Teams that won four of their last five games a year ago collide in a non-conference opener when the North Carolina State Wolfpack takes on the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday. The Wolfpack tied Clemson for second in the ACC Atlantic Division at 6-2 and 9-3 overall. The Pirates tied UCF and Tulsa 5-3 for third place in the American Athletic Conference and went 7-5 overall. East Carolina went 4-2 on their home field in 2021, while NC State went 2-3 on the road.
The Bagwell Field game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC will kick off at noon ET. NC State allowed just 19.7 points per game, tied for 18th nationally in 2021, while East Carolina allowed 26.3, 67th-best in the country. The Wolfpack are favored by 12 points in the latest North Carolina State vs. East Carolina from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under total points scored is 51. Before making any NC State vs. East Carolina or Week 1 college football predictions, you need to see what SportsLine’s advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine projection model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of nearly $3600 for $100 players on their top-rated college football picks against the spread. He enters Week 1 of the 2022 college football season riding a 45-32 streak in all of the top-rated college football money line and spread picks going back to 2021. Anyone who has followed him has seen large profits.
Now, the model has set his sights on NC State vs. ECU and simply set your CFB selections and predictions. You can head over to SportsLine now to check out the model picks. Here are various college football odds and betting lines for ECU vs. NC State:
- Difference between the State of North Carolina and East Carolina: State of North Carolina -12
- State of North Carolina vs. East Carolina over/under: 51 points
- North Carolina State vs. East Carolina Money Line: North Carolina State -455, East Carolina +345
- NCST: Wolfpack is 5-1 against the spread in their last six games against the American Athletic Conference
- ECU: Pirates are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games
- North Carolina State vs. Picks East Carolina: Check out the picks on SportsLine
featured game | East Carolina Pirates vs. NC State Wolfpack
Why NC State can cover
The Wolfpack brings back a large chunk of their offense from a year ago with redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary. Leary set a single-season school record with 35 touchdown passes in 2021 and has 51 in his career. He is on four different watch lists: Maxwell, O’Brien, Manning and Walter Camp Player of the Year. Last season he completed 283 of 431 passes (65.7%) for 3,433 yards and a rating of 157.0. One of his best games came in a 45-42 loss to No. 12 Wake Forest. In that game he completed 37 of 59 passes (62.7%) for 408 yards and four touchdowns. He was eliminated twice.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Carter also brings valuable experience. He was the Wolfpack’s third-leading receiver a year ago, catching 31 passes for 556 yards (17.9 average) and six TDs. It was the third year in a row that Carter had at least 29 receptions and 450 yards. For his career, he has 93 receptions for 1,500 yards (16.1 average) and eight touchdowns.
Why East Carolina can cover
Despite that, Wolfpack is not a lock to cover the difference between the state of North Carolina and Eastern Carolina. That’s because the Pirates continue to trend upwards under fourth-year head coach Mike Houston. East Carolina closed out the 2021 season by winning four of its last five games to earn an invitation to play in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. However, the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Boston College program.
Offensively, the Pirates return to starting quarterback Holton Ahlers, a 6-4, 230-pound senior. Ahlers led East Carolina in completing 256 of 414 passes (61.8%) for 3,126 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2021. He was intercepted 10 times, but had a 134.8 rating. He has been solid in his career, completing 58.5 percent of his passes for 10,219 yards, 69 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He has also rushed 397 times for 1,264 yards (3.2 average) and 19 TDs, including six a year ago.
How to make predictions between East Carolina and NC State
SportsLine’s model leans toward total points, projecting teams to combine for 61 points. The model also says that one side of the differential hits in more than 50% of the simulations. You can only see the model choice on SportsLine.
So who wins NC State vs. ECU? And which side of the difference affects more than 50% of the simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed your college football picks, and find out.