East Carolina vs. Liberty prediction, odds, pick for College Football Week 4
09/19/2024 05:10 PM
Liberty looks to stay undefeated as they host East Carolina. It is time to continue our college football odds series with an East Carolina-Liberty prediction and pick.
East Carolina comes into the game sitting at 2-1 on the year. They opened with a dominating win over Norfolk State. After going down 3-0, Jake Garcia would throw four touchdown passes and ECU would win 42-3. They would then face Old Dominion. It was a tight first half with ODU leading 7-6, but ECU would score the next 11 points, and win the game 20-14. Last week, they would face App State. ECU took the 16-0 lead after the first quarter but would lead just 16-14 at the half. They would allow a touchdown in the third quarter, but make it a two-point game in the fourth. Still, ECU could not score again and fell 21-19.
Meanwhile, Liberty is 3-0 on the year. They opened up with Cambell, winning 41-24. The next week, they would visit New Mexico State. New Mexico State led 17-9 at the half. They would continue to hold the lead into the late fourth quarter. With 1:05 left in the game, Quinton Cooley broke a 44-yard run to win 30-24. Last week, they would face UTEP. Liberty would score the last 14 points of the game to win the game 28-10.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: East Carolina-Liberty Odds
East Carolina: +5.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +188
Liberty: -5.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -230
Over: 53.5 (-115)
Under: 53.5 (-105)
How to Watch East Carolina vs. Liberty
Time: 6:00 PM ET/ 3:00 PM PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why East Carolina Could Cover The Spread/Win
Jake Garcia has led this ECU offense this year. He has completed 66 of 102 yards for 817 yards on the year. He has also thrown five touchdown passes. Still, He has been sacked eight times this year while he has thrown eight interceptions on the year. Anthony Smith has been his top target. He has brought in 15 receptions on the year for 212 yards and one score. Winston Wright Jr. has also been solid with 13 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown. Tight End Casey Kelly rounds out the top receivers on the year. He has 11 receptions for 98 yards and one score.
The running game has been led by Rahjai Harris this year. He has run the ball 50 times for 242 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on the year. He has two touchdowns on the year as well, plus a rush of 63 yards this year. Meanwhile, Javious Bond has the other rushing touchdown on the year. He has 11 carries for 66 yards and a score.
ECU is 40th in the nation in opponent points per game this year while sitting 83rd in opponent yards per game. They are 20th against the rush, but 114th against the pass. Zakye Barker has been solid this year. He leads the team with 30 tackles, plus has a forced fumble and a sack. Meanwhile, Gavin Gibson and Shavon Revel have both been solid in the secondary. Gibson has two interceptions this year, while Revel has two passes defended and two interceptions. Both of them have returned one interception for a touchdown this year.
Why Liberty Could Cover The Spread/Win
Liberty has been led by Kaidon Salter this year. He has completed 47 of 71 passes on the year for 726 yards. He has thrown three touchdown passes while he has not thrown an interception. He has been sacked five times this year but has also run 28 times for 95 yards on the year. His top receiver has been Treon Sibley. Sibley has 14 receptions this year for 341 yards and a touchdown this year. Meanwhile, Tyson Mobley has ten receptions for 82 yards and a score. Elijah Canion rounds out the best receivers on the year, coming in with five receptions for 109 yards.
In the running game, it has been a two-headed monster this year. Quinton Cooley has 34 carries on the year for 266 yards. He is averaging over 7.5 yards per carry, while he has scored three times this year. Meanwhile, Billy Lucas has 46 carries on the year for 205 yards. While he is averaging just 4.5 yards per carry, he has scored four times this year.
Liberty is 36th in the nation in points allowed per game while sitting 39th in opponent yards per game this year. They rank 32nd against the run while sitting 62nd against the pass. TJ Bush Jr. has been solid this year. He has 16 tackles, three passes defended, while having 3.5 sacks on the year. Meanwhile, both Dexter Ricks Jr. and Chrisitan Bodnar both have interceptions this year.
Final East Carolina-Liberty Prediction & Pick
Liberty has not been blowing out teams, nor have they faced great competition. Still, they have been moving the ball well this year. ECU has struggled against the pass this year, while Kaidon Salter has been great this year for Liberty. Further, ECU has had a lot of turnover issues, and Liberty will take advantage of that. Take Liberty in this one.
Final East Carolina-Liberty Prediction & Pick: Liberty -5.5 (-120)
The post East Carolina vs. Liberty prediction, odds, pick for College Football Week 4 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
