East Carolina Pirates vs Appalachian State Mountaineers Prediction, 9/2/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Appalachian State Mountaineers

Date: Thursday, September 2, 2021

Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Mountaineers (-11.5)

Total/Over-Under: 60

The Appalachian State Mountaineers (9-3 last season) are hosting the East Carolina Pirates (3-6 last year) at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday. East Carolina opens this game as 11.5-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 60.

The East Carolina Pirates finished the year with a 3-6 record. In their last game, the Pirates played the SMU Mustangs and took home the win by a score of 52-38. Holton Ahlers connected on 20/29 with 298 yds passing and 4 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 200.8 and ended the contest with no picks. Keaton Mitchell was the rushing leader for the Pirates with 20 totes for 68 yds (3.4 yards per attempt). In all, they ran 73 plays which converted into 493 yds. The East Carolina Pirates rushed the ball a total of 43 times and totaled 160 yards, which came out to an average of 3.7 yards per carry. In the running game, the Pirates conceded 70 yds on 27 attempts, which averages out to 2.6 yds per run surrendered. East Carolina relinquished 35 completions on 51 tries for a total of 314 yds, and a completion rate of 68.6%.

When it comes to scoring points, the East Carolina Pirates had an average of 30.2 points per contest. Offensively they held an average of 173.8 yards on the ground, which ranked them 58th in D-1. The Pirates attained 3,624 total yards for last season. East Carolina amassed 19 touchdowns through the air and 11 rushing touchdowns. East Carolina compiled 198 1st downs offensively, and they were called for 57 infractions for 524 yds. They turned the ball over 21 different times.

The Pirates were sitting in 115th in Division 1 when it comes to the opposition scoring, conceding 35.4 points per game. They gave up 5.2 yards per tote and 201.3 rushing yards per game over the course of last year. In total, they gave up 1,812 yards via the ground game in 9 outings. Concerning passing yardage, the Pirates conceded 2,214 yards which ranked them 90th in the nation. Over the course of their 9 games played last year, they conceded 246.0 yards per outing via the pass as well as allowing a completion percentage of 65.5%. They conceded 17 touchdowns via the pass as well as 23 touchdowns on the ground. They conceded 447.3 yards per contest putting them 115th in the country.

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The Mountaineers wrapped up their season with a 9-3 record. The last time they took the field, the Mountaineers walked away with a victory by a final of 56-28 against the North Texas Mean Green. Zac Thomas (1 touchdown) ended the game with 114 yards on 8/16 passing while his quarterback rating was 130.5. He kept the ball away from the defense with no picks and his Y/A was 7.1. Camerun Peoples carried the rock 22 times for 317 yards, finishing the contest with 14.4 yds per attempt for Appalachian State. Appalachian State rushed the football for 13.3 yards per attempt, finishing the contest with 506 yards on 38 carries. The Mountaineers finished with 642 yds on 55 plays (11.7 yards per play). The Mountaineers pass defense conceded a completion rate of 59.5%, relinquishing 267 yds on 22 out of 37 passing. Appalachian State surrendered 58 rush attempts for 230 yds (4.0 yards per rush).

In relation to their ability to score points, the Mountaineers were ranked 28th in the nation with a maintained average of 33.8 PPG. Last season, the Mountaineers had a total of 2,244 yards via the pass as well as an average of 187.0 passing yards per outing, which was ranked 107th in the nation. They held an average of 265.2 run yards per game and ran for 3,182 yards for the year. The Appalachian State Mountaineers maintained an average of 452.2 yards per contest which had them sitting 23rd in D-1. The Appalachian State offense racked up 814 yds of penalties on 88 violations, which ranked 6th in college football in terms of making mistakes. They threw 11 picks while letting opponents recover 6 fumbles and they tallied 281 first downs.

Appalachian State allowed a total of 1,818 yards via the ground game (151.5 yards per game) in addition to 14 touchdowns via the rush last season. Their defense totaled 4 fumbles and 16 interceptions last year. They surrendered 13 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 177.9 yards per outing, which put them in 21st in the country. The Mountaineers defense was on the field for 798 plays, which ranked them 127th in the country. Last season, they conceded 240 points in total. The Mountaineers conceded 20.0 points per game, which had them in 29th in D-1.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Mountaineers -11.5

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