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In an early 12 p.m. (ET) kickoff at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown this Saturday, the East Carolina Pirates square-off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in an AAC/Big 12 clash. This game will be available nationally on FOX Sports 2.
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East Carolina at West Virginia Game Overview<br />
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East Carolina opened up its season with a 34-14 loss to Division IAA James Madison as a slight 1.5-point underdog at home. The total stayed UNDER the closing 68-point line. This opening day loss came on the heels of a disappointing record of 3-9 in 2016 both straight-up and against the spread. The Pirates failed to cover in their final four contests that season and the total stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games.
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Thomas Sirk threw for 210 yards while completing 21 of his 35 attempts but he was also picked off twice in last Saturday’s loss. Gardner Minshew also got a chance to run the Pirates’ offense but the results were pretty much the same with 82 yards on seven completions with no touchdowns and one interception. East Carolina was only able to gain 70 yards on the ground on 30 rushing attempts.
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The Mountaineers are coming off a tough 31-24 loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday in a back-and-fourth neutral-site battle that was not decided until late in the game. West Virginia closed as a five-point underdog and the total ended as a PUSH on a closing line of 55 points. It went 10-3 SU in 2016 with a losing 5-8 record ATS and the total stayed UNDER in eight of the 13 games.
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Quarterback Will Grier did everything he could to try and get his team the win on Sunday night with 371 yards passing and three scoring strikes including a 60-yard throw to Gary Jennings in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24. The Mountaineers were knocking on the door late in the game with a drive to the Virginia Tech’s 15-yard line, but the drive stalled and the game came to an end. West Virginia also added 221 yards on the ground with Justin Crawford gaining 106 yards on 13 carries.
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East Carolina at West Virginia Game Betting Trends<br />
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The Pirates have gone 13-5 ATS in their last 18 nonconference games, but they have failed to cover in their last six games on the road. The total has gone OVER in six of their last seven games outside the AAC.
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The Mountaineers have failed to cover in five of their last six home games and they are 1-4 ATS in their last five nonconference games. The total has stayed UNDER in 14 of their last 19 home games.
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The home team has covered the spread in the last four meetings and the total has stayed UNDER in four of the last five games between these two.
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