Welcome to the first edition of Technician’s weekly series entitled “Wolfpack Wager.” Each week during football season, we will highlight who to bet on in the NC State game and a handful of prominent national college football games. With Week 1 of the college football season just days away, here is what we like.
East Carolina at NC State (-17)
This line seems almost too good to be true. The Wolfpack obliterated ECU just nine months ago, running the Pirates out of the building to the tune of a 58-3 win. NC State lost a lot of talent, particularly on the offensive side with quarterback Ryan Finley, wide receivers Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers, and running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. all departing, but it still has more than enough talent to score at will against a weak Pirates defense.
Even so, ECU has a starting quarterback, Holton Ahlers, in his first full season as a starter, and very little skill-position talent. The Pirates’ leading returning rusher is Ahlers, who ran for 592 yards in 10 games. They don’t have a single returning running back or wide receiver with over 350 rushing or receiving yards in 2018. Simply put, Ahlers is dynamic, but the Pirates will struggle to put up points, even against a historically inconsistent NC State defense.
According to Odds Shark, the Pirates are 3-13 against the spread in their last 16 road games and are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games overall. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack is 4-2 ATS in its last six games at home and 11-4 straight up. Carter-Finley Stadium is a tough place to play, and the Pirates are a young, inexperienced team walking into a rowdy atmosphere against a team hungry to start off the season with a win and prove last season’s beatdown was no fluke.
Expect NC State to jump out to a quick lead and never look back. ECU will take advantage of Ahlers’ big-play ability and score some points, but 17 points will be an easy cover for the Wolfpack.
The pick: NC State (-17)
South Carolina (-10) vs. North Carolina
The 2019 Belk College Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., pits two Carolina rivals against each other. North Carolina recently named true freshman Sam Howell its starting quarterback, and in head coach Mack Brown’s first game in his return to the helm at UNC, the Tar Heels will come out strong. But the Gamecocks have a great defense, chomping at the bit to take advantage of a quarterback who has never played a college game before. Expect a close game in the first quarter, but for South Carolina’s defense to force a few turnovers and the offense to manage the game efficiently.
The pick: South Carolina (-10)
No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 16 Auburn (-3.5)
The Ducks return three-year starter and potential top-10 pick quarterback Justin Herbert while the Tigers are turning to true freshman Bo Nix. With an experienced offensive line and skill position core, the Ducks are a veteran group. The Tigers are a mixed bag with a big lack of experience at receiver and running back. On the nationally-televised big stage at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the veteran Ducks should have the firepower to outshoot an inexperienced Tigers offense.
The pick: Oregon (+3.5)
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