Appalachian State vs East Carolina 9/2/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Appalachian State Mountaineers face the East Carolina Pirates Thursday in week 1 2021 college football action at Bank of America Stadium. East Carolina won three games last year and is now 7-14 under coach Mike Houston. Appalachian State is coming off a nine-win season and has won no less than nine games each of the last six years.

The East Carolina Pirates averaged 30.2 points and 402.7 yards per game last season. East Carolina allowed an average of 35.4 points and 447.3 yards per game last season. Holton Ahlers returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns. Rahjai Harris rushed for 600 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman, while Tyler Snead and C.J. Johnson is a returning receiving duo that combined for 11 touchdowns. Defensively, Xavier Smith returns after leading ECU with 72 tackles, Jireh Wilson had 3.5 sacks and Ja’Quan McMillian had four interceptions. East Carolina should once again be a solid team offensively, but the improvement will need to be on the defensive side if the Pirates improve. East Carolina was one of the worst teams in the country defensively last season.

The Appalachian State Mountaineers averaged 33.8 points and 452 yards per game last season. Appalachian State allowed an average of 20 points and 328.8 yards per game last season. Jacob Huesman should become the starting quarterback, an experienced option who has 52 career pass attempts. Camerun Peoples returns as a 1,000-yard rusher last season while Thomas Hennigan and Malik Williams is a receiving duo that combined for 1,100 yards and six touchdowns last year. Defensively, Trey Cobb returns after leading App State with 91 tackles, Demetrius Taylor had six sacks and Brendan Harrington had four interceptions. Appalachian State is loaded on both sides of the ball and should be in great shape if they can properly replace Zac Thomas at quarterback. Appalachian State has a good chance to win the Sun Belt this season.

The Pirates are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 non-conference games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Thursday games. The Mountaineers are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The over is 11-4 in Pirates last 15 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 games overall.

Appalachian State has to replace last years quarterback, but the Mountaineers overall are stacked and should make a run at a Sun Belt title. East Carolina returns a lot of its key players from last season, but the talent isn’t there overall and the Pirates were one of the worst defensive teams in the country, which includes allowing over 35 points on average. New quarterback or not, Appalachian State has the edge at most positions and should be licking its chops with how ECU looked defensively less than a year ago. I’ll eat the chalk.