The college football season continues with Week 9 games, and one of them is scheduled for Friday, October 28, so here you can read the best Pirates vs. Cougars betting pick and odds.

BYU is desperate to avoid the fourth defeat in a row when they host East Carolina at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars are 3-point favorites on BetUS Sportsbook, while the total is set at 60.5 points. These inter-conference rivals will meet for the second time in seven years; the previous H2H duel was in 2017.

Pirates upset the Knights at home

The East Carolina Pirates (5-3, 5-3 ATS) bounced back from a road loss to Tulane, in which they scored a season-low nine points. The Pirates responded with a pair of home wins over the Memphis Tigers and UCF Knights, and the most recent one against UCF was a surprise as East Carolina was a 6-point underdog but recorded a 34-13 victory. Although the teams were pretty tied on offense when it comes to total yards and first downs, the Pirates did dominate the possession (35:11-24:49) and forced four turnovers while commuting none on the other end.

Holton Ahlers completed 30 of 36 passes for 311 yards and a touchdown, and also added a rushing TD. C.J. Johnson was unstoppable through the air as he ended the tilt with game-high 11 receptions for game-high 140 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Winstead contributed with 89 yards on seven catches, while Keaton Mitchell was excellent on the ground with 105 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries. On defense, Julius Wood led the team with ten tackles.

RB Rahjai Harris suffered a knee injury and will miss the rest of the 2022 season.

Cougars lost three in a row

The BYU Cougars (4-4, 2-6 ATS) opened the season with four wins out of the first five games, but they dropped in form since and suffered three consecutive losses. The latest one came on the road against the Liberty Flames, in which the Cougars scored season-low 14 points. BYU scored all 14 points in the first quarter and the Flames scored 38 final points to get a massive 41-14 win over a 7-point favorites Cougars.

Jaren Hall completed 16 of 34 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Puka Nacua, who led all the receivers with 114 yards on seven receptions, scored one of those TD passes, while Isaac Rex was on the receiving end of the other one. BYU didn’t use its run offense much, registering 71 yards on 16 attempts. Defensively, Keenan Pili and Micah Harper led the Cougars with eight tackles apiece.

Trends:

East Carolina:

  • 11-5 ATS in the last 16 games overall
  • 7-3 ATS in the last ten games following an ATS win
  • 16-4-1 ATS in the last 21 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game

BYU:

  • 0-6 ATS in the last six games overall
  • 1-4 ATS in the last five home games
  • 0-4 ATS in the last four non-conference games

East Carolina Pirates vs BYU Cougars Pick  

The Cougars are not playing well of late and I cannot rely on their defense, which is the biggest reason I am backing the Pirates here. BYU allowed 93 points in the last two games and considering that East Carolina is scoring 33.3 points per game and scored 814 points in the previous two games, I am pretty sure the visitors are in a better position to win. The Pirates are better in every segment on offense and also have a better defense that is allowing 23.1 ppg opposite BYU’s 31.6 ppg.

Pick: Take the Pirates at +3.5 (-135)

The Total

After scoring season-low 14 points in a gem where they were favorites to win, I expect the Cougars to bounce back and score 25+ in this one. East Carolina displayed some fine defensive performances of late, but in two road games this season, the Pirates allowed 52 points. BYU has problems at the moment on both ends of the field, and even though I expect them to lose this game, I am also backing them to improve offensively. Over is 5-1 in the Pirates’ last 6 vs. Independents; Over is 7-3 in the Cougars’ previous ten games overall, while Over is 6-1 in BYU’s last seven home games.

Pick: Go Over 60.5 points (-110)