Betting odds for ECU’s season opener at Michigan
East Carolina’s football team faces tall odds heading into season opener against No. 2 Michigan, with a current spread of 35.5 points in favor of the Wolverines, with the total set at 51.5, according to VegasInsider.com. Kickoff is set for 12 noon ET on Saturday in Ann Arbor, with the television broadcast to be streamed on Peacock.
The line opened at 35.5 back in the spring and has stayed around that point ever since, even with Jim Harbaugh serving a self-imposed three-game suspension, and Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore set to sit out the game suspended as well. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will serve as the acting head coach for the ECU game. Minter is the son of Rick Minter, the former head coach at Cincinnati (1994-2003) and a defensive coordinator at Marshall who went against the Pirates often.
“We've got a ton of respect for East Carolina, first and foremost, they've been a giant killer over the years if you look over their history,” Minter said during his Monday press conference with the Michigan media. “Fortunately for me, this is a team, as my dad was a head coach at Cincinnati, as I was a coach growing up, they were a Conference USA team. I've seen this team for a long time and sort of what they're capable of doing, the type of athletes they're going to bring up here. So much respect for Mike Houston, their entire staff and we definitely better be at our best to accomplish what we want to accomplish on Saturday.
The Wolverines are loaded with talent, from quarterback JJ McCarthy, to running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, and an offensive line made up of NFL draft picks. Defensively, Kris Jenkins is a load at nose tackle and linebackers Junior Colson and Michael Barrett are expected to shoulder much of the load defensively.
The last two years under Harbaugh, Michigan has made the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines lost to eventual national champion Georgia two years ago and were upset by TCU in the opening round of last year’s playoff.
East Carolina is coming off back-to-back seven-win regular seasons, but the Pirates have some major question marks on both sides of the ball, starting with their quarterback after the departure of long-time starter Holton Ahlers. Running back Keaton Mitchell (back-to-back 1,000-yard season), and 1,000-yard wide receivers C.J. Johnson and Isaiah Winstead are also now in the professional ranks, and four of five starters along the offensive front departed.
Defensively, ECU brings back almost its entire front four, but is replacing multiple starters at inside linebacker and cornerback. All-conference candidate Julius Wood returns at safety.
If one is looking at trends for the season opener, Michigan has blasted its last few opponents out the gate, beating Colorado State 51-7 last September, and Western Michigan 47-14 in 2021. ECU has not won a season opener under Houston, though the Pirates have faced stiff competition each time, losing to NC State twice, a ranked UCF team in 2020, and Appalachian State in Charlotte in 2021. Last season, ECU took No. 13 NC State down to the final play, but lost 21-20 on Owen Daffer's missed field goal try as time expired.
