added a rushing score. The Knights ran the nation’s longest active win streak in the FBS to 19 games. This was the first time UCF won a game by less than seven points during the streak, and it was only the second time they overcame a halftime deficit. Milton has helped the team average 47.4 points per game with an average win margin of 23.9 ppg. Nest up for the Knights will be a trip to East Carolina for a night game at Dowdy-Ficklen.
East Carolina Pirates
ECU freshman QB Holton Ahlers is listed as the starting quarterback for this weekend’s game against UCF. It will be his first career start. The Pirates are pulling the plug on sophomore QB Reid Herring, who started the first six games of the year. The offense was stagnant under his watch. All three of ECU’s touchdowns over three games of AAC play have come when Ahlers was on the field. Ahlers, a highly-touted local product, signed with ECU over offers from NC State, Florida and Georgia. He will not have to look over his shoulder when he takes the field on Saturday. “He doesn’t have a leash. I’ve taken the leash off,” HC Scottie Montgomery said. “He’s going to get to play as long and as hard as he can.” The 6-foot-3, 236-pound Ahlers has mostly been used as a sub-package rusher so far. He leads ECU with 248 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Betting Trends
UCF
The under is 20-8 in the Knights’ last 28 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
East Carolina
The over is 9-4 in the Pirates’ last 13 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Prediction
In the last seven meetings between these two teams, the over is 6-1. In the last five meetings in Greenville, the over is 4-1. The over is also 5-2 in the Knights’ last seven conference games, is 7-1 in their last eight road games versus an opponent with a losing home record and is a perfect 4-0 in their last four games coming off an ATS loss. On the other side, the over is 11-4 in the Pirates’ last 15 home games when facing an opponent that owns a winning road record.
College Football Prediction: UCF/East Carolina over 65