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Who is playing in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl? | Memphis Tigers at Utah State

On Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama at Protective Stadium, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) take on the East Carolina Pirates (7-4, 4-4 AAC). Two losses in a row, the most recent a 45-26 defeat to Troy in the Sun Belt Conference final, marked the end of Coastal Carolina’s regular season. With a 49-46 victory over the Temple Owls to end the regular season, East Carolina stopped a two-game losing streak to grab their seventh victory of the year. 

East Carolina Pirates

East Carolina (7-5) will play Coastal Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Postseason on December 27 at Protective Stadium. This will be the team’s first bowl appearance since 2014.

The East Carolina Pirates aim to win their eighth game of the year and their first championship bowl since 2013. They are coming off a 49-46 victory that ended a two-game losing streak when they play in this matchup. East Carolina has a strong offense that plays with great balance, but their defense may use some work.

One of the most seasoned quarterbacks in the nation is senior Holton Ahlers. The only active quarterback with more than 15,000 total yards is Ahlers. Running back Keaton Mitchell recently played one of his best games of the season, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 222 yards. In addition, the offense has gone six games without an offensive turnover making them one of the most reliable offenses in the nation.

On the other hand, the Pirates’ defense has occasionally been disappointing. In addition to giving up more than 40 points in back-to-back contests, they also let Temple gain 575 yards in their most recent meeting. The pass defense has been questionable, ranking 132nd, but the running defense ranks 19th in the country.

Can Coastal Carolina Upset the Pirates?

Coastal Carolina has struggled mightily late in the season after getting destroyed by a combined 59 points over their last two contests. The Chanticleers biggest problem has been their passing defense. They’re giving up a whopping 281 yards through the air each game putting them at 124th in the country. Coastal Carolina has been inconsistent this year, and they have really struggled their last two games, giving up 47 points to James Madison and 45 points to Troy. They are also surrendering over 30 points per game, placing them 101st in the FBS. 

One big threat to East Carolina will be Grayson McCall, who has had a  fantastic year. This season, the junior quarterback has amassed 2633 yards while maintaining a 26-touchdown to-only-two-interception ratio. Be that as it may, his status to play is up in the air, with his name being added to the transfer portal. To make matters worse for the Chants, their Head Coach Jamey Chadwell will not be coaching in this game after taking the Head Coaching job at Liberty. 

Why the Pirates will Win their Bowl Game

East Carolina has a very good passing game under quarterback Holton Ahlers, averaging 288.5 yards per game, which was 16th best in the nation. Coastal Carolina has a mediocre defensive secondary that surrenders an average of 281.7 yards per game in the air, ranking 124th in the country. By the same token, Coastal Carolina loves to run the football, and they will be at a disadvantage when they face an East Carolina rush defense that ranks 19th in the country.

While East Carolina will face a strong quarterback in McCall, Coastal Carolina has struggled to cover the spread this season. The Chants have failed to cover the spread in eight out of their last ten contests when facing an opponent with a winning record. In addition, Coastal Carolina has failed to cover their last three games and six of their last eight overall. 

Expect East Carolina to win the TicketSmart Bowl game thanks to Holton Ahlers’ outstanding performance against a woeful Coastal Carolina defense.

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Who is Playing in the Birmingham Bowl? | Costal Carolina Chanticleers vs East Carolina Pirates Betting Preview

While I try to spread things around when wagering during the regular season in college football, when it comes to actually watching games, I usually focus on the Power 5. The best chance to get a look at teams from smaller conferences comes during bowl season, when those teams are often the only ones on TV at any given time. It is also cool to see matchups that would ordinarily never happen during the course of a regular season, so while some bowl games are routinely ignored, I think there is something intriguing about all of them. With the 2022 Birmingham Bowl, we have a matchup that promises to be a high-scoring game and one that I definitely have on my must watch list. The East Carolina Pirates and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will be locking horns on December 27 at 6:45 PM EST. East Carolina are currently pretty firm favorites, with the bookies having them in at -8. The point total for this one is at 61 ½, which tells you that some serious offense is expected here. With all that in mind, it’s time to look at both teams and how they stack up against each other so you can make your bets on the NCAA Football Bowl Odds.

East Carolina Pirates

Other than a stretch in the second half of the season where they reeled off 3 straight wins, the East Carolina Pirates had some difficulty staying consistent. Even in conference play, they struggled to get anything going, finishing down the American Conference standings at 4-4 and finishing 7-5 overall. They were, though, perhaps a little unfortunate not to finish the season with a better record, as 3 of their 5 losses were decided by 3 points or fewer. The offense certainly did their part in the regular season, averaging over 30 PPG, but the defense wasn’t quite as stout, surrendering 27 PPH, which tells the whole story of why so many of their games were tight at the end. The Pirates were a bit of a coin flip against the spread, going 7-5, while the O/U was at 6-6. 

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

It’s tough to know what sort of mindset teams head into their respective bowl games with, but I have the feeling that Coastal Carolina are going into this one with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. They ended the season at a very respectable 9-3, but they were soundly beaten by Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. That is something that is sure to sting, which is why I think the Chanticleers want to close out the season on a more positive note, not to mention as double-digit winners on the year. It should be noted that they played one game fewer than most after their game against Virginia was canceled after tragedy struck the Cavaliers. Coastal Carolina lost both games after that. Overall, they went 4-7-1 ATS and 7-5 O/U.

Betting and Prediction

Like I mentioned earlier in this piece, I think there is a very good chance that we get a ton of offense in this one, so I like the OVER even though that number is on the higher end of the scale. While I think the Chanticleers can certainly hang in there for a long stretch, I think we will see the Pirates pull away in the 4th quarter, doing enough to win and cover.