ESPN College Pick Em Picks For Week 13

Picks For The Last Week Of ESPN College Pick Em!

Yes, sadly we have reached the last week of ESPN College Pick Em since they don’t use conference championship week (they should). I picked up 40 points last week, which is a respectable mark this year. I am now at 434 points, good enough for 44,786th place and 84.9%. I took over the lead in the Fantasy CPR group, but am five points behind in my friends league. A six pack of Guinness is on the line. This is a big deal!

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Missing my number nine game (Ohio State) last week prevented me from gaining any real ground. Still, I wont complain about hitting 7/10 in each of the last two weeks. I just need to be more careful with the points in rivalry games! Wait…..this week is almost all rivalries. We all need a little luck this week!

Here are my ESPN College Pick Em Picks for week 13. They are in order from most confident (10) to least (1) for those of you that play the confidence version of the game like I do.

(10) Alabama over Auburn:

Yes, it’s a road game. Yes, it’s a rivalry game. But Auburn just gave up 34 points at home to Idaho. Idaho. The same Idaho whose three wins match their total for the last three years combined. And Aubie let them in the end zone four times. Usually you can throw stats out the window in a rivalry game, but it’s hard to ignore how bad Auburn’s defense, particularly the rush defense has been. Alabama wins big.

(9) BYU over Utah State:

Part 3 of 3 of the Holy War Trilogy happens here. Don’t count on it staying that close though. BYU has been better – much better – at every skill position except running back and in all aspects of the game. Both teams have battled a lot of injuries, but BYU is deep enough to take them (mostly) in stride.

(8) Oklahoma over Oklahoma State:

Baker Mayfield is fine, so my confidence in this game is high. Okie State can’t run the ball, and has had problems stopping the run. And if you want a practical reason, the team that just beat them is the team that we beat on the road two weeks ago. The only reason this isn’t higher is because the ‘Pokes have taken away Oklahoma’s shot at a title three times under Stoops. Oklahoma State’s defensive line is good enough to throw Mayfield off, but Perine and Mixon will be too much for Okie State. The game stays within ten or less though.

(7)Michigan State over Penn State:

The hangover effect has me placing this a little lower than I normally would. On paper, this is a huge mismatch. Michigan State is better everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. I still don’t see what the talking heads on ESPN see in Hackenberg. All I see is a hack. He has completed only 53% of his passes on the season, and has had three games under 50%. Michigan State is going to eat him alive….

(6) LSU over Texas A&M:

LSU has ran a gauntlet of good offenses and great defenses over the last three weeks. Texas A&M has neither. I understand why Tiger fans are frustrated, and some blame should fall on the coaching staff for not being able to get good quarterback play. The quarterback position has held the Tigers back for much of the last decade. But firing Les Miles is not the answer. Changing a couple of coaches may not be a bad idea, but firing a guy like Miles is a bad decision. Why? First of all, there are a lot of vacancies out there. Second, Miles will take another job within the SEC and will dedicate his career to beating you. You know how he is. That is why you hired him in the first place. Oh, the game? LSU wins, and it might not be close.

(5)Florida State over Florida:

The Gator offense has been dreadful over the last month. Granted, Florida State’s isn’t that much better, but the Seminole defense is just as good as Vanderbilt, and is light years ahead of Florida Atlantic. This is the best offense that the Gators have faced in a while too. I know I am picking a lot of road teams, but the stats support it.

(4) Michigan over Ohio State:

I do realize that the odds of an Urban Meyer coached team losing back to back games is astronomical. I also realize that at least part of Meyer’s staff has lost at least part of the team. Ezekiel Elliot has even right to be upset and the university should be very concerned about this. Elliott was going to come back until his inexplicably light workload against the Spartans. Now he won’t. The honeymoon is over in Columbus. It is just beginning in Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh has been thinking about this game since he was hired. He knew it was at home. He knew he had all season to build his players up for this. Barring another Michigan State-like fluke, Michigan wins this game.

(3) Mississippi over Mississippi State:

The SEC West has been a lot of fun once again. Mississippi’s enigmatic season is a bit baffling, but I still like the Ole Miss defense. They are good enough to limit Dak Prescott, and the Bulldogs don’t have a lot of help around him. I like Ole Miss to win and advance to the Cotton Bowl against Baylor in what would be a very interesting game.

(2) USC over UCLA:

This is one of those that I hate picking because neither team has played particularly well. I am tempted to pick the Bruins because they are on the road. Then again, USC just has too much talent on offense to blow this, right? RIGHT? Yeah, your guess is as good as mine.

(1) Stanford over Notre Dame:

Is this wishful thinking? Maybe a little, but I do have reasons to back this pick up. Notre Dame’s signature win is against Navy. They added Temple and a beat up Pitt team. The USC win doesn’t look so great right now. The loss at Clemson, well, they were dominated for 55 minutes of that game. I just don’t see the Irish beating up on AAC teams and weaker ACC teams preparing them for the crowd at the Farm. Stanford should have enough to take this at home.

Next: Results Against The Spread Week 12

Stay tuned for come college and pro FanDuel lineups over your holiday! And of course, all of the picks against the spread!