North Carolina @ East Carolina Interstate Battle

Interstate games are always intriguing. Add to it that the game will be broadcast live across the nation and there is a close betting line, and you have yourself a really fun game to watch. That is the exact case when North Carolina takes on East Carolina this afternoon.

The last time these two teams met was almost exactly a year ago. East Carolina walked away the victors, 55-31. East Carolina had 603 yards of total offense, while Shane Carden threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns.

Carden is still throwing in East Carolina and will still be a major threat to North Carolina’s secondary. East Carolina is coming off a win against Virginia Tech (28-21). This is the third time in the last two years that East Carolina has claimed a victory over an ACC team.

East Carolina did show weakness in the game. They gave up a 21-0 first-half lead, and Carden had to march his team down the field and punch in a 1-yard keeper TD to give his team the win. Carden brought his season total to 1,031 yards and seven TDs in this game.

East Carolina came close to defeating South Carolina two weeks ago, and at their current level of play are making a big case to get an at-large spot in the College Football Playoffs.

North Carolina currently sits at 2-0 and do not want to add a number to the that left column. Those wins have not been pretty ones though. They have had to win from behind against teams that they were heavily favorited against. They are also allowing teams to pick up, on average, 5.8 yards per play.

The Tar Heels are going to have to pull it together in order to take care of business against ECU.

The over/under is set at 67 and this is going to be a high scoring affair. Over’s moneyline is set at -110. ECU are the -3 point favorites according to the spread.

The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET and you can watch it on ESPNU.