Week 7 of the college football season has already arrived, and it will get rolling with some midweek action. Kicking off on Thursday night, the Tulane Green Wave will host the East Carolina Pirates for an American Conference battle. Both of these teams find themselves in the top six of the conference standings after a combined 7-3 start to the year.
This will be the 21st time these two programs have faced off on the football field. East Carolina has won 12 of these matchups, while Tulane has come out victorious eight times. Tulane has been better in recent years, winning the two previous matchups and five of the past six.
Tulane enters as a 6.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook and holds -250 odds on the moneyline. East Carolina holds +205 odds of getting the outright victory, and the game total is set at 54.5 points.
This article will give a preview of both teams and a pick for the Week 7 matchup.
East Carolina at Tulane prediction, preview
East Carolina preview
The East Carolina Pirates enter this matchup with a 3-2 record and 1-0 in conference play. They started off the season with a narrow loss to NC State and bounced back with convincing victories over Campbell and Coastal Carolina. They then lost 34-13 to BYU and produced their first conference win over Army in their last game. ECU is coming off the bye week for this matchup. It is also 4-1 against the spread, and the under has cashed in four of its five games so far this season.
Katin Houser has been a difference-maker under center and has shown improvement from last season. Through the first five games, he has completed 68.3% of his pass attempts for 1,509 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions while adding two scores with his legs. His 8.4 yards per pass attempt currently leads the American Conference. Anthony Smith, Yannick Smith and Brock Spalding each have pulled in 300+ yards through the air, and East Carolina is averaging 315.0 passing yards per game.
Its rushing attack has not been as convincing. London Montgomery headlines the attack with 51 rush attempts for 209 yards and two touchdowns so far this year. Parker Jenkins and Marlon Gunn Jr. have each also added 130+ yards and two scores on the ground. Collectively, the Pirates are averaging 141.0 rushing yards and 2.4 scores per game. They have been less dangerous in picking up yards but more effective in the red zone with this rushing attack. As a full offensive unit, they are averaging 30.4 points per game, which ranks 59th in the country, and they are producing 456.0 yards of total offense.
Defensively, East Carolina has held Campbell, Coastal Carolina and Army to a combined nine points in its three matchups. NC State scored 24 and BYU dropped 34 against the Pirates. Overall, they are holding opponents to just 13.4 points per game, which ranks 11th in the country, and are allowing just 304.7 total yards of offense. The Pirates have notched 12 total sacks and nine forced turnovers already this season.
Tulane preview
The Tulane Green Wave got out of the gates quickly this year, winning their first three games against Northwestern, South Alabama and Duke. They then fell 45-10 to Ole Miss and bounced back with a 31-14 victory over Tulsa in their latest game. Tulane is also coming off a bye week for this matchup. The Green Wave are 3-2 against the spread, and the under has cashed in three of their five games thus far.
Jake Retzlaff fills the quarterback duties and has been mostly solid this year. Through the first five games, he has completed 54.4% of his passing attempts for 820 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the team with 368 rushing yards and seven scores with his legs. Tulane leans on a run-oriented style of offense, with 205.8 of its 394.4 total yards of offense coming on the ground. Javin Gordon has added 235 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, while Arnold Barnes III and Zuberi Mobley have each pitched in 130+ rushing yards. Omari Hayes leads the team in wide receiver production with 254 receiving yards and he has recorded 69+ yards through the air in four of the five games. Shazz Preston and Bryce Bohanon have also combined for 362 receiving yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tulane has had more issues. It is allowing 24.0 points per game, which ranks 73rd in the country, and it is giving up 399.0 total yards of offense. It gave up 45 points to Ole Miss, 27 to Duke, and 31 to South Alabama already this season. The Green Wave have notched 11 sacks and 11 turnovers so far this year.
East Carolina at Tulane pick, best bet
Both these teams are among the better ones in the American Conference, and this could prove to be an important result at the end of the season. But I am rolling with the underdog in this game and expecting it to be a battle.
East Carolina is playing confident football and at a high level. Its pair of losses were tough matchups, and its defense should give it the edge in this game. Tulane is also playing good football, but it is reliant on its ground-and-pound strategy, and the defensive concerns are too much to fully overlook.
Expect Katin Houser to have some success attacking this Green Wave defense that is allowing 251 passing yards of offense against them per game. The East Carolina passing offense currently ranks 10th in the country, with Houser throwing for 251+ yards in every game thus far. Tulane does not have as high-flying an offense and needs to attack on the ground. This could be problematic with East Carolina ranking 45th in the country against the run. Army was able to attack the Pirates for 241 rushing yards with its unique offensive system, but East Carolina has limited its other opponents to 172, 105, 67 and four rushing yards in the other games.
The 6.5-point spread is too much for my liking, and ECU has a chance outright in this game. Tulane is a tough place to play, but the Pirates have looked built for it to this point and will be looking to continue building on their start to the season. I am backing ECU to cover the 6.5-point spread and will be playing a half unit on the +205 moneyline result as well.
