UCF Knights vs East Carolina Pirates Prediction, 10/22/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCF Knights vs East Carolina Pirates

Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022

Location: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+4.5)

Total/Over-Under: 63

Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is the site where the East Carolina Pirates (4-3) will take on the UCF Knights (5-1) on Saturday. East Carolina opens this contest as 4.5-point underdogs. The total comes in at 63.

The UCF Knights head into this matchup 5-1 for this season. In their last matchup, the Knights faced the Temple Owls and notched a win by a score of 70-13. John Rhys Plumlee finished 18/22 with 373 yards through the air and 4 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 284.2 and walked away from the contest without throwing a pick. Thomas Castellanos was the rushing leader for the Knights with 3 attempts for 88 yds (29.3 yards per attempt). At the end of the game, they ran 69 plays which gave them 737 yards. The UCF Knights ran the football 41 times and had 304 yards, which is an average of 7.4 yds per attempt. In the running game, the Knights gave up 59 yards on 27 tries, which averages out to 2.2 yards per run allowed. UCF allowed 24 pass completions on 44 tries for a total of 234 yds, and a completion percentage of 54.5%.

The Knights have tallied 3,151 total yards over the course of this season. With reference to scoring touchdowns, UCF has earned 11 touchdowns through the air and 19 rushing touchdowns. They have given the ball to the opposition 7 times. UCF has accrued 152 1st downs as a team, and they have been called for 39 penalties for 372 yds. As a team they hold an average of 261.2 yards via the ground game which has them sitting 4th in the nation. Regarding putting the ball in the endzone, the UCF Knights are sitting at 41.3 points per game.

In terms of passing yards, the Knights have conceded 1,276 yards which has them sitting in 30th in the nation. They are giving up 212.7 yards per outing through the air and giving up a completion percentage of 53.1%. Overall, they have given up 336.8 yards/contest ranking them 26th in D-1. They have surrendered 4 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 5 touchdowns via the ground game. The opposition is running for 3.8 yards per attempt on the ground and 124.2 yards on the ground per game for the campaign. In total, they have conceded 745 yards via the ground game in 6 games. The Knights rank 7th in the country when it comes to team defense, allowing 14.3 PPG.

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The Pirates come into this matchup with a record of 4-3 for this season. The last time they took the field, the Pirates took home the win by a final score of 47-45 against the Memphis Tigers. Holton Ahlers (1 TD) ended the game with 304 yards on 26/34 passing while his QB rating was 161.3. He didn't toss any picks and his Y/A was 8.9. Keaton Mitchell ran the football 29 times for 149 yds, ending the game with 5.1 yards per carry for East Carolina. East Carolina rushed the football for 4.0 yds per attempt, finishing the contest with 169 yds on 42 carries. The Pirates finished the game with 473 yards and they ran 77 plays (6.1 yds per play). The Pirates passing defense allowed a completion rate of 73.0%, relinquishing 407 yards on 27 out of 37 passing. East Carolina gave up 35 rushing attempts for 84 yards (2.4 yards per carry).

The East Carolina Pirates have an average of 474.7 yards/game, which ranks them 21st in the country. The East Carolina offense has accrued 224 yds of penalties on 30 infractions, which is good for 112th in college football in terms of helping out the other team. During this campaign thus far, the Pirates have thrown for a total of 2,163 passing yards as well as an average of 309.0 passing yards per game, which is ranked 18th in the country. When it comes to their ability to score points, the Pirates are sitting 45th in the country scoring 33.1 points per outing.

The Pirates are allowing 24.6 points per contest, which puts them 56th in D-1. East Carolina has allowed a total of 769 yards via the ground game (109.9 yards/game) in addition to 7 touchdowns on the ground this season. This season, they have surrendered 172 points in total. They have surrendered 13 touchdowns through the air in addition to 278.3 yards/outing, which has them sitting 117th in D-1. The Pirates defense has been on the field for 460 plays, which is good for 77th in the country.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Knights -4.5

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