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ESPN College Pick Em Picks For Week 7

By Mike Marteny

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I want to say that last week was a bad week, but it was better than the previous two, so I guess 34 points is what stands for average this year. It has been a crazy season so far. One in which the only teams that have really lived up to their rankings for the entire season are Michigan and Utah…….the team that Michigan lost to in week 1.

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Chokelahoma struck again, showing up generally disinterested against Texas. The Sooners got dominated by a Texas team that played with fire and heart, and still only lost by seven. Are they a better team than they played like on Saturday? Yes. Will they lose again? Definitely. If they show up looking like that again, they could lose to everyone else on the schedule but Kansas. I would like to think that the coaching staff wouldn’t let that happen, but the coaching staff never should have let “that” team show up on Saturday. If you can’t get excited about your arch rival – even if they are a little down – that is not the mark of a good team.

Enough of the gratuitous rant. If I hadn’t been dumb enough to put Oklahoma that high in a rivalry game, I would have had a good week. Most of the other ones I missed I had low confidence points on. The Red River Shootout was the only game in my top five that I missed.

This is another week that looks tough. There are four games that feature ranked teams facing off against each other. Two of those are top ten teams facing each other! Two others are rivalry games, and two more feature formerly good teams that have looked bad lately. How do you have confidence in any of these?

Here are my ESPN College Pick Em picks for week 7. These are in order from most confidence(10) to least(1) for those of you that play that version of the game.

(10) Utah over Arizona State:

This is not a rivalry, nor is it one of the four featuring ranked teams matching up. Utah’s defense has proven that it can handle just about anything that other offenses throw at them. The Sun Devils might keep it close, but I doubt they win this game in Salt Lake City.

(9) Florida State over Louisville:

Louisville will get after Golson, but he has looked mostly unflappable this year. He hasn’t always made the best decisions, but he hasn’t made the worst either. He is far removed from the turnover machine that he was at Notre Dame last year. The Cardinals might force one or two, but I still don’t think they keep this game close. Unless Dalvin Cook is still having hamstring issues. If he couldn’t have played against Miami, there is a good chance that the Seminoles would be 4-1 right now instead of 5-0.

(8) Iowa over Northwestern:

Iowa’s defense isn’t quite the caliber of Michigan’s, but it is in the same vein. Iowa is good enough to stop the Wildcat offense like Michigan did, and their offense is better than it has been in the last three years. I doubt Northwestern gets shut out, but this will be a battle once again. A battle that Iowa is better equipped to win.

(7) Miami over Virginia Tech:

Neither team is playing well, but at least Miami’s losses have looked a little better than Tech’s. And the Hurricanes are at home. That is the deciding factor in this pick.

(6) LSU over Florida:

The NCAA’s suspension of Florida QB Will Grier for the rest of the season continues to show their outrageous hypocrisy. This could have happened to anyone. Literally anyone. It was an over-the-counter supplement. The punishment certainly does not fit the crime, but that is nothing new for the same organization that punished Todd Gurley much more severely than Jameis Winston or Johnny Manziel, both of whom did the exact same thing in previous years. They pick favorites, and Florida fans have every right to be outraged. Fans of college football have every right to be outraged. When will one of their inconsistent penalties hurt your favorite team? There certainly is no rhyme or reason to the punishments they hand out.

Aside from that, this is a very tough road game for the Gators. It would have been with Grier under center as well. Treon Harris doesn’t have the experience or the arm to beat this LSU defense. Florida is good enough defensively to hold the Tigers down, but not far enough. The first one to ten wins, and that should be LSU at home.

(5) Washington over Oregon:

The Ducks lost to Washington State. The same Washington State team that lost to Portland State in the opener, and nearly lost to a Rutgers team with a gutted secondary. The Duck defense is a disaster, and the offense isn’t the well oiled machine of years past. The Washington defense looked really good against USC, and they are at home again. Don’t worry about a letdown in Seattle. This is a rivalry game. The Huskies will show up, and I think they get their first win against Duck U since 2003.

(4) Michigan over Michigan State:

The Spartans would have three losses by now if they played any good teams. The Oregon win doesn’t look very good right now. The Spartan defense keeps letting lesser opponents back into games. Jake Rudock has taken less risks than he did early on, and has become more of a game manager. Let’s face it: that’s all the Wolverines really need right now. Their running game is working and the defense is outstanding. If they have a QB that is not making mistakes, they become really tough to beat. I like Connor Cook much better than Rudock, but I’m not betting against the Michigan defense. Especially when they are at home against a team that has not had a consistent running game.

(3) Oklahoma over Kansas State:

Chokelahoma always shows up after losing a game they shouldn’t. So why is it this low? I still don’t trust them. If Kansas State doesn’t allow that interception return for a touchdown when they are up 14 going for more, they knock off the number two team in the country. So no, I don’t have a lot of confidence left in Oklahoma. Especially on the road against a team with a pretty good defense.

(2) Texas A&M over Alabama:

In order to beat Alabama, you need to be able to throw the ball. A&M can. They are tough on both lines, and can give Alabama a run for their money. This might be the best team that Coach Sumlin has had at College Station. They prove it here.

(1) USC over Notre Dame:

Everything says that USC will lose this game. From the way Notre Dame has looked, to the loss to Washington, to the firing of Coach Sarkisian. USC rallies here. Sark may be gone, but the players are going to be playing for him. They will pull the upset in South Bend.

Stay tuned for my college football FanDuel lineups and my picks against the spread! A bonus one for you: Take South Alabama +3.5 at home tonight against Arkansas State!

Next: Three Reasons To Gamble On Martavis Bryant

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