{"id":118840,"date":"2024-09-19T15:07:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T22:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/?p=118840"},"modified":"2024-09-19T15:07:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T22:07:48","slug":"fbs-g5-underdog-of-the-week-east-carolina-liberty-rmrm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/fbs-g5-underdog-of-the-week-east-carolina-liberty-rmrm\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Of Five Underdog Of The Week: East Carolina +6.5 At Liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florida State made things interesting late last week before Memphis outlasted the Seminoles for the 20-12 win as a 6.5-point underdog. College football betting odds<\/a> had the Tigers at +200 on the moneyline. I thought that game was going to go into overtime and Florida State was going to somehow cover the spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a big win for Memphis and also the first Group of Five<\/a> Underdog of the Week that has cashed. The Tigers now sit at No. 1 in the HERO Sports Group of Five Top 25<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s this week\u2019s selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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East Carolina (Spread +6.5, Moneyline +205) At Liberty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Pirates\u2019 uniforms last week were clean. They were sporting arguably the best uniform combo in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What wasn\u2019t very clean, though, was ECU\u2019s offense. It scored on its first two possessions but could only muster a field goal after that in a 21-19 loss to Appalachian State. That\u2019s been the theme so far for the Pirates. Their offense has struggled while the defense has been one of the best in the AAC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard for me to back a quarterback that\u2019s tossed an FBS-high eight interceptions in three games. Yet, somehow the Pirates are 2-1 and were so close to being 3-0 with a quality win over App State. Pirates QB Jake Garcia tossed a pick on the final drive, however, when all ECU needed was a field goal to go ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is easy to get behind this defensive unit that has done its best to keep the Pirates competitive. Sure, it gave up 424 passing yards to Joey Aguilar last week, but they kept the Mountaineers off the board and gave ECU a chance to win, forcing a fumble and getting the ball back to the offense late in the fourth quarter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECU\u2019s defense is the real deal, and I think it poses problems for Kaidon Salter and a Liberty offense that has faced some relatively easy defenses so far this season. Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell even said that this ECU team is the best squad that has gone to Lynchburg during his short two years there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pirates are allowing only 12.7 points per game, and I expect their defensive front to give the Flames\u2019 offensive line some trouble, making things hard on Salter. The Flames may also be without running back Quniton Cooley, who could miss this game with an injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECU is 14-7 as an underdog on the road under head coach Mike Houston, and I expect this to be another low-scoring, grind-it-out game. Liberty\u2019s defense doesn\u2019t scare me much, and I think the Pirates can do just enough offensively to keep this within one possession. <\/p>\n\n\n

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