BC Opens as 3.5-Point Favorite Over East Carolina
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
East Carolina just stitched together its best regular season since 2014. Meanwhile Boston College—the Pirates’ Military Bowl opponent—finished below .500 in ACC play for the first time since 2016.
But it’s the Eagles who have opened up as 3.5-point favorites, according to Action Network, for the teams’ postseason game in Annapolis, Maryland on Dec. 27.
The over/under is set at 49.5 right now.
BC is 6-6 against the spread (ATS) this season. The Eagles failed to cover versus Florida State (-3.5) and Wake Forest (+6.5). ECU, meanwhile, is 7-4 ATS. The Pirates covered six straight games from early October to the middle of November. That stretch featured a three-game win streak (that eventually hit four), an overtime loss to a ranked Houston team and a four-point defeat to UCF.
ECU took a big step in the right direction under head coach Mike Houston this season. The Pirates won seven total games in Houston’s first two years at the helm before matching that number in 2021.
ECU will face a well-rested BC team, though. The Eagles, most notably quarterback Phil Jurkovec, really haven’t been right all year.
Jurkovec will have about a month to get his grip strength back, and the Eagles will likely have a few defensive playmakers back from injury for the bowl game.
It’s a matchup that will pit the third-best passing offense in the AAC against the best passing defense in the ACC.
