The set-up: The Bears are 6-1 and now eligible and while I'm not calling for an outright win here, I do think that the 3-5 ECU Pirates won't go down without a fight this evening. The Pirates also play with the added incentive of "revenge" after they were humbled 56-6 to Cincinnati last season. The Bearcats were last in action when they posted the 24-13 win over Tulsa to become eligible. So will rest lead to rust? I don't think it's going to help the Bearcats here.

The pick: Yes ECU is 0-4 in confernece play, but it's faced some heavyweights early in UCF and Navy. The Bearcats average 28 PPG and they allow 20, while the Pirates average 21 PPG, while allowing 28.5. However note that the Bearcats are a poor 2-5 ATS in their last seven on the road, wihle the home team is 6-1 ATS the last seven in this series. Expect the hungry revenge minded home side to keep this one competitive until the final moments. Grab the points.

8* play on ECU.