East Carolina Pirates vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 9/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Location: Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: Peacock

Odds/Point Spread: Wolverines (-35)

Total/Over-Under: 51.5

Michigan Stadium is where the Michigan Wolverines (13-1 last year) will try to defeat the East Carolina Pirates (8-5 last season) on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Michigan is 35-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under is 51.5.

The East Carolina Pirates finished the season having a 8-5 record. In their last contest, the Pirates faced the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and earned the victory with a final of 53-29. Holton Ahlers went 26/38 with 300 yds passing and 5 touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 178.2 and ended the contest with no interceptions. Keaton Mitchell was the best rusher for the Pirates with 22 carries for 127 yards (5.8 yds per attempt). The East Carolina Pirates ended up rushing 32 different times and totaled 172 yards, which came out to an average of 5.4 yds per attempt. When the final whistle blew, they had 71 plays which gave them 486 yds. East Carolina surrendered 17 pass completions on 25 attempts for a total of 212 yards, and a completion percentage of 68.0%. Against the run, the Pirates gave up 125 yards on 38 attempts, which is an average of 3.3 yds per run allowed.

The Pirates earned 5,994 total yards for the prior campaign. East Carolina amassed 29 touchdowns through the air and 25 touchdowns via the ground. They surrendered the ball 7 different times. East Carolina totaled 294 1st downs offensively, and they were flagged for 56 infractions for 488 yards. As a unit they averaged 170.6 yds via the ground game, ranking them 54th in D-1. When talking about scoring points, the East Carolina Pirates averaged 32.5 PPG.

When talking about passing yardage, the Pirates conceded 3,793 yards which ranked them 127th in Division 1. Over the course of their 13 games, they conceded 291.8 yards per game through the air as well as relinquishing a completion percentage of 66.3%. They gave up 404.3 yards per contest which ranked them 88th in the nation. They gave up 27 touchdowns through the air and 16 rushing touchdowns. They gave up 3.4 yards per rushing attempt and 112.5 yards on the ground per game last season. Over the course of last year, they gave up 1,463 rushing yards through 13 outings. The Pirates ranked 73rd in D-1 in terms of the opposition scoring, allowing 27.2 points per game.

Get all of our College Football Picks

The Wolverines wrapped up their year having a 13-1 record. For their last game, the Wolverines went home defeated by a final of 51-45 against the TCU Horned Frogs. Donovan Edwards ran the ball 23 times for 119 yards, ending the contest with 5.2 yds per carry for Michigan. J.J. McCarthy (2 touchdowns) ended the contest with 343 yds on 20/34 passing while his QB rating was 151.2. He threw 2 interceptions and his average yards per pass attempt was 10.1. Michigan gave up 41 attempts on the ground for 263 yds (6.4 yds per rush). The Wolverines passing defense conceded a completion rate of 48.3%, relinquishing 225 yds on 14 out of 29 passing. The Wolverines ended up finishing with 528 yds on 75 plays (7.0 yds per play). Michigan rushed for 4.7 yards per tote, finishing the contest with 186 yds on 40 attempts.

The Michigan Wolverines had an average of 458.8 yards/outing, ranking them 24th in D-1. The Michigan offense totaled 448 yards of penalties on 57 violations, which had them sitting 116th in college football in terms of making mistakes. For the previous season, the Wolverines threw for a total of 3,079 yards through the air in addition to averaging 219.9 passing yards per contest, ranking them 83rd in D-1. When looking at their scoring prowess, the Wolverines had a ranking of 6th in the nation holding an average of 40.4 PPG.

Michigan gave up a total of 1,371 rushing yards (97.9 yards/game) as well as 10 touchdowns by way of the ground game last season. They conceded 11 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 194.2 yards/game, which put them in 20th in college football. The Wolverines defense took part in 879 plays, which ranked them 73rd in the country. The Wolverines allowed 16.1 PPG, which had them sitting 7th in college football. Overall, they relinquished 225 total points.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Pirates +35

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here