East Carolina routs North Carolina Central 42-9
Team pages: North Carolina Central · East Carolina
East Carolina routed North Carolina Central 42-9. Share this game
We had East Carolina favored. It won.
How it swung
Before kickoff, our ratings gave East Carolina an 87% chance, and the closing betting line (East Carolina was a 37.5-point favorite) put it above 99%.
East Carolina led by 4 after the first quarter and by 39 at the half.
East Carolina · Q2 1:49Pick-sixEast Carolina · Q2 1:29East Carolina 42-9 North Carolina Central
East Carolina wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.North Carolina Central 9-42 East CarolinaNorth Carolina Central lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (East Carolina -37.5), at 99% for East Carolina (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays.Every drive
East Carolina scored on 5 of its 13 drives; North Carolina Central on 2 of its 16.
East Carolina’s drives are teal, North Carolina Central’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
Box score
East Carolina 42, North Carolina Central 9
North Carolina Central covered +37.5 by 4.5. The total, 51, stayed under 58.5.
| Team totals | North Carolina Central | East Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 208 | 489 |
| Passing | 17 of 28, 173 yds | 26 of 38, 341 yds |
| Rushing | 42 for 35 yds | 22 for 148 yds |
| First downs | 16 | 17 |
| Third down | 4 of 17 | 7 of 12 |
| Fourth down | 0 of 0 | 0 of 0 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Penalties | 8 for 62 yds | 10 for 120 yds |
| Time of possession | 38:20 | 21:36 |
North Carolina Central leaders
- Passing Cobey Thompkins 8 of 15, 108 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
- Rushing Zion Dobson 14 for 37 yds; Cobey Thompkins 4 for 11 yds
- Receiving Nasim Cosby 2 for 43 yds, 1 TD; RJ Lancaster 2 for 37 yds
East Carolina leaders
- Passing Emory Williams 25 of 36, 341 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing TJ Engleman 10 for 129 yds, 2 TD; Michael Allen 5 for 13 yds
- Receiving Nathaniel Joseph 10 for 141 yds; Dillon Lorick 2 for 60 yds
No rain through the game
77° at kickoff · no rain recorded
September game-day temperatures at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Where this weather comes from
Measured at Pitt-greenville_aprt airport, 2.9 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last 4 games
North Carolina Central · 2-2
Rated 146th in our preseason ratings, 197th now.
2-2 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
L 20-44 @ Gardner-Webb #164 of 668
lost by 24 as a 7-point underdog
W 27-6 vs Elizabeth City State #341 of 668
L 30-42 @ Texas Southern #205 of 668
lost by 12 as a 10.5-point favorite
Last three games
East Carolina · 1-2
Rated 77th in our preseason ratings, 82nd now.
1-2 in its last three, capped by a 3-point win over Old Dominion as a 2.5-point underdog.
Week by week
East Carolina
- Wk 1Lat Alabama10-48
- Wk 2Lvs App State24-27
- Wk 3Wat Old Dominion20-17
North Carolina Central
- Wk 1Lat Texas Southern30-42
- Wk 1Wvs Elizabeth City State27-6
- Wk 2Wvs North Carolina A&T30-22
- Wk 3Lat Gardner-Webb20-44
Power rating by week
East Carolina is rated 7.4 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
The series
East Carolina leads the series 1-0
1 meeting since 2014 · East Carolina won the last meeting
- 2014East Carolina 52-7
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on East Carolina’s chances here.
East Carolina favored by 37.5 · Total 58.5
How games like this usually go
East Carolina by 37.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 411 games since 2025 with a favorite of 21.5 points or more.
The market
The spread moved 3 points toward East Carolina.
The total rose 4 points.
Spread: −34.5 → −37.5 · Total: 54.5 → 58.5
Weather at kickoff
Warm and dry. Feels like 74° at kickoff.
North Carolina Central at East Carolina · Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026 · Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville
- 74°feels like at kickoff
- Dryno rain at kickoff
- 99weather score, Comfortable
- Tiedfor the best of the day's 8 kickoff times
At kickoff, Sept. 26, 2026.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
Kickoff times that Saturday
Games in this time zone used 8 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was tied for the best of the day's eight kickoff times. At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium that day, a 5 pm, 6 pm or 7 pm kickoff would have scored 100, against 99 at 4 pm.
- noon: 95, Comfortable
- 12:45 pm: 94, Comfortable
- 2 pm: 93, Comfortable
- 3:30 pm: 98, Comfortable
- 4 pm: 99, Comfortable (this game)
- 5 pm: 100, Ideal
- 6 pm: 100, Ideal
- 7 pm: 100, Ideal
Weather score at each kickoff time.
Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.
At kickoff, Sept. 26, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.
Home field
East Carolina is worth +4.0 points (±4.2) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 48th percentile.
43% at home, 36% on the road against FBS opponents (18-24 home, 17-30 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +2.1 at home vs. away over 98 games — inside the ±6.7 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 90 miles to get here.