2013 Record: 10-3

2014 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 7.5*

2014 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

East Carolina barnstormed its way through its final season in Conference USA, winning 10 games and hammering Ohio in a bowl game. But now the Pirates are stepping up (slightly) in class as they start their maiden voyage in the American Athletic Conference.

Quarterback Shane Carden controls an offense that finished 2013 in the Top 10 in the country in scoring (40.2 points per game). ECU is loaded with receiving talent and has three starters back on the offensive line. Scoring shouldn't be a problem. But defense will be. They lost seven starters from an overachieving unit and head coach Ruffin McNeil has a long road ahead of him with this year's crop.

East Carolina has played in nine bowl games since 2000. But they've only won eight or more games twice in Ruffin McNeil's four-year tenure. The Pirates have a ruthless schedule this year, including a three-game stretch in September that is at South Carolina, at Virginia Tech and hosting North Carolina. Mix in a road trip to Cincinnati and tough games against Central Florida and nemesis SMU and I think ECU will be lucky to make a bowl game.

ECU fared well against top competition last year. But I'm not a fan of McNeil's and I think he's a poor in-game strategist. Carden will bail this team out repeatedly. But if the books posted a number this high I would be sprinting to the window to get down on the 'under'. I think ECU is headed for a 5-7 or 6-6 year and should be bet accordingly.

2014 East Carolina Pirates Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result

Sat, Aug 30th, 2014 NC Central 08:00 PM Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 at S. Carolina 07:00 PM Williams-Brice Stadium

Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 at Virginia Tech 12:00 PM Lane Stadium/Worsham Field

Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 North Carolina TBA Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Sat, Oct 4th, 2014 SMU TBA Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 at TBA Raymond James Stadium

Thu, Oct 23rd, 2014 Connecticut 07:00 PM Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Sat, Nov 1st, 2014 at Temple TBA Lincoln Financial Field

Thu, Nov 13th, 2014 at Cincinnati 07:00 PM Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati

Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 Tulane TBA Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Fri, Nov 28th, 2014 at Tulsa TBA Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman S

Thu, Dec 4th, 2014 UCF TBA Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

All Times EST

*Season Win Total Odds from Raphael Esparza. Esparza was a Las Vegas sportsbook manager for 13 years at some of the largest books on The Strip. He is a proven oddsmaker and this is his projected total.

Robert Ferringo was the top football handicapper in the country last year, earning nearly $8,000 in total football profit in 2013-14 and posting one of the best seasons in America. He hit 62.1 percent for the entire NFL season (95-58) and was amazing down the stretch, closing with 11 of 14 winning NFL weeks and 12 of 15 overall winning football weeks. Robert has posted 3 of 4 winning football seasons, 6 of 7 winning NFL seasons, 30 of 44 winning football months, and 6 of 7 winning NFL preseasons. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System posted another winning season (now 2-for-2) and is 83-58 over the last two years (58.9 percent).

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