The East Carolina Pirates take on the Tulane Green Wave in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Tulane is favored by 6.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -250. East Carolina, meanwhile, comes in as a +6.5 underdog and is +200 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 53.5 points.
Here’s my East Carolina vs. Tulane prediction and college football picks for Thursday, October 9.
East Carolina vs Tulane Predictions, Pick
- East Carolina vs. Tulane Pick: 1Q Over 10.5 (-120 · Play to 12.5)
My Tulane vs. East Carolina best bet is on both teams to go over the first-quarter total. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
East Carolina Pirates vs Tulane Green Wave Odds, Spread, Lines
| East Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+6.5 -110 | 53.5 -110o / -110u | +185 |
| Tulane Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-6.5 -110 | 53.5 -110o / -110u | -225 |
- East Carolina vs Tulane Spread: Tulane -6.5, East Carolina +6.5
- East Carolina vs Tulane Over/Under: 53.5
- East Carolina vs Tulane Moneyline: East Carolina ML +195, Tulane ML -245
East Carolina vs Tulane NCAAF Preview
East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates bring their uptempo offense on the road Thursday as they look to keep rolling after a bye week. This extra time to prepare should aid them early in this one, with their first couple of drives being scripted.
ECU plays at the seventh-fastest tempo in the country, and it has only intensified its passing attack. Senior quarterback Katin Houser has been highly efficient, ranking 25th in completion percentage and 32nd in yards per pass.
We should see him lead the Pirates offense down the field in the early going against a Tulane defense that has struggled to create pressure, ranking 71st in sack rate.
Tulane Green Wave
On the other side of this matchup, the Green Wave offense is a bit of a contrast to the Pirates.
Tulane runs the ball at the 28th-highest rate in the country, but it does so with its leading rusher being quarterback Jake Retzlaff.
Retzlaff's mobility has made this offense dynamic. He's a real threat both on designed runs and scrambles.
Retzlaff and company should test an ECU defense that has faced only one above-average offense in BYU, and the Cougars put up 34 points with their leading rusher averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Retzlaff has been nearly as effective, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and is a weapon in goal-to-go situations, finding paydirt seven times already on the ground.
East Carolina vs Tulane NCAAF Pick to Bet
This is a matchup where ECU's tempo could help and hurt it.
We should see the Pirates be effective in the first quarter with scripted drives, but even if they put points on the board, Tulane is likely to dominate the time of possession and find the end zone at least once.
Back these teams to match each other in the first quarter with a pair of touchdowns between them, putting them over the first-quarter total.
Pick: 1Q Over 10.5 (-120 · Play to 12.5)
East Carolina vs Tulane Betting Trends to Watch
