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ESPN College Pick Em Picks For Week 9

By Mike Marteny

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I had a pretty good week in Pick Em last week. I ended up with 44 points, which is eight points above the 32 point average for the week across ESPN. Once again, I got all of my 6 through 10 point picks right. That will help you move up in the world! I am now sitting at 289 points on the season, which is good/bad enough for 65,572nd place.

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This week looks like a tough week. I felt good about the last two weeks, and the scores reflected that. I shudder to think what might happen here. There are not five games that I am overly confident in.

Here are my ESPN College Pick Em picks for week 9 of your college football season. The games are listed from most confident (10) to least (1) for those of you that play the confidence version of the game like I do.

(10) Stanford over Washington State:

The Cougars are playing the best football that they have since Ryan Leaf (gulp) was the quarterback. Still, they aren’t quite up to the level of being able to beat a team like Stanford. The Cardinal have been unstoppable since the season opening loss to Northwestern, mostly thanks to their strong running game. Washington State will get their points which always makes them a dangerous team to face, but they also can’t stop the run. Stanford has a stable of backs that will run all over the Cougars. They also have a defense that is good enough to get stops against that high powered offense.

(9) San Diego State over Colorado State:

Colorado State has struggled against teams that run the ball with the exception of Air Force. They struggled against Minnesota, Colorado, Utah State, Boise State, and even UTSA. San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey is the best back that they have faced this year. The Rams are going to have all sorts of problems in this one.

(8) Texas Tech over Oklahoma State:

The Cowboys are #12 in name only. They are here largely on other teams in front of them being picked off, not for playing well. They got a gift win against Texas, and managed to hang on against Kansas State. Their most impressive win is a road win against West Virginia. Texas Tech is an entirely different animal. Oklahoma State has to go to Lubbock as well, where the Red Raiders have played much better football. The Cowboys have the defense to keep this close, but they don’t really have a strong enough running game to control the game like Oklahoma was able to do last week.

(7) Texas over Iowa State:

Iowa State is the worst defense that Texas has faced since Cal. They played very well against Cal. Teams have managed to adjust some to Jerrod Heard, but as we saw against Oklahoma and Kansas State, he is still hard to defend. Iowa State is allowing an average of 187 rushing yards per game. Texas will be able to put them away on the ground.

(6) Florida over Georgia:

Treon Harris looked capable against a really good LSU defense. Georgia’s defense is not really good. Florida’s is though. Good enough to control this game. Look how bad Alabama made Greyson Lambert look. It is entirely possible that Florida does the same. I doubt the Gators blow out Georgia, but it might not be all that close.

(5) Mississippi over Auburn:

The only reason the game is this low is because Ole Miss doesn’t run the ball all that well. They are a better offensive and defensive team than Auburn right now, but the Rebels haven’t exactly played well on the road. That is why I don’t have a ton of confidence in this game. Ole Miss is the much better team on paper, so they should win, even in a SEC road game.

(4) USC over California:

I still don’t trust the Trojans’ pass defense. Jared Goff is likely to get into a rhythm at home, which scares me some. What sets me at ease is how bad Cal’s defense has been. They won’t be able to make Kessler make bad decisions. This could be a shootout, but I think the Trojans pull away at some point.

(3) Penn State over Illinois:

The Illini still can’t get into an offensive rhythm due to injuries and inconsistency from Wes Lunt. They won’t be able to in “whiteout” conditions in Happy Valley either. I still don’t think that the Nittany Lions will blow anyone out, but their defense is good enough for them to win a seven point game and make it look like a blowout.

(2) Tennessee over Kentucky:

Two teams with a propensity for choking face off in Lexington. That is what makes this game so hard to pick. I could give you a dozen reasons why Tennessee should win. I could give you a half dozen reasons why Kentucky should. I will stick to the basics: Tennessee has played a better schedule and has the best win (vs. Arkansas). And they have a better quarterback. I am just betting a low amount of points that the Vols won’t choke.

(1) Temple over Notre Dame:

I am going to catch hell for this. Maybe even from Touchdown Jesus himself. So why am I risking eternal damnation on a lousy pick? Because Temple is good enough to win this. Their defense is very good, and they are a good running team. This is going to be a defensive battle, but the Irish are on the road, and seem to have lost some swagger since the loss at Clemson during monsoon season. Temple has beaten some good teams in Penn State, Cincinnati, and East Carolina. None of them are up to the caliber of Notre Dame, but this is a home game in a NFL Stadium. It will be rockin’ for the biggest game in program history.

Stay tuned for more FanDuel picks, some basketball advice, and my picks against the spread!

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