Southern Miss is a Big NCAAF Betting Favorite Versus East Carolina

The 4 and 1 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles are big 9-point NCAAF betting lines and odds favorites to take down the East Carolina Pirates this Saturday.

Since getting trounced by South Carolina 41 to 13 as 13-point dogs in their first game of the season, the Golden Eagles have won 4 straight games.  They haven’t exactly covered the spread, however, failing as 32 ½ point favorites against Prairie View in a 34 to 7 win and failing as 3 ½ point favorites versus Louisiana Tech in a 13 to 12 victory.

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They looked sensational versus Marshall last week, though, trouncing the Thundering Herd 41 to 16 as 9 ½ point favorites.  Now, can Southern Miss cover another close to double-digit NCAAF betting latest line in the sportsbook when they host East Carolina on Oct. 9th?

East Carolina vs. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

Where:  M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

When:  October 9th, 2010 at 7:30 pm EST

TV:  TBD

NCAAF Betting Lines

East Carolina Pirates                                       +9 -110

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles               -9 -110

The trends favor the Golden Eagles when it comes to NCAAF betting against the spread.

• The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles are 11 and 5 in their last 16 games as the favorite.

• The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles are 4 and 0 ATS in their last 4 conference games.

• The East Carolina Pirates are 1 and 8 ATS in the last 9 meetings between these two teams.

• The East Carolina Pirates are 4 and 12 ATS in their last 16 games on the road.

East Carolina doesn’t seem to be good enough to keep this game within the NCAAF betting point spread odds number.  The Pirates aren’t a horrible team, but they aren’t a very good team either.

East Carolina beat Tulsa 51 to 49 as 7-point dogs in their first game of the season and then covered a 13 ½ point spread versus Memphis in a 49 to 27 victory in their second game of the season, but since then, the Pirates haven’t been able to do much.  Against Virginia Tech, East Carolina was trounced 49 to 27 as 20-point dogs.  Against North Carolina in their last game, the Pirates lost 17 to 42 as 14-point dogs. 

Now, they take on a Southern Mississippi team on the road that is 4 and 1 straight up and beat Kansas, a Big 12 squad, 31 to 16 as 5-point favorites and Marshall 41 to 16 as 9 ½ point favorites.  Southern Miss also averages 220 yards per game through the air and 184 yards per game on the ground.  They put up 26 points per game on average and hold their opponents to roughly 18 points per game.

East Carolina hasn’t given up less than 42 points in a single game this season. 

Because of that, the fact that the Pirates have a horrid defense, that Southern Miss takes on East Carolina at home, and that the trends favor the Golden Eagles, this game is an easy one to pick in my mind.  The NCAAF betting expert lines should favor the Golden Eagles by close to 14 points in this game not by less than double-digits.

What it means is that the Golden Eagles are the best pick against the spread in this game. They’re the team that I’m backing at -9 in the sportsbook.
 

NCAAF Betting Pick:  Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles -9 -110

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Sources:  espn.com, usatoday.com, covers.com