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ESPN College Pick Em Picks For Week 5

By Mike Marteny

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I wasn’t very confident going into last week, and it turns out it was with good reason. I missed half of the ten games, including my 9 and 10 point games. That left me with just 28 points, bringing my season total to 141. And I thought week 1 was bad!

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I suppose the good news is that most others struggled as well. I just have to learn to trust my instincts…..and to trust that Tennessee and Texas will find some way to let it get away. Those of you that don’t like those teams, savor it while you can. It won’t be like this next year.

And for the record, I picked Oklahoma State, but Texas should have won the game. If not for a phantom holding call and a bogus roughing penalty, they likely would have won. And this coming from an Oklahoma fan. Us Oklahoma fans are no strangers to referee….uh….forget it. There is really no way to say it for a G rated audience. For reference see the abomination that was the 2006 Oregon game. Yes, I am still bitter. You don’t get many chances at a championship. Don’t judge. I don’t wish that on any team, even the ones I am not particularly fond of.

At any rate, I feel pretty good about this week’s selection of games. If nothing else, last week taught us some things. Most notably that it is tough to win at Michigan and Florida, and that good defense can destroy a good offense. Conversely, bad defense can make an average offense look good.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at my ESPN College Pick Em picks for week 5!

These are in order from most confident (10) to least (1) for those of you that play the confidence version of the game.

(10) Navy over Air Force:

The Middies beat an East Carolina team that just beat Virginia Tech by 24 points. Air Force’s big win? A 21 point win over San Jose State. To me the ECU victory looks a little better. And you have to go with the best player on the field, which would be Navy QB Keenan Reynolds. Want another reason? Navy is at home.

(9) Northwestern over Minnesota:

Minnesota’s offense has been nothing short of dreadful so far this year. It looks like they finally found a running back against Ohio. Unfortunately for them, the Wildcats are pretty strong up front. Just ask Stanford. There is no way the Gophers win this on the road with their offense as bad as it is. First one to 17 wins!

(8) Mississippi over Florida:

Ole Miss is the better team, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot in the Swamp. Tennessee is proof of that. However, a team that went in to Tuscaloosa and beat the Tide should be able to do the same to the Gators.

(7)Oklahoma over West Virginia:

The Mountaineers put on a show against a terrible Maryland defense. The sledding will be much tougher in Norman. Skyler Howard is still going to get his yards, but Wendell Smallwood is going to have a tough time trying to run on the Sooners. That will force the Mountaineers to become too one dimensional. Oklahoma pulls away late.

(6) Wisconsin over Iowa:

Iowa is better than they were last year, and they have a solid run defense. Wisconsin is also missing their number one running back, Corey Clement. This will likely be another defensive struggle in the Big Ten(14). So why Wisconsin? Because they are at home, and Joel Stave has a little more experience than C.J. Beathard.

(5) Virginia Tech over Pittsburgh:

Yeah, that loss to East Carolina was ugly. That said, Pitt is not the same team without James Conner. I have to go with the Hokies at home.

(4) Kansas State over Oklahoma State:

The Cowboys looked like a well oiled mess against Texas. After what Cal did to their defense, I figured the Cowboys would have no trouble moving the ball on them. Long story short, they did. K-State’s defense is better than Texas, but not by a whole lot. The quarterback controversy is back in Stillwater. That should be of concern. It is for me. Enough so to take the Wildcats in a close one.

(3) Notre Dame over Clemson:

Do you dare bet against the Irish? They dominated Georgia Tech with a second string RB and QB even though the scoreboard didn’t reflect it. Clemson struggled with a Louisville team that lost to Auburn. The Cardinals have a solid defense, but it is not in the same class as Notre Dame’s. Irish win on the road.

(2) Georgia over Alabama:

Alabama’s defense is not the juggernaut is was three years ago. They have gotten progressively worse of the past couple of years. Maybe not so much worse as the fact that the SEC has found their weakness. The Bulldogs have arguably the best running back in the country, and a veteran QB that does not make mistakes. That is bad news for the Tide. They are capable of winning this game, but I see Georgia pulling it out at home.

(1) Texas A&M over Mississippi State:

The Bulldogs have a few things going against them here. A&M struggled some against the physical line and talented running backs of Arkansas. Mississippi State has neither. This game is also in College Station, so I don’t see the Bulldogs leaving with a win. They will keep this game close though. The defense is good, and Prescott will carry them for a while. Aggies in a close one, but I’m not that confident about it. I’ve changed my mind on this one twice already.

Stay tuned for NCAA and NFL FanDuel picks, NFL DraftKings picks, and all of the college games picked against the spread! We will have it all this week!

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