East Carolina Pirates at UAB Blazers

East Carolina is coming off a Military Bowl win and building a real Group of Five program. UAB is starting from scratch with a first-year head coach and a defense that was one of the worst in the country a season ago.

Bush’s Picks

ECUUAB

ECUUAB

OverUnder

Best BetEast Carolina

East Carolina enters as the far more established program, coming off a 9-4 season and a Military Bowl win, while UAB is starting over with a first-year head coach. The Pirates' roster continuity at the top, even with plenty of new faces, should be enough to win outright against a Blazers team picked to finish near the bottom of the league.

East Carolina

• +Went 9-4, won Military Bowl over Pitt in 2025
• +Culture under Blake Harrell seen as durable
• +Returns roughly half of last year's defense
• −Entire starting offensive line must be replaced
• −Unsettled QB battle between two unproven transfers
• −Lost top two receivers from 2025 production

UAB

• +Ryder Burton flashed with strong game vs Memphis
• +Offense projected to top 400 yards per game
• +New DC Todd Grantham brings real coordinator experience
• −Allowed 38.3 points per game, worst in AAC in 2025
• −First-year head coach rebuilding from scratch
• −Preseason outlook has Blazers near the bottom of the league

Both quarterback rooms are question marks heading into fall camp. East Carolina lost Katin Houser to Illinois and is sorting out a battle between transfers Emory Williams (Miami) and Mitch Griffis (Texas Tech), neither of whom has significant starting experience. UAB, meanwhile, hands the reins to Ryder Burton, who bounced from BYU to West Virginia before landing in Birmingham and flashed with a strong outing against Memphis last season.

The bigger story in Birmingham is the total program overhaul. Alex Mortensen takes over after Trent Dilfer was let go mid-season, and he's installing new coordinators on both sides, including defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who inherits a unit that allowed 38.3 points per game a year ago — worst in the American. East Carolina isn't immune to turnover either, replacing its entire starting offensive line and top two receivers, but it does so with more continuity at the top under Blake Harrell.

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That gap in program stability is the whole story here. East Carolina went 9-4 last season and returns about half its defense, while UAB is widely projected for a fourth straight four-win-or-fewer campaign unless things click faster than expected.

East Carolina Pirates

Oct 9?vs Rice—

Sep 26?vs North Carolina Central—

Sep 19?@ Old Dominion—

Sep 12?vs App State—

Sep 5?@ Alabama—

UAB Blazers

Oct 9?@ Memphis—

Oct 3?vs Samford—

Sep 25?vs Navy—

Sep 19?@ Louisiana—

Sep 12?vs UL Monroe—

Sep 3?@ Illinois—

College Football News has the Pirates pegged for another 9-win season if the quarterback and offensive line settle in fast, while UAB's preseason outlook sits closer to 4-8 as Mortensen tries to lay a foundation rather than chase instant results.

East Carolina Pirates

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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

UAB Blazers

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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

This is a program-building trip for UAB more than a rivalry game, and East Carolina's culture under Harrell is exactly the kind of edge that tends to show up against teams still finding their footing under a new staff.