Tulsa vs East Carolina Prediction & Picks for Thursday Night CFB

• East Carolina is a massive 17.5-point favorite over Tulsa in American Conference play on Thursday night
• Both teams rank outside the top-85 in points per game
• See below for my Tulsa vs East Carolina prediction and picks for Thursday Night Football

The NFL has some competition for eyeballs on Thursday night as there’s also college football on the docket. Tulsa (2-4, 0-3 American) visits East Carolina (3-3, 1-1 American) in American Conference play, in a matchup online sportsbooks are expecting to be a blowout per the latest college football odds.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm ET from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, in Greenville, NC, with ESPN providing the broadcast coverage.

Here is my Tulsa vs East Carolina prediction for Thursday night college football.

Tulsa vs East Carolina Prediction

Neither one of these teams resemble anything close to a CFP odds contender, and I’ll be honest there’s not a lot to love about Tulsa. That being said, there’s no way I’m trusting the Pirates to cover a 17.5-point spread. East Carolina ranks outside the top-85 in scoring offense, and is 104th in points per play. They’re especially bad at running the football, averaging just 3.4 yards per rush.

The Pirates have been much more efficient throwing the football, but one of the Golden Hurricane’s biggest strengths is rushing the passer. ECU QB Katin Houser was sacked three times and threw for a season-low 180 yards last week in a loss to Tulane, and I predict Tulsa’s pass rush can cause similar problems for Houser.

I also predict the Golden Hurricane’s defense won’t surrender nearly as many points as they have in previous conference games. Tulsa has yielded 45, 31 and 42 points versus Memphis, Tulane and Navy, but those teams are a combined 17-1 overall, and 8-0 in conference. East Carolina is not in the same tier as those programs, and shouldn’t be laying this many points.

East Carolina Offensive Stats

In the Golden Hurricane’s other three games, they’re 2-1 with a +28 point differential, and those opponents profile much more similarly to ECU than the American’s elite.

Tulsa vs East Carolina Picks

I’m making the Golden Hurricane +17.5 my official Tulsa vs East Carolina pick, in what also profiles as a low-scoring game. Tulsa will want to control the clock and run the football as much as possible, and they have the workhorse back for the job. Senior RB Dominic Richardson leads the conference in carries (112), and is averaging just under 5.0 yards per carry.

When the Golden Hurricane do take to the air, there’s reason to believe they can find success. ECU is allowing enemy QB’s to complete 64% of their passes, at 6.8 yards per throw. The Pirates just coughed up 347 passing yards and 2 TD to Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff, and although neither one of Tulsa’s QB’s are in the same league, they’ll be able to do enough to move the chains.

This game profiles as a one to two score game, so getting +17.5 with the Golden Hurricane is a steal. The majority of the bettors feel the same way as of Wednesday night, as Tulsa is drawing 63% of the spread wagers and 57% of the handle according to the college football public betting trends.

Tulsa vs East Carolina Odds

The best odds we can get on Tulsa +17.5 is -110 at DraftKings. The Golden Hurricane are +550 to pull off the outright upset, while East Carolina comes back as a -800 favorite. Total-wise, the over/under sits at 53.5, which also feels a bit rich.

DRAFTKINGS SPORTSBOOK

Offer

T&Cs

Sign Up Today & Receive Up to
$1,050 in Bonuses!

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS).

LOCK IN PROMO

SIGNUP PROMO

SIGN UP
& GET $1,050

BONUS BETS + DEPOSIT BONUS

GET PROMO

Odds as of Oct. 15 at DraftKings. New customers can claim the DraftKings promo code and get a bonus to bet on college football.

ECU’s games are 5-1 to the under so far this season, failing to clear the total by an average of 11 points per outing.