College Football Odds – Division Lead On The Line

First place is on the line in Conference USA’s East Division this weekend, as 2-0 East Carolina tackles 1-0 Southern Mississippi. Here’s a look at the college football odds and a pick for the important contest.

East Carolina Pirates @ Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 
Saturday, October 9th – 7:35 PM ET 
M. M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS 
Broadcast: CSS
College Football Odds: East Carolina +9, Southern Miss -9 

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This isn’t quite the de facto division championship game for C-USA East, but it’s very likely a game that will make it hard for the loser to ultimately claim the East title. The bottom three teams in C-USA East – UAB, Marshall and Memphis – won’t figure in the division race. The winner of this tilt in Hattiesburg will probably find itself locked in a stretch-run battle with Central Florida for a spot in the C-USA Championship Game in early December. The loser could naturally still win the division, but the lack of a head-to-head tiebreaker would mean that the winner of this game would have to lose twice over the remainder of the conference season. The stakes, then, are very high as first-year coach Ruffin McNeill brings his East Carolina club into enemy territory for a date with coach Larry Fedora’s Golden Eagles. 

College Football Odds: What East Carolina Has To Do To Win

The big confrontation in this contest is the ECU offense against the USM defense. ECU finally witnessed the graduation last year of sixth-year senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney, a steady hand who piloted the Pirates to two straight Conference USA championships. This year, ECU has remained in good shape because of junior quarterback Dominique Davis. The Pirates gained Davis when he transferred from Boston College, so they know they have a player who was viewed to be valuable to a team playing in a BCS conference. Davis offers a noteworthy mix of speed and passing ability, so his dual-threat dynamism needs to be unleashed to full effect if East Carolina wants to have a good chance in this encounter.

College Football Odds: What Southern Miss Has To Do To Win

If East Carolina’s offense – which scored 100 points in its two Conference USA wins this season (versus Tulsa and Memphis) – is the key for the Pirates, the key for the homestanding Golden Eagles is to contain Davis and make him one-dimensional by closing down any running lanes that might emerge on the field. Southern Miss defensive coordinator Todd Bradford needs to find ways of getting to Davis, punching him in the mouth, and making him uncomfortable in the pocket. If the Golden Eagles – who have a veteran quarterback of their own in Austin Davis – can rattle Dominique Davis, they should win this game without a whole lot of trouble. USM can score, but a defense that has given up only 51 points in its last four games has not been tested by quality offenses. This game will finally challenge the Golden Eagles’ defense, and if USM can rise to the occasion, it will have the lead in C-USA East.

College Football Odds: Outlook & Pick 

Southern Miss should be able to impose its will on East Carolina since the game is being played on USM’s turf. The other big concern for the Pirates is that even though they’re 2-0 in C-USA, they needed a last-play Hail Mary to beat Tulsa in their season opener. ECU’s defense is leaky, and Southern Miss should be able to take advantage of that fact. Take USM minus the nine points on Saturday. 

College Football Odds Pick: Southern Miss -9