The East Carolina Pirates and Temple Owls will meet in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon. Temple comes into this game one win away from securing bowl eligibility at home. But they are underdogs on their home turf against an East Carolina team that is looking to move to within one win of a bowl bid themselves. Before kickoff from Philadelphia, you can continue reading to get my East Carolina vs Temple prediction.
Our East Carolina vs Temple Pick
- Pick: Over 57.5
- Confidence: ★★★☆☆
Game Snapshot
| Matchup: | East Carolina Pirates vs Temple Owls |
| Date & Time: | Saturday, November 1, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Venue: | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA |
| Broadcast: | ESPN+ |
Key Storylines
- East Carolina arrives off a convincing 41‑27 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in which they posted 568 yards of offense and 268 rushing yards. Quarterback Katin Houser threw for about 300 yards and added a rushing touchdown. London Montgomery led the ground game with 125 yards. Their defense also made key stops, including five sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
- Temple is riding a two‑game win streak, including a 38‑37 overtime win at Tulsa. Owls quarterback Evan Simon has had a breakout season, throwing 21 touchdown passes and zero interceptions, with 1,610 yards passing. Temple’s offense is averaging 33.6 points per game, up significantly from a year ago.
- On the defensive side, East Carolina has been impressive. They are allowing just 17.1 points per game, ranked 16th nationally in that metric. Temple’s defense is less consistent, allowing 26.0 points per game this year.
- East Carolina has a rest advantage going into this game after an idle week last week. It will be interesting to see how they take advantage of being the fresher team in this game.
Quarterback Play
Katin Houser has provided stability for East Carolina’s offense. He enters this matchup with 1,989 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions on the season. Temple’s Evan Simon has also had elite efficiency through the air for his team. This game could come down to which quarterback can sustain the highest level of play for four quarters on Saturday.
Betting Trends
- East Carolina is 4-2-1 against the spread this season.
- Temple is 6-2 against the spread for the year.
- Temple has gone over the total in six of its first eight games.
- East Carolina has gone under the total in five of its first seven outings.
East Carolina vs Temple Model Projection
Score Projection: East Carolina 31 – Temple 27
Win Probability: East Carolina 62% | Temple 38%
Final Thoughts
I expect this to be a highly competitive game from Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. East Carolina does have the overall advantage according to my projections. But I am going to take my chances with the over instead of laying the points with the Pirates. Both quarterbacks in this game are playing at such a high level and that should result in a high-scoring matchup here.
