Free Week 4 Prediction: Pirates vs Huskies Odds
Looking for East Carolina Pirates vs. Connecticut Huskies free picks? Week 4 betting sees the Pirates taking on the Huskies Sunday September 24th at Rentschler Field in Storrs, Connecticut. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this ECU UConn free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 4
(0-0) East Carolina Pirates vs. Connecticut Huskies (0-0)
Date: Sunday, September 24th
Time: Noon EST
Venue: Rentschler Field, Storrs, Connecticut
NCAA Football Spread: UConn -4.5
NCAA Betting Total: 65
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Week 4 for these two mid-major teams occurs on a rather peculiar Sunday midday, rather than the customary Saturdays in college football.
Is the NCAA trying to poach some waning NFL interest perhaps?
It’s an interesting development, although if the collegians do want to make an impact with the Sunday casual football viewer, they’d be advised to schedule more compelling teams than ECU (0-3) and Connecticut (1-1).
This noontime match-up is a battle of two teams trying to dig themselves out of the American Athletic Conference’s East division.
The Huskies are second-last and the visiting Pirates are right smack in the basement with their winless record to date.
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The Pirates will certainly be looking for better form in a possibly winnable game at Rentschler Field.
East Carolina Pirates
Not much has looked right for ECU thus far in the 2017 campaign. The Pirates have lost three straight and, to be sure, they’ve looked like one of the worst teams in the Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
In a cruel brand of justice, East Carolina’s only player of note so far in punter Austin Barnes, who is on the shortlist for the Ray Guy Award this season.
The guy responsible for giving the ball back to the opposition’s offense would be the only Pirate getting recognized. Dark times for football fans in Greensville, no doubt.
For the Pirates to turn around their fortunes, they will need starting QB Gardner Minshew to be far better than he has been. His QBR of 29.1 is not coming close to cutting the mustard.
His completion percentage is just 41% and if he can’t straighten out the nose, JUCO transfer Thomas Sirk will take his place for good.
Sirk has a track record working with ECU head coach Scottie Montgomery at Duke, so he might have more trust in him anyhow. Coaches are always suckers for their incumbent guys.
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Whoever it is, they better get their act together quickly. We expected the ECU defense to be poor, but the scoring was something you thought you could hang your hat on for the Purple and Gold.
It hasn’t occurred much yet, with leading RB Tyshon Dye barely cracking 100 yards rushing in three games, and the team’s best output being 20 points scored (and still losing by 36) to West Virginia in Week 2.
If Coach Montgomery can’t put some wins in the ledger, his seat could be warm a lot faster than many predicted at the start of the season.
Connecticut Huskies
The Huskies are the best in a bad pairing of teams on Sunday, which isn’t quite a ringing endorsement. Connecticut is playing .500 ball, as its Week 2 game at South Florida was cancelled due to the recent nasty tropical weather.
Still, in Week 3 the Huskies lost by 20 to lowly Virginia, so there’s certainly room for improvement with the home side this week, too.
Starting pivot Bryant Shirreffs has found a nice chemistry with WR Hergy Mayala, a junior from Montreal, Canada. All three of Shirreff’s TD passes this season have connected with Mayala.
Others on the offense have to follow suit for the Huskies. In truth, RB Nate Hopkins has also been decent, toting the ball 30 times in the two games, good for 164 rush yards (5.5 per carry) and finding the endzone three times.
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But UConn’s attack needs more punch than just Hopkins and Mayala if they are to have any success in the AAC’s East division this year.
Connecticut also has a stouter defense than the Week 4 visitors, which, although that is not saying much, should make the difference on Sunday in Storrs.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- ECU are 4-20 ATS in their last 24 conference games.
- Over is 8-2 in ECU last 10 games in September.
- Under is 11-3 in ECU last 14 conference games.
- CONN are 4-19-3 ATS vs. a team with a losing record.
- CONN are 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 home games.
- Under is 19-7 in CONN last 26 home games.
Free Week 4 NCAA Football Pick
It has been a topsy-turvy start of the season for many American Conference teams in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and that includes Connecticut as it will make up its game against USF on Nov. 4.
The adjusted schedule might been the Huskies have a little more whiz n’ vinegar than their opposition, especially when you consider playing to the home crowd.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Connecticut -7.5
The home team Huskies may not be exactly the best program in the nation, but East Carolina has just looked like a tire fire to this point. UConn should be able to handle the Pirates as the misery continues on the Carolina coast.
I expect QB Shirreffs to continue to make sweet music with the Frenchman Mayala, as ECU’s hapless secondary should be unable to handle the duo.
If Hopkins can keep smashing it on the ground as well, the Huskies will control a considerable amount of clock and, although I think ECU’s offense will wake up a bit and assert itself this week, Connecticut should move to 2-1 fairly comfortably.
Week 4 Free Score Prediction: UConn 41 – East Carolina 31
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