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ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 2

By Mike Marteny

Nov 27, 2015; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks mascot is lifted into the air form fans against the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2015; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks mascot is lifted into the air form fans against the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 3, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) drops back for a pass against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first half at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) drops back for a pass against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first half at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 2.

I finished with 40 out of 55 points in the first week of ESPN Colllege Pick Em. That puts me right about in the middle of the pack of the Fantasy CPR readers group. Missing my eight point game (LSU vs. Wisconsin) hurt. I also missed Oklahoma and Arizona. Oh well, lessons learned.

More from College Football Odds

This week I will shoot for a modest goal of 50 points. There are a lot of games that seem pretty even, so maybe I should temper the expectations some.

Here are my ESPN College Pick Em picks for week 2 in order from least confidence (1) to most (10):

(1) (15)TCU over Arkansas:

TCU’s defense took it on the chin against South Dakota State, but Arkansas had all kinds of trouble with Louisiana Tech. Someone needs to step up in the Arkansas backfield. TCU is firing on all cylinders offensively and they are at home, so I give them the edge.

(2) Washington State over Boise State:

In case you didn’t notice, the Cougars return nearly all of the offensive skill players from last year’s nine win team. You probably didn’t notice since they lost to Eastern Washington in week one.  The Eagles are a better team than the Lafayette team that Boise stomped in the opener. This is going to be a really close and really tough game. I give Washington State the edge because of the offensive firepower.

(3)  Pittsburgh over Penn State:

Saquon Barkley is the best player in this game. James Conner has shown great resilience coming back, but he isn’t quite up to speed yet. That said, one of these teams is going to have to pass to win. Neither QB looked particularly good in the opener, but Trace McSorley actually made some Penn State fans wish for Christian Hackenburg. I have to take Pitt.

(4) BYU over Utah:

Oh, we love the Holy War, so long as we aren’t involved. BYU’s defense looked pretty good. Taysom Hill isn’t quite the player he was two or three years ago, but he is still good enough to give the Utes fits. Utah’s offense is still a work in progress with so many new pieces, so I give BYU the edge here.

(5) Duke over Wake Forest:

A basketball game before Midnight Madness? Count me in! Wait, they both have a football team? Okay, so that isn’t quite fair. Duke had an outstanding year last year. Wake Forest hasn’t really had a good season since 2006. They are improving, but Duke is still the better program right now. Duke is the safe pick.

Next: Who Is The Best Pick This Week?

Sep 3, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Nathan Stanley (4) fakes a hand off during the fourth quarter against the Miami (Oh) Redhawks at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes won 45-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Nathan Stanley (4) fakes a hand off during the fourth quarter against the Miami (Oh) Redhawks at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes won 45-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

(6) North Carolina State over East Carolina:

The days of the Pirates knocking off ACC teams is likely over for a while. Shane Carden and Justin Hardy are gone. Philip Nelson had a great game in the opener, but NC State has a solid defense. And Matthew Dayes can run people over. ECU has no answer for him on defense.

(7) Texas Tech over Arizona State:

Patrick Mahomes is better than any quarterback in the Pac 12. I promise you that. He has good pocket presence, a very good arm, and is fast enough to change a game with his speed. Demario Richard, Tim White, and Kalen Ballage are the only offensive skill players back for the Sun Devils. Mike Bercovici and Jaelen Strong are both gone. TT’s defense is going to give up a few bushels of points, but I don’t see where Arizona State can stop their offense.

(8) (17)Tennessee over Virginia Tech:

The Vols nearly let one slip away on national TV against Appalachian State. That said, The Mountaineers matched up better with Tennessee than Virginia Tech does. The Tennessee defense was confused a lot against Appalachian State, as can happen when you never face an option based offense. VT is more vanilla. I think we see a Tennessee team closer to the one we were expecting this week.

(9) (16)Iowa over Iowa State:

These teams hate each other, so anything can happen, right? Normally I would say yes, but the Cyclones lost to yet another 1-AA team. Forget that it was “rival” (as much as a 1-AA team can be a rival) Northern Iowa. The Hawkeye defense is not the issue. They will dominate Iowa State, who usually takes about a month to get going.

(10) (24)Oregon over Virginia:

Okay, so Virginia didn’t just lose to Richmond. The game was never really close. There is no way the Cavs are going to improve enough in a week to hang with the Ducks in Eugene. Oregon is not the team that they were with Marcus Mariota there, but they wont need to be in this one. This may be as big of a blowout as Michigan-Hawaii, which was another ESPN College Pick Em gem.

Next: Which QB Should You Use In FanDuel This Week?

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR as we still have daily baseball lineups, NFL daily fantasy lineups, fantasy tips, and our college football against the spread picks! It is an exciting time of year for sports!