Temple at East Carolina Expert College Football Picks 10/3/2019

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Holton Ahlers and the East Carolina Pirates play the Temple Owls at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday, October 3, 2019. The odds on this game have Temple as 13-point favorites. The Owls are 2-1-0 ATS and 2-1-0 when betting on the total. The Pirates are 0-4-0 when wagering on the over/under and 1-3-0 against the spread.

Key Temple Owls Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key East Carolina Pirates Injuries

09/19/19 RB Darius Pinnix Undisclosed is out indefinitely
09/01/19 DB Colby Gore Suspension is out indefinitely
09/01/19 LB Delvontae Harris Suspension is out indefinitely
09/01/19 DB Juan Powell Suspension is out indefinitely

In their last contest, the Temple Owls faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and won by a score of 24-2. Re'Mahn Davis paced the team in rushing during the game. He had a long run of 18 yards and he tallied 2 touchdowns for the game. He ran for 135 yards by way of 29 carries which meant he was running for 4.7 yards per carry. Jadan Blue led the team in receiving yardage with a tally of 66 yards on 4 receptions. He earned an average of 16.5 yards per reception during the game. Running the show from under center for the Owls was Anthony Russo who went 9/22 with 127 yards through the air but wasn't able to throw a ball for a TD. He threw 1 pick on the day. The Temple Owls ran the football 48 times and totaled 198 yards giving them an average of 4.1 yards per carry. Overall, they finished with a total of 70 plays which added up to 325 yards. In the game, the Owls got 17 1st downs and they totaled 10 infractions for 70 yards which is telling in terms of discipline. When it comes to their defensive performance, Temple gave up 14 completions on 35 attempts for a total of 174 yards, and a completion percentage of 40.0%. Against the run, the Owls gave up 133 yards on 34 runs which gave the opponent an average of 3.9 yards per carry allowed. For this contest, they allowed 307 yards and earned 3 turnovers.

The Owls step onto the field holding a record of 3-1 this year. For total yardage, they rank 7th in the conference and 77th in the nation with 1,736 yards. They are one of the most potent offenses in the country averaging 30.5 points per game, which has them at 67th in the nation. As a team, they are averaging 141.8 yards on the ground per contest which is 9th in the conference. The Owls have one of the top tier defenses in D-1, allowing 17.3 points per game putting them 2nd in the American Athletic Conference. In terms of rushing yards, Temple is giving up 133 yards per contest putting them 5th in the conference and 50th in the country. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 3.2 yards per carry putting them 1st in the AAC and 32nd in college football overall. In total, they have allowed 532 yards rushing through 4 contests. When it comes to passing yards, the Owls have conceded 1,169 yards. Teams are completing 45% of the passes they throw against them and averaging 4.6 yards per try.

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In their last outing, the East Carolina Pirates played the Old Dominion Monarchs and ended up getting the victory by a score of 24-21. Demetrius Mauney led the team in rushing for the game. He broke a long run for 21 yards but he never crossed the endzone by way of the rush. He rushed for 52 yards via 10 carries which meant he averaged 5.2 yards per run. Blake Proehl led the team in receiving yardage by racking up 100 yards on 2 catches. He had an average of 50.0 yards per reception for the game. Taking the lead at quarterback for the Pirates was Holton Ahlers who went 8/21 with 202 yards passing and threw 2 TD's. He gave away 2 interceptions during the game. The East Carolina Pirates ended up rushing 36 times and totaled 107 yards which had them averaging 3.0 yards per rushing attempt. In the game, the Pirates racked up 12 1st downs and they had 6 penalties for 46 yards which is telling of how their week of practice went. In the game, they finished with a total of 57 plays for 309 yards. When it comes to their defensive performance, East Carolina gave up 20 completions on 30 tries for a total of 203 yards, and a completion percentage of 66.7%. For this contest, they gave up 293 yards and forced 3 turnovers. Against the run, the Pirates gave up 90 yards on 42 attempts allowing their opponent an average of 2.1 yards per run allowed.

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The Pirates come into this matchup with a record of 3-2. In terms of offensive proficiency, the Pirates have one of the worst offenses in college football. East Carolina has built a respectable ground game this year by averaging 173.4 yards on the ground per contest, putting them 58th in D-1. As a team, they have compiled a total of 867 rushing yards through 5 games, so they'll look to the run game to try to keep the opponents off balance so they'll have open receivers. The Pirates average 370.8 yards per game overall which has them at 90th in D-1 and 9th in the conference. The Pirates are conceding 22.6 points per game which puts them at 7th in the American Athletic Conference and 46th in college football. In regard to points given up, they have allowed 113 points in total. When talking about yards on the ground, they are giving up 151.4 yards per contest ranking them 72nd in college football and 7th in the American Athletic Conference. For this year, they have conceded a total of 757 rushing yards and 11 rushing TDs. Their pass defense is one of the most dominate groups in D-1. They are giving up 191 passing yards per game. For passing yards allowed per game, the Pirates are currently ranked 5th in the conference.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Pirates +13

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