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ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 8

By Mike Marteny

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I ended up with 43 points last week, which qualifies as a good week the way this season is going. I got my 6-10 pointers right. I missed Washington, Michigan on a fluke play, A&M, and USC. That puts my season total at 245. That is still below where I want to be, but a ways above average in the ESPN realm.

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This looks like an easier week, but as we have seen several times this year, looks can be deceiving. Here are my ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 8. They are in order from most confidence (10) to least (1) for those of you that play the confidence version of the game.

(10) Wisconsin over Illinois:

I don’t care whether Clement plays or not. Illinois doesn’t have a particularly strong defense, and Wes Lunt couldn’t even throw on Nebraska’s worst ranked pass defense. Wisconsin is going to grind this one out, and Illinois will be largely powerless to stop it. Wisconsin’s defense will force enough mistakes to keep the Illini from getting too close.

(9) Pittsburgh over Syracuse:

Qadree Ollison has turned into a very capable replacement for the injured James Conner. It just took him a couple of games to get settled. Pitt also has capable receivers on the outside. Syracuse has a solid defense, but at some point Pitt will create some separation. They have too much offensive talent not to.

(8) Clemson over Miami:

Clemson’s defense looks better than last year, and the offense is still a really good unit with DeShaun Watson running the show. Miami is 4-2, but you wouldn’t know it by their fanbase. Yes, the loss to Cincinnati was embarrassing, but running your coach out of town may not be the best approach. Just ask Nebraska. The turmoil in South Florida has gotten to the team. There is regression across the field with the exception of Joseph Yearby, but Clemson’s strength is stopping the run. This could get ugly.

(7) Mississippi State over Kentucky:

The Wildcats haven’t looked particularly good on the road. Come to think of it, they haven’t looked particularly good at home either. Mississippi State shut down a better Louisiana Tech offense last week. Mississippi State shouldn’t have much of a problem with this one.

(6) Texas over Kansas State:

The snarky comment would be that Texas beat Oklahoma by seven, a team that just beat Kansas State by 55. The realistic comment is that Kansas State can’t throw the ball downfield. They don’t have the quarterback to do it, nor the receivers to catch it. Texas’s run defense is about the only thing that has been decent the whole season. There is no chance of the Wildcats beating Texas in Austin. Not this year

(5) Utah over USC:

A letdown is probably coming for Utah at some point. Then again, maybe not. They have a tough defense, a tough quarterback, and a really good running back. Not to mention the fact that they are well coached. I good coaching job can keep a letdown from happening. That said, it’s really difficult to handle when the each next game is the biggest game in program history. The Utes have as much claim to the number one slot as anyone. Is USC more than just a name right now? Not much more. And they have been awful at home. Utah should find a way to win this.

(4) Ohio over Buffalo:

Yes, this is a lot of road teams at the top, but they are all favorable matchups. Buffalo is hard to predict, and Ohio has been consistent all season. I will go with consistency to win every time. I really wish they would have put the Oklahoma-Texas Tech game on pick em instead of this one. It would have made it a little more difficult.

(3) Duke over Virginia Tech:

Duke has been solid since the loss to Northwestern. They started Georgia Tech’s slide. Virginia Tech on the other hand, has been uncharacteristically exposed on defense. Duke’s offense isn’t good enough to embarrass them, but Tech’s defense isn’t good enough to stymie them like Northwestern did.

(2) Texas A&M over Mississippi:

Mississippi has fallen apart since the win over Alabama. Texas A&M didn’t so much get beat by Alabama as they beat themselves. When you allow three interceptions – including a 94 yarder – to be returned for touchdowns, you just don’t win. It is tough to go into Oxford an win, but the Mississippi defense has not been themselves lately. The got gouged by Memphis last week. I could see Ole Miss winning at home, but I just can’t pick them right now.

(1) Washington State over Arizona:

You have to pick one upset a week, right? Arizona’s pass defense has been well below average, which plays right into Washington State’s strong point. The Cougars are going to throw the ball at least 70 times. Can Arizona defend it enough to stay ahead with Luke Falk throwing that much? I seriously doubt it. Give me the Cougars for the upset.

Stay tuned for college FanDuel picks and all of the college games picked against the spread!

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