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ESPN College Pick Em Picks For Week 3

By Mike Marteny

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ESPN College Pick Em lets you pick the winners of ten college games per week. You assign confidence points to each game for a total of 55 points per week. My first week, I only ended up with 30. Last week I rebounded nicely with 47 points to bring my season total to 77. That is the way to get out of a hole!

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This looks like a tough week on the surface. Digging a little deeper though, there are a few games that look a little easier than the others. Let’s take a look at my ESPN College Pick Em Picks for week 3. These are in order from most confident (10) to least (1).

10. USC over Stanford:

Yes, I realize that this is a conference game, and that Stanford bounced back nicely against Central Florida last week. Let’s not forget that UCF lost at home to Florida International in the opener. It was a feel-good win for Stanford, but it still doesn’t mean they have a prayer at beating the Trojans in L.A.

9. LSU over Auburn:

Am I putting too much stock in Auburn’s near loss to Jacksonville State? Maybe, but the offense has been lackluster in both games so far. LSU’s defense looked pretty good against a better quarterback than Jeremy Johnson. Auburn will probably keep it close, but I don’t see them having enough to win at Death Valley.

8. UCLA over BYU:

This game would likely be much lower if the Cougars had Taysom Hill, but they don’t. Tanner Mangum has been solid, but he doesn’t have the playmaking ability that Hill had, and he is not nearly the athlete. That dimension is taken away from the BYU offense and their defense isn’t quite as good as last year. Everything we have seen from UCLA says that they are better on the defensive side of the ball, and about as good on offense. I see this one getting away from BYU on the road.

7. Iowa over Pittsburgh:

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think Iowa is all that good, but Pitt doesn’t have much of a chance without James Conner. With him in there they had a puncher’s chance at going into Iowa City and pulling one out. Qadree Ollison has been a capable back, but he is not the horse Conner was. I don’t see Pitt being able to ride him to a road win, though they might keep it close.

6. California over Texas:

The Longhorns were able to beat a decent Rice team, but they still didn’t look all that good. Cal has one of the better quarterbacks in a quarterback rich conference in Jared Goff, and I’m still not sure they can really stop anyone. Don’t let the 42 that Texas put up on Rice fool you. If the Longhorns have to throw to win, which is a distinct possibility given Cal’s potent offense, they won’t be able to do it. Cal in a close one in Austin.

5. Miami over Nebraska:

Both teams are likely better than last year, despite losing star running backs Duke Johnson and Ameer Abdullah to the NFL. Expect more passing in this game than there was last year. When it comes down to it, I think Miami’s two (or three) headed rushing attack will wear down Nebraska some. Despite the drastic improvement in Tommie Armstrong’s passing, Brad Kaaya is still a little bit better. Miami takes this at home because they have the better ground game if this game turns into a no-fly zone because of the weather.

4. Georgia Tech over Notre Dame:

The loss of Malik Zaire is a crusher for Notre Dame. DeShone Kizer looked pretty good throwing the ball after the injury to Zaire, but they lose the element of a quarterback that can run. C.J. Prosise is more than capable of keeping the Notre Dame ground game rolling along, but I think the lost element on offense for the Irish is going to hurt. Especially when Tech controls the ball for 40 minutes and runs for 350 yards. Both defenses have looked pretty good so far, and the Irish run defense has been impressive, but it’s hard to stop an option when you never face one. Tech in a nail biter.

3. Alabama over Mississippi:

I’m not all that confident in this one, as shown by the confidence ranking. Alabama is going to have all sorts of trouble with the “Land Shark” defense again this year. As opposed to last year, the Tide are at home. That is really the only reason I am taking Alabama. That and I doubt they lose to Ole Miss two years in a row. Still, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Mississippi wins this.

2. Duke over Northwestern:

Northwestern has to hit the road for the first time this season, and they face what is still a pretty good Duke team. Thomas Sirk can, and does, do a lot of everything. This is not the anemic Stanford offense. Duke is still a good offensive unit. Clayton Thorson has been a capable leader for Northwestern, but this is his first trip into hostile territory. I like Duke at home.

1. North Carolina over Illinois:

This one really could go either way. The Illinois defense won’t be able to handcuff the Heels like South Carolina did. This will be an offensive display, but when it comes down to it, I am much more comfortable taking Marquise Williams at home than the Illini on the road. It won’t be easy though.

Stay tuned for college FanDuel lineups, our NFL FanDuel roundtable, and the picks against the spread for every college game this weekend!

Next: NFL DraftKings Lineup For Week 2

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