Nov 2, 2013; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs wide receiver Josh Harper (3) and wide receiver Davante Adams (15) celebrate after scoring a touchdown against the Nevada Wolf Pack during the second quarter at Bulldog Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The college football week already got off to a great start on Thursday with Stanford taking it to previously undefeated Oregon spoiling their title hopes and Baylor keeping its long-shot title hopes alive rolling over a solid Oklahoma team. Saturday’s sure to have more drama and surprises in store, as well as more National Title implications. Each week, ESPN selects 10 games for their College Pick’Em game and asks us to pick the winner and rank them in order of confidence.
Last week, I ended up with a solid 47 points which was a healthy six points above the average as my picks went 7-3 but I hit all of my top five. In our Fantasy CPR group, mdaallen finished four points better with 51, but the week went to soccergoalie6 who fell just one point short of a perfect week finishing with 54 points. In impressive fashion, mdaallen has climbed all the way up to 87th overall with his peformance and is the leader of our overall scoring for the season.
Heere’s my picks for this second Saturday of November with my confidence rankings included. For more picks (specifically against the spread), check our college handicapper Mike Marteny’s page.
Oct 26, 2013; Boulder, CO, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback B.J. Denker (7) runs with the ball in the third quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. The Wildcats defeated the Buffaloes 44-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
1 point- Arizona Wildcats over UCLA Bruins: the Wildcats and Bruins both come in at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play. Arizona has won three in a row since dropping two tough road games to Washington and USC while UCLA has dropped two of their last three. Since the gam’s in Arizona Stadium, Ill take the Wildcats for teh win.
2 points-Michigan Wolverines over Nebraska Cornhuskers: These Big Ten teams have both had up and down years as they face off in the Big House. Since the Wolverines are at home and Nebraska barely escaped Northwestern at home last week, I’ll give the Wolverines the slight advantage even though they were solidly thumped last week and have lost their last two road games.
3 points-Texas Tech Red Raiders over Kansas State Wildcats: The Red Raiders have dropped their last two but they were both against top-20 opponents. K-State has bounced back after a three-game losing streak but they are 0-2 in road games. They’ve struggled against better teams, so I don’t think they’ll pull off the road upset here and that Texas Tech will avoid a three-game slide.
4 points-Texas Longhorns over West Virginia Mountaineers: The Longhorns travel to Morgantown as they try to stay perfect in conference and get their sixth straight win. West Virginia has lost three of their last four but did win their last game beating TCU in overtime.
5 points-Arizona State Sun Devils over Utah Utes: ASU has struggled on the road but did get a win last week over Washington State on the road and should be able to get the win over Utah as well. The Utes are just 1-4 in the Pac-12 and have lost three of their last four. Their one win during that span was a big win over Stanford, but ASU’s offense will be too much for the Utes to slow down.
Nov 2, 2013; Iowa City, IA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back James White (20) runs the football against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Wisconsin beat Iowa 28-9. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
6 points-Wisconsin Badgers over Brigham Young Cougars: Camp Randall is a tough place for anyone to come in and win, but the Cougars defensive focus and running game are very similar to the Badgers. I think the Badgers will be able to hold them off at home in an old-school slugfest.
7 points-Alabama Crimson Tide over LSU Tigers: It’s a rivalry game, so there’s always a chance that LSU could derail the Tide’s perfect season. With ‘Bama at home, though, I think Nick Saban’s team will keep right on rolling to the championship.
8 points-Notre Dame Fighting Irish over Pittsburgh Panthers: Notre Dame and Pitt have played some close games in the last few years, but the Irish are back in form and Pitt has looked pretty bad their last few times out. The Panthers have dropped three of four, and I don’t think they’ll be close in this one.
Nov 2, 2013; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Dallas Crawford (25) runs the ball past Florida State Seminoles linebacker Christian Jones (7) during the first half at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
9 points-Miami Hurricanes over Virginia Tech Hokies: Miami will look to bounce back from their bad loss to Florida State and will be without Duke Johnson which makes this a tricky gae, but one that I think they’ll win since its at home and Tech has dropped their last two games to Duke and BC.
10 points-Fresno State Bulldogs over Wyoming Cowboys: The Bulldogs put their undefeated record on the line against Wyoming in Laramie in a late start. The Cowboys hare dropped three of four but definitely have the offensive firepower to play with the Bulldogs. In what should be a wildly entertaining, high-scoring contest, I think the Bulldogs get the road win to improve to 9-0.