Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl: Ohio vs. East Carolina 

Schedule analysis: Ohio (7-5) started the season strong. They lost their first game at Louisville who were top ten at the time. Then the Bobcats won four straight and six of seven to climb to a 6-2 record. November can along and Ohio played on three straight Thursday nights. Ohio was embarrassed on national TV all three games losing 30-3 to Buffalo, 49-0 to Bowling Green and 44-13 to Kent State. Ohio wrapped up the regular season with a big win against Massachusetts. The second half of the season either saw them blow out their opponent or they got blown out. East Carolina finished 9-3 on the strength of their offense. They went 2-1 playing teams from the ACC. The Pirates lost to Virginia Tech 15-10. They defeated North Carolina early in September and North Carolina State in their second to last game. East Carolina ended the season on a sour note with a 59-28 loss at Marshall with the C-USA East title on the line. Ohio beat Marshall 34-31 in Week 3 this season. 

Miles from stadium: Ohio is 951 miles from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. East Carolina is 720 miles away.

Motivation: Neither team is too excited about this game. It will be played in a dome on a Monday at 2:00 pm local time. Both schools are far away so this game won’t be well attended.

Pick: Ohio +14

East Carolina is the better team and will win straight up. Covering a two-touchdown spread is a tough thing to ask of an unmotivated team who didn’t step up with a shot at their conference championship game.