The East Carolina Pirates (2-2) will square off with the Old Dominion Monarchs (1-2) on Saturday, September 28th, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia. Kick-off time is 6:00 PM ET and broadcast on ESPN+. The Monarchs and Pirates have crossed paths on two occasions in the last six years with East Carolina winning each of the two fixtures. However, Old Dominion has covered in each of these two contests. Most recently, ECU hosted ODU in 2018 where the Pirates would outlast the Monarchs in a 37-35 thriller that saw Old Dominion cash in as a seven-point underdog.
East Carolina Pirates at Old Dominion Monarchs Key Injury Concerns
Heading into the contest between the Pirates and Monarchs, neither East Carolina nor Old Dominion has any declared any key injury concerns.
East Carolina Pirates at Old Dominion Monarchs Overview
East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates step into this affair winning their second game this season against William and Mary. The Pirates defeated the FCS side 19-7 last Saturday at home where ECU failed to cover as a 14.5-point favorite. East Carolina’s other win this season came against another FCS side in Webber State where the Pirates cruised to a 48-9 victory and cashed in as a 31-point favorite.
Old Dominion Monarchs
Old Dominion enters into this game on a two-game losing streak, but it is nonetheless an impressive record of work for the Conference USA constituent. ODU fell in back-to-back games against in-state powers Virginia and Virginia Tech but managed to hang with both the Hokies and Cavaliers in both stints. The Monarchs covered as a 30-point dog against Virginia Tech (a team they upset in 2018) when they played VT tough in Blacksburg in a 31-17 defeat. Old Dominion would follow this up with its most recent loss on Saturday at Virginia whereas a 27-point underdog, the Monarchs would fall by a score of 28-17 looking impressive yet again against the ranked Cavaliers.
Reasons To Avoid East Carolina Pirates
When it comes to looking at the tale of the tape between both sides, the strength of schedule is something to consider. Though East Carolina has never lost to Old Dominion and also has more wins than their opponent on the year, their two wins do not offer up as credibility as the Monarch’s two losses. Against two FBS opponents this season, the Pirates dropped both games and lost by significant margins as they were outscored 76-16 by both NC State and Navy. As a result, the jury is out on how ECU will fair in its next FBS match-up against this battle-tested Old Dominion bunch.
Reasons To Back Old Dominion Monarchs
Old Dominion will not be coming in flat to this game or suffer any form of a let-down after rumbling with two Commonwealth State giants in their last two tilts. The Monarchs have never won against East Carolina, and this clearly looks to be their best opportunity to do so. A win against the Pirates not only gets the ECU monkey off their back here but actually adds verity to their results against UVA and VT. Should Old Dominion win this game handily, it provides them with an incentive to show to the masses that the results attained against the Hokies and Cavaliers were not flukes by virtue of being taken lightly but instead a product of their strength as a football team. When you combine this narrative with atonement for last year’s bitter defeat in Greensboro against this ECU team, the edge in motivation surely rests on the Old Dominion sideline.
- Get more details: East Carolina at Old Dominion NCAAF Match-up Stats
