ESPN College Pick Em Week 9: Can The Bulldogs Give the Gators A Beating?

SAN DIEGO, CA – OCTOBER 21: Members of the Fresno State Bulldogs football celebrate with the school rivalry Oil Can Trophy after winning the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at SDCCU Stadium on October 21, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /

ESPN College Pick Em Week 9: Can The Bulldogs Give the Gators A Beating?

I had 42 points in Pick Em last week. The bad news is that is the highest point total I have had since week 4. I did make up a little bit of ground in the FantasyCPR reader’s group with only four people beating my total. I still only moved up to 8th though.

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Fun facts for week 8: The top two point scorers of the week were the only ones that had Iowa State beating Texas Tech. They only had one point on it though! Oklahoma had six people put ten points on them. Two more put nine. There were no clean sweeps this week. uscbill was the only one to pick Wyoming. pitt2534 was the only one to pick Fresno.

pitt2534 led everyone in the reader’s group this week with 51 points. The only game he missed was Louisville beating Florida State. That vaulted him back into first place. SDShelton had the second highest total last week to move him into second place, six points behind pitt. Last week’s leader suffered from a 40 point week and dropped all the way to third, seven points out of first place.

These picks will be for the confidence version of the game, where you assign a point value from 1-10 based on how confident you are in each pick.

If you would like to join the writers of Fantasy CPR and other fans just like yourself, here is our group. See if you can beat other football fans like yourself!

I will keep track of the league standings every week on this page when I make my picks for the next week. So, come join us and see if you have what it takes to win a competitive group!

FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 21: (L-R) Nick Cominos #72 of the TCU Horned Frogs celebrtes with Kenny Hill #7 of the TCU Horned Frogs after the TCU Horned Frogs beat the Kansas Jayhawks 43-0 at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

(1) Northwestern over Michigan State:

Am I the only one nervous about Michigan State? The offense has been better when they can run, but Northwestern’s run defense is pretty good. Northwestern can throw a little if they have to (which they will) and is at home. Those are two clear advantages that might be enough to swing this in the way of the Wildcats. The Spartans are far from invincible.

(2) Arizona State over USC:

I don’t know that the Sun Devils have the offense to pull this off, but they certainly have the defense to. They have given up just 17 points combined to two ranked teams in the last two games. One of those was a top five team! The Trojans still have issues moving the ball, and Sam Darnold still makes quite a few mistakes. This is another one where I’m going with a hot home team with less talent at home.

(3) Western Kentucky over Florida Atlantic:

I don’t really trust this one. The Hilltoppers’ offense is a shadow of what it was last season. Florida Atlantic has steadily improved under Lane Kiffin, but he doesn’t have a ton of talent there. I see this game maybe being closer than it should be, but the Hilltoppers can’t really lose it, can they?

(4) Notre Dame over North Carolina State:

The Wolfpack are what I call a soft 14. It’s easy to poke holes in that schedule. The Irish are battle tested, and just wiped the field with the trendy pick to win the Pac 12 this year. Of course we know that USC isn’t that team this year, but that was still a dominant performance by the Irish. I think they stumble somewhere, but it wont be against the Wolfpack at home.

(5) TCU over Iowa State:

Does anyone want to play the Cyclones right now? Especially at home? This is going to be a crazy atmosphere in Ames considering the Cyclones are ranked for the first time in 12 years. They have pulled off cataclysmic upsets at home before. However, it is usually in night games. TCU is not bulletproof, but they are the most technically sound team in the conference. Can Iowa State beat a team that doesn’t beat themselves? I have my doubts.

BLACKSBURG, VA – SEPTEMBER 30: Quarterback Kelly Bryant #2 of the Clemson Tigers carries the ball during the first quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Lane Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images) /

(6) Penn State over Ohio State:

Yes, I know Ohio State is coming off of a bye. Some may say that they have had byes for the last five weeks. The fact remains that they lost to an Oklahoma team at home that can’t stop anyone from passing. What this shows is a one-dimensional offense. The Buckeyes haven’t played a team with a good run defense yet. Until this week. Penn State is one of the more rounded teams in the country and plays really good defense. They are also tested and focused. I wouldn’t worry about a letdown here. Michigan was important, but it was never the most circled date on the calendar. Next week could be a different story.

(7) South Florida over Houston:

If the AAC truly wants to be considered a sixth power conference, they need the two Florida schools to be undefeated when they face off in late November. Not only that, but they need a game that is a back and forth battle in that one that keeps football fans that may not otherwise care about either team interested. First, the Bulls have to get out of their own way and take care of Houston. USF has had a hard time putting teams away this year. They can’t do that against Houston and survive.

(8) Oklahoma State over West Virginia:

Texas’s defense locked down on the high flying Oklahoma State offense. West Virginia’s defense is pretty good, but it is not on the level of Texas. The Cowboys are looking to prove that they aren’t a fluke. A strong showing in Morgantown could go a long ways towards that.

(9) Clemson over Georgia Tech:

Kelly Bryant has been given the go-ahead to play in this game, which is a huge boost for the Tigers. Clemson has the defense to stop the Georgia Tech offense. The same is not true for Georgia Tech. They may keep this game close in Atlanta, but I expect Clemson to show up ready for this one.

(10) Georgia over Florida:

Yes, I am fully aware of the history of this series. That is part of the reason I have this so high. The talent level between Georgia and Florida hasn’t been this heavily tilted in Georgia’s favorite in over 30 years. Not only does Georgia need a win, they need to embarrass the Gators. The Bulldogs also have the firepower on offense to do it, and the defense to keep that underachieving offense in check. This gets ugly because it needs to.

Next: College Football Picks Results The Spread Week 7

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