East Carolina Pirates vs NC State Wolfpack Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 08/28/25
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East Carolina vs NC State Pickswise Expert Predictions
The season opens on Thursday in the Tar Heel State as East Carolina faces North Carolina State. These two teams finished the season against each other in the Military Bowl, with the Pirates taking a 26-21 victory. For the Pirates, that meant closing the season on a 5-1 run after making a coaching change. Blake Harrell seemed to pull the team together and exude positivity, and that has helped this ECU team tremendously. NC State struggled to a 6-7 record last season, and they are looking to rebuild. The game total of 61.5 implies that this will be a shootout, and it could end up that way; but it could just as easily turn into a mess with some early offensive struggles. Of all the units on the field though, I feel the best about the ECU offensive attack, so I am going to play East Carolina +14.
As the season gets going, I am personally very down on the Wolfpack and will be looking to fade them. This is a team that lost a ton of players to the portal in the offseason. They will be rebuilding most of the defense, and their offensive line will be almost entirely remade. Even with a returning sophomore QB who had some flashy moments, I think the Pack will be overcoming a lot to find sustained success this season. As for the Pirates, their offense should be good. They have an experienced QB in Katin Houser, a stable of fast RBs, and a solid WR room led by Anthony Smith. I expect them to score and keep pace with the Wolfpack. The defense will be the question for ECU, but Harrell is a defensive coach, so it would not be surprising to see this unit take a huge leap during the offseason. I see a very clear path where ECU keeps this game competitive and keeps the pressure on the homestanding Pack, but I do not see a lot of paths for the Wolfpack to serve up a blowout. I like this game to stay closer than two TDs.
East Carolina vs North Carolina State Prediction: ECU +14 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.
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Chad Hartsock
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