Editor's note: Click to win with Christian Alexander, who has three selections in his Thursday pick pack.
#22 Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-2 ACC) at East Carolina (5-3, 4-1 Conference USA)
7:45 PM ESPN
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: Virginia Tech -13, O/U 51.5
After back-to-back weeks of Thursday night football featuring North Carolina, we now get to see the Virginia Tech Hokies in consecutive weeks as they travel to Greenville, NC to face East Carolina.
Last week proved to be a shocker for the Hokies as they dropped a home game to the Tar Heels as 15.5 point favorites. Ultimately Coach Frank Beamer’s program was done in by one of their main offensive weapons as freshman running back Ryan Williams fumbled late in the 4th quarter to set up the winning field goal for North Carolina.
Don’t expect Beamer to be too hard on his freshman tailback, after all Williams has been a workhorse for the Hokies with five 100-yard games and needs just 70 more to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.
It will be hard to predict what to expect from the Hokies this Thursday. With the loss to North Carolina, the team will have a hard time making it back to the ACC championship and so you would expect morale to be low. That said, after back-to-back losses against Georgia Tech and the Tar Heels, Beamer and company figure to be hungry for a win and would like nothing more than to get a little revenge for last year's season-opening loss to the Pirates.
In that game, played in Charlotte, NC, ECU QB Patrick Pinkney was nearly flawless, completing 19-of-23 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 24 yards and another score in a 27-22 upset. Pinkney is back this season and has to like the fact that the Virginia Tech defense hasn’t been as rock solid as in years past. Look for the East Carolina signal caller to lean heavily on WR Dwayne Harris, who has a combined 1,054 all-purpose yards in his last six games while scoring eight touchdowns via the pass and kick returns.
Besides Pinkney’s play, the key for East Carolina will be to limit Virginia Tech’s big plays and if possible, create turnovers. The Hokies and QB Tyrod Taylor have 44 plays of 20 or more yards so far this season while the Pirates are ranked 10th in the nation with 21 takeaways (11 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries).
Recently, East Carolina has risen to the occasion in a big spot as the Pirates have won three of their last four games against nationally ranked opponents and three of their last four home games against ACC members.
To date, Virginia Tech is 3-5 against the spread while East Carolina is 3-4 ATS.
Eastern Michigan (0-8, 0-4 Mid American) at Northern Illinois (5-3, 3-1 Mid American)
7:30 PM ESPN U
Huskie Stadium (FieldTurf)
Sports.com Line: Northern Illinois -20.5, O/U 48
Ordinarily, trying to prepare for a Thursday night game after just playing the previous Saturday is less than ideal. However, when your team is coming off a 63-27 woodshed beating and is 0-8, any change in routine is welcome.
That certainly has to be the mindset right now for Eastern Michigan and rookie head coach Ron English. Coaches love to say they take no consolation from moral victories but right now that is all the Eagles have in the tank – that, and a memory or two.
English will no doubt roll out the tape from 2007 when Eastern Michigan beat Northern Illinois, its opponent this Thursday night. Overall however, this series has been pretty lopsided as the Huskies have won seven of the last eight including a 37-0 beat down last year.
The story for Northern Illinois is on the injury front as this squad is pretty battered and bruised. Most notably, starting quarterback Chandler Harnish is questionable for this game as he continues to deal with a knee injury suffered in the loss to Toledo on Oct. 17. If the sophomore can’t go then DeMarcus Grady will get the call. Other Huskies dealing with injuries include OL Jason Onyebuagu (ankle), FB Connor Flahive (knee) and S David Bryant (knee).
To have a chance, Eastern Michigan will have to show more offensive punch than they have this season. The Eagles are averaging just 16.9 points per game, which ranks 112th in the nation and have only scored 16 touchdowns in its eight games this season.
To date, Eastern Michigan is 2-5 against the spread while Northern Illinois is 4-3 ATS.
Miami (Ohio) (1-8, 1-4 Mid American) at Temple (6-2, 4-0 Mid American)
7:30 PM
Lincoln Financial Field (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: Temple -17.5, O/U 42
Flying under the national radar, the Temple Owls might just be the feel good story of 2009. Consider that the seniors on this team started their college careers by going 1-16 including a 0-11 season and getting booted out of the Big East.
Now that same bunch of players is 8-2 over their last ten games, including a 6-2 record this year and a perfect 4-0 inside the Mid American conference. The national audience is slowly starting to take notice of the job that coach Al Golden has done as the Owls recently received votes in both polls.
Temple must keep its focus this week against a dangerous Miami (Ohio) team. After enduring a school-record 13-game losing streak - the longest in the 122-year history of the program - the RedHawks got a win last week against Toledo and with it a jolt of confidence.
To stay close to Temple this Thursday, Miami will have to ride the hot hand of QB Zac Dysert who is slowly maturing into a playmaker. The freshman has nearly 700 yards passing over the last two weeks but will face a huge test against the Temple defense, ranked 22nd in the nation in total defense.
Speaking of hot hands – or in this case, feet – Golden will no doubt continue to feed RB Bernard Pierce. The freshman has been incredible for Temple, gashing Navy last week for 267 yards and now stands at over 1,000 yards on the season, the first Owl to eclipse that mark since Tanardo Sharps in 2002. Pierce could potentially make it three consecutive games with over 200 yards rushing as the Miami defense is just 98th in the country against the run.
To date, Temple has been a huge moneymaker with a 6-1 record against the spread while Miami (Ohio) is 4-5 ATS.
FREE PLAY
PREDICTION: It’s hard to imagine the pressure that has been lifted from the Miami (Ohio) team after winning last week against Toledo. Meanwhile, Temple is now unbelievably the team with the bull’s-eye on its chest. Despite its stellar record, the fact remains that the Owls only have one win this season by over 17 points. At the same time, Miami (Ohio) has played a number of quality opponents this season and has only lost once in their last four game by over 17 points.
Look for the Redhawks to stack the box against Pierce and dare the Owls passing game to burn them. That’s not Temple’s game plan so look for the Golden’s group to win this one with defense but for Dysert’s arm to keep the RedHawks within reach.
Temple 26 – Miami (Ohio) 16
