2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl Prediction: Pitt vs East Carolina
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The University of Pittsburgh football program is about to play a bowl game. You have to watch this.
It’s the Go Bowling Military Bowl against East Carolina, not the College Football Playoff – like the team was hoping for midway through the season – but that’s okay. When the Panthers play bowl games, insane things happen.
Last year, it was the six-overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports. In 2022, it was the 37-35 Sun Bowl win over UCLA with a bomb of a field goal capping off a crazy fourth quarter.
In 2021 it was Michigan State coming up with a pick-six to seal the Peach, just when it seemed like the Panthers might pull it out, before that, it was a touchdown pass in the final moments to break Eastern Michigan’s heart in the 2019 Quick Lane, and not to bore you further, it goes on and on from there.
Pitt vs East Carolina: 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl Preview and Pick
Meanwhile, last year’s East Carolina 26-21 win over NC State in this Military Bowl was a defensive slugfest compared to what its bowl games are usually like – most notably, the historic 64-61 loss to Marshall in the 2001 GMAC.
Way-too-long buildup short – yeah, wake-and-bowl this one that starts at 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast. There are eight bowl games this Saturday – this will be the most interesting. It has to be.
How To Watch Pitt vs East Carolina
Date: Saturday, December 27, 2025
Game Time: 11:00 am ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD
@PeteFiutak
– 2026 Early Heisman Top 10
Why East Carolina Will Win
East Carolina doesn’t have a defense nearly as good as Miami’s or Notre Dame’s, but it’s had its moments
The Pirates stuffed Army, shut out Coastal Carolina, and allowed 22 points or fewer in six games. It gave up 26 in the win over Tulane, 24 in the loss to NC State, and it only got rocked by UTSA – who had a weird other level of greatness at home – and BYU.
It’s amazing defensively on third downs, thanks to a killer pass rush, and Pitt is absolutely awful on third downs, thanks to an offensive line that pass protects like it’s caught in a hurricane gust of wind.
Pitt also has a super-fun way of occasionally screwing up.
There are way too many penalties. It turned it over five times against Louisville, four more against Stanford. There is no ground game, it hasn’t won when it didn’t score at least 30 points, and …
East Carolina has only allowed more than 27 points twice.
Why Pitt Will Win
East Carolina’s veteran quarterback Katin Houser is in the transfer portal and won’t go.
Pitt might have a few parts missing, but there’s a shot the Pirates could be almost gutted at receiver – this will be updated closer to gametime if something actually happens with this.
Okay, so Pitt isn’t perfect.
It has all those problems and issues brought up before, but in the end, it lost four games.
Two were against elite Miami and Notre Dame teams, one was against Louisville when it couldn’t stop turning the ball over, and one was when West Virginia went on a wild tear late in an overtime win early in the season.
The team tends to bomb its way out of problems, mainly due to the emergence of quarterback Mason Heintschel. Part of it was thanks to a defense that, while not great overall, was timely – it came up with the stops it had to generate in a few interesting wins. But again …
Pitt vs East Carolina Prediction, Betting Lines
Pitt has to score.
Of course, all teams do, but to hammer this home, this team doesn’t win when it doesn’t crank up big points. It can’t get bogged down in a defensive slugfest. But there’s another side to this.
East Carolina has to score, too.
The defense might be amazing, but it’s 8-0 when it scores 28 points or more, and 0-4 when it scores fewer.
And again, it’s Pitt in a bowl game. It’s going to be interesting.
Pitt 31, East Carolina 24
Line: Pitt -7.5, o/u: 57.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 4
– Bowl Schedule, Predictions, Lines
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Related: 2025 68 Ventures Bowl Prediction: Delaware vs Louisiana
This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos