Free NCAA Football Prediction: Knights vs. Pirates Odds
Looking for Central Florida Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates free picks? College football betting sees the Knights taking on the Pirates on Saturday, October 22nd at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game Week 8 predictions like this UCF-ECU free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Week 8
(5-1) UCF Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates (4-3)
Date: Saturday, October 22nd, 2022
Time: 7:30 pm EST
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: UCF-5 | ECU +5 (Bet Now!)
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Golden Knights -200 | Pirates +165
NCAA Betting Total Odds: O/U 64.5
The UCF Golden Knights will travel to Greenville and take on the East Carolina Pirates from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this Saturday night. Central Florida will open as the five-point favorites here at home, with the total opening at 64.5
HISTORY: UCF and ECU were rivals back in Conference USA, and despite the all-time series being tied 10-10, Central Florida has won the last six matchups.
UCF Knights
Central Florida began their season with a win over South Carolina State, but a Friday night loss to Louisville would hand them their lone blemish thus far. UCF then traveled south to Boca Raton and beat fellow Sunshine school Florida Atlantic by 26 points, before picking up a non-conference victory over Georgia Tech. They opened AAC play with a strong with over SMU, then took things a little further last weekend.
In Week 7, UCF defeated Temple, 70-13, improving to 5-1 against this spread this season.
Central Florida scores 41.3 points per game, while allowing 14.3 ppg.
John Rhys Plumlee left Oxford for Orlando and he’s thriving. The Ole Miss transfer has been sharp since tossing four touchdowns in his debut. Plumlee totaled a career-high 460 yards (339 pass, 121 rush) in the win over in-state foe FAU, but his performance last weekend was insane. Plumlee threw for 373 yards and scored a whopping total touchdowns (4 pass, 3 rush)
Plumlee has thrown for 1,516 passing yards with 11 touchdowns to three interceptions, while rushing for a ream-lead 468 yards and seven scores.
Isaiah Bowser and Johnny Richardson have split touches through the first month of the season. Bowser is a bruiser, and he scored three times in win over the Mustangs, and he leads the backfield with 315 rushing yards. Richardson led the team in rushing last season, and he’s got 270 yards through six games.
Javon Baker has been Plumlee’s number one guy after coming over from Alabama. The junior receiver has caught five passes or more in four of five games played, and he leads UCF with 403 receiving yards. Baker and senior wideout Ryan O’Keefe both surpassed the 100-yard mark versus SMU, with the latter catching a pair of touchdowns.
East Carolina Panthers
East Carolina played in-state foe N.C. State extremely well in Greenville in the opener, losing on a missed last second field goal attempt. ECU ripped off a pair of wins over nearby schools Old Dominion and Campbell, but a questionable home loss to Navy in their home opener dampened things a bit further.
The Pirates ironically dominated in Tampa Bay, defeating USF by 20, but they were overwhelmed by a Green Wave in a loss Tulane the following Saturday. ECU bounced back and got back into the win column with a magical win at Dowdy-Ficklen last weekend.
In Week 7, East Carolina defeated Memphis, 47-45, dropping to 4-3 ATS this season.
ECU scores 33.1 points per game, while allowing 24.5 ppg.
Holton Ahlers comes into his 50th start after guiding ECU to an epic five-overtime, homecoming victory over Memphis. The veteran quarterback passed for 465 yards and tossed a career-high six touchdowns versus USF, and after guiding the Pirates to a much-needed win last weekend, the captain will look to build on that outing.
Ahlers is among the nation’s leaders 2,131 passing yards with 17 touchdowns to five interceptions through seven starts.
Keaton Mitchell had another game-changing performance against the Tigers. Mitchell gashed ODU and Campbell for career-highs in back-to-back weeks, before going down in the Navy loss, but his return was felt abruptly for the homecoming game. Mitchell rushed for 149 yards, which was impressively only his third-highest outing of the season, and he scored three times in the win, and he now leads ECU with 575 rushing yards and six touchdowns through six games.
The ball distribution has been great from Ahlers this season. Isaiah Winstead has been very dynamic after switching purples (Toledo to ECU), and leads the team in receptions (52) and receiving yards (714), while junior receivier C.J. Johnson is second on the team with 29 catches for 517 yards and a team-lead seven touchdown catches.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- UCF are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- ECU are 3-3 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Golden Knights are 5-5 ATS in their last 8 home games.
- Pirates are 5-3 ATS in their last 8 road games.
Free Week 8 NCAA Football Final Analysis:
It’s hard not to love UCF at this margin after last weekend’s beatdown of Temple. Central Florida looks like a real threat to win the conference right now, but this trip to Greenville will be the first time they leave the state of Florida this season. This will be their first true road test of the season, and Dowdy-Ficklen is a wild environment.
With two of the best offenses in the conference, points could be a premium. We’ll find out a lot about UCF this weekend on both sides of the ball. The Golden Knights will enter uncharted territory with their star QB, and while he should perform well under the lights, the final result is a bit more blurry. ECU picked up a big win at home last weekend, and with road trips to BYU and Cincinnati looming, look for them to come out sharp as hosts this weekend.
Both squads are capable of providing explosiveness and doing the heavy lifting, so let’s bet for another shootout in Greenville this weekend. Take the over for this AAC bout, and don’t completely overlook the home underdogs here.
4* Free Week 8 NCAA Betting Pick: Over 64.5
Knights vs. Pirates Free Score Prediction: UCF 35 – ECU 32 (Bet Now!)
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