Thursday Night Football is back in the college world as the Army Black Knights are down in Greenville, North Carolina facing the East Carolina Pirates this week. Both teams are coming off home losses and now have to turn around and go to battle on a short week. The hosts have an extra game to their record so far this season, and while Army does have the better win on their schedule, they also have a much worse loss. Let’s get into this contest and find our favorite picks for this Thursday Night matchup.
More NCAA Football Coverage
- #8 Florida State vs. Virginia
- #24 TCU vs. Arizona State
- #22 Notre Dame vs. Arkansas
- #21 USC vs. #23 Illinois
- #4 LSU vs. #13 Ole Miss
- #6 Oregon vs. #3 Penn State
Go to Betting News to check out what else I’ve got on the slate for Week 5, and view the latest odds at the best online sportsbooks.
Army Black Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates NCAA Football Insights
Katin Houser and the Pirates prepare for Army on a short week
Army is 1-2 this season, and I’ve got to give them props. After last year’s team won the American Athletic Conference Championship, the Black Knights had plenty of production to replace. Quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh both had over 2,700 rushing yards combined last season, and accounted for 51 of the team’s 58 touchdowns. However, Dewayne Coleman got some tick last year and is leading Army so far this season.
Now, Army opened up the season by losing to FCS foe Tarleton State at home, 30-27 in overtime. Not a great beginning for the two touchdown favorites. However, they picked themselves up, rolled into Manhattan, Kansas and upset the Kitty Cats of K-State as three possession underdogs. They had a bye week before facing North Texas, but lost to the Mean Green in overtime, 45-38 after scoring 17 fourth quarter points to force OT. This week Army faces ECU on national television as both teams prepare for this game, just five days after their last contest.
The East Carolina Pirates are 2-2 this season, losing both games as underdogs, but winning both games they should have. ECU lost to NC State on the road to start the season, but two late scores covered the spread. They then went on to beat Campbell and Coastal Carolina, outscoring those two opponents 94-3. Yep, that is correct. Finally, the BYU Cougars came to town and took down the Pirates, as the hosts dropped the game 34-13 for their first ATS loss of the season. Can they regroup and focus as a motivated Army team comes to town?
Matchup Information – Army vs. East Carolina – September 25
- Venue & Location: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (Greenville, NC)
- Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
- Kick Off: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
- Broadcast: ESPN
Army vs. East Carolina Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of BetOnline, one of our favorite online sportsbooks, as of September 23, 2025 at 9:31 a.m. eastern. Sign up today with Promo Code BNBOL55 for a 55% deposit bonus.
Spread
- Army +5.5 (-108)
- East Carolina -5.5 (-112)
Moneyline
- Army +180
- East Carolina -210
Total
- Over 52 (-110)
- Under 52 (-110)
When you face Army, you have to stop the run. It’s all they do. Army has attempted just 42 passes this year, completing 52.4% of them as a team, averaging 7.33 completions per game for just 109 passing yards. They’ve thrown just three passing touchdowns, and have three interceptions as a team. However, they pound the ground.
The Black Knights have rushed the ball over 200 times this season and lead the nation (by far) with 69 rushing attempts per game. The Pirates allowed just 2.9 yards per rush to NC State (105 total rushing yards), just 2.6 against Coastal Carolina (67 total), but allowed over 5.1 per carry to BYU, who ran for 172 total yards. Can the Pirates stop Army from moving the ball on the ground? Or can they combat it with enough offense?
Army vs. East Carolina NCAA Football Picks and Predictions
Andon Thomas leads Army with 29 tackles so far this season, and has 93 last year
Army vs. East Carolina Prediction: East Carolina Wins, Army Covers, Under 52
Best Bet: East Carolina Team Total Under 29.5 (-114) BetOnline
Now, I get that Army just gave up 45 points to North Texas on the road, but you’ve got to remember this is a short week. East Carolina’s offense hasn’t been overly impressive so far this season, as I don’t think too much about them scoring 94 against Campbell and Coastal Carolina. When they played competent opponents, they were only able to score 30 points combined in two games.
I’ve already talked about how Army runs the ball a ton. This translates to plenty of time of possession for the Black Knights, leaving opponent offenses off the field. Army have had the majority of the football in all three of their games so far this season, and controlled the rock for over 40 minutes of game time against Kansas State on the road. They will know they are technically outmatched in this matchup, and will look to do everything they can to leave the Pirates’ offense on the sidelines.
Sure, they just gave up nearly 500 yards of offense to North Texas, but they held Kansas State to less than 250 total yards on the road and K-State was just 2/9 on third down conversions. Look for the Black Knights to lean on their rushing attack to keep ECU’s offense at bay, plus I trust the Army defense to come fully focused to lead the team on this short week.
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