Appalachian State vs East Carolina Prediction & Picks 9/14/2024

The Appalachian State Mountaineers will be facing the East Carolina Pirates on September 14, 2024, at 4:00 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook has listed the Mountaineers as 2.5 point favorites. The total sits at 60.5, with 79% of bets favoring the under and 21% going for the over. It's shaping up to be an exciting matchup between these two teams as they battle it out on the field. Continue reading for our breakdown of this App State vs East Carolina contest from North Carolina.

App State Aims to Bounce Back From Blowout Loss

The Appalachian State Mountaineers are 1-1 going into the third week of the college football season. They beat FCS East Tennessee State in their season opener before being blown out by Clemson a week ago. Now, App State has a chance to get back above .500 for the season against a more beatable opponent than the one they faced last week, as they take on East Carolina in non-conference action.

App State gave up over 700 yards of offense to Clemson last week, a number that led to them giving up 66 points. That is unlikely to happen again in this game, but another poor defensive performance has to be avoided if App State is going to avoid dropping to 1-2 before mid-week Sun Belt action gets up and running for them next week.

Can East Carolina Beat Second Straight Sun Belt Opponent?

East Carolina is off to a 2-0 start this season, beating FCS Norfolk State 42-3 before defeating Old Dominion 20-14 in Week 2. The Pirates are one of just five teams in the American Athletic Conference that has started the season with two straight wins. This week, ECU will look for a second win in a row over a Sun Belt team, which would move them to 3-0 before their final non-conference game of the season next week against Liberty.

While East Carolina is 2-0, they are going to need their quarterback to be more precise with the football to get a win in this contest. Jake Garcia threw four interceptions last week against Old Dominion, with the defense of the Pirates being what got them through that game with a victory. If turnovers become a problem for East Carolina again here, they could very well fumble their chance to get to 3-0 despite being at home on Saturday.

App State vs East Carolina Best Bet

Our best bet for this App State vs East Carolina contest is for the App State Mountaineers to win and cover the spread as a slight road favorite. The Mountaineers shouldn't be judged too harshly by their performance on defense against Clemson last week. Expect App State to bounce back nicely here, while Garcia's turnover issues for East Carolina could be a problem for the Pirates once again.

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