The situation is very different for this game. The SMU game was an obvious letdown situation after playing South Carolina, VA Tech, and North Carolina in consecutive weeks. The Pirates always do poorly as a favorite when playing in large, empty stadiums, which is why they had to come back against South Florida a week and a half ago.
This is a 'black out' game for East Carolina and it's televised on ESPN U, which didn't happen that often in C-USA. The fans are very fired up for this game and I expect the players to be as well after escaping Tampa with a win over USF.
The weather in North Carolina in clear and crisp, perfect for a night game outside.
The last factor is the UConn fan base. It seems as though UConn feels its too good for the AAC and there were some barbs tossed in East Carolina's direction before the season started. I know that I've been waiting for this game all year as a fan and I would expect the players would be too. I think that the East Carolina defense shows up tonight in a big way. I'm leaning hard towards a team total of UConn under 13.