GREENVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — East Carolina will host North Carolina Central on Saturday in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Pirates are 1-2. The Eagles are 2-2. The forecast at game time calls for 69 degrees Fahrenheit.

North Carolina Central enters off a 44-20 loss at Gardner-Webb. Quarterback Nelson Layne is a player to watch. In that game, he completed 10 of 15 passes for 150 yards. Plez Lawrence ran nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown. Zion Dobson had 11 carries for 21 yards, three receptions for 15 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles also beat Elizabeth City State 27-6 and North Carolina A&T 30-22. Their earlier loss was 42-30 at Texas Southern.

East Carolina is coming off a 20-17 win at Old Dominion. Quarterback Mitch Griffis is a player to watch. Against Old Dominion, he completed 4 of 12 passes for 58 yards and ran six times for 22 yards. At Alabama, he completed 10 of 16 passes for 137 yards, ran five times for 1 yard and scored a touchdown. Emory Williams completed 5 of 7 passes for 22 yards against Old Dominion. Jason Dickerson completed his only pass for 25 yards and caught one pass for no yards and a touchdown against Old Dominion. The Pirates lost 48-10 at Alabama and 27-24 to Appalachian State before beating Old Dominion.

North Carolina Central will return home for upcoming games against Campbell and William & Mary. North Carolina Central’s upcoming slate also includes Delaware State, Howard, Norfolk State, South Carolina State and Morgan State. East Carolina will host Rice in its next scheduled game before road contests at UAB and Memphis. East Carolina’s upcoming slate also includes Temple, South Florida, Charlotte, Army and Florida Atlantic. The teams will meet at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, where East Carolina will be the home team and North Carolina Central will be the visitor. The Pirates will look to build on their first win of the season. The Eagles will look to rebound from their most recent loss.

Interstat’s game simulator projects East Carolina to win 36-19. Interstat’s ELO system gives East Carolina a 93.4 percent probability to win. North Carolina Central has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +35.5. The over/under is 56.5.