ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 1 2018: Ohio State or Bama?
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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. I will publish mine here each week. If I make a change, I will just amend the original article.
(1) Washington over Auburn:
This one really is a toss up. Vegas thinks so too. This game is all over the place, but the consensus is that Auburn is going to win. I’m going against the grain in hopes of picking up a free point. This is going to be a game that likely lives up to the hype. Is Washington finally for real? We find out here. That defense is going to have their hands full with this high powered Auburn offense.
(2) Michigan over Notre Dame:
I think I was on this kick last year as well, but I don’t really see what’s all that special about Notre Dame. They are a strong and solid team, but nowhere so I really see anything elite. Shea Patterson could be that for Michigan. I said it as many times as anyone would read it last year that Michigan would be dangerous if they got a quarterback. Guess what? They did.
(3) Mississippi over Texas Tech:
This is another close one. I give Ole Miss the edge because of a better defense and an offense that has played together for longer. However, if the Rebels sleep on the defensive side of the ball, they will lose this game. One thing that we do know about Texas Tech is that the names don’t much matter. They all know how to run this system and run it well.
(4) Cal over North Carolina:
Quietly, Cal has put together some pretty good skill players on offense. Not that North Carolina is bad, I just don’t know if they know what they are walking into. Ross Bowers is a really good quarterback, and he almost didn’t win the job. That’s how loaded Cal is right now.
(5) Texas over Maryland:
Tyrrell Pigrome wont be able to do what he did to Texas last year, and it has nothing to do with his knee. This Texas defense improved a lot over the course of the season. Now with a whole offseason to soak it up, this defense should be really good. We know that Texas gets the talent. They are in the top 20 of recruiting classes every year. If they ever put it together, look out!
(6) West Virginia over Tennessee:
There is a whole lot of talent returning to Morgantown along with Will Grier. Tennessee isn’t there yet. This team was a wreck for much of last year. I see them as on the way back, but it’s a long way to go from where they were. Tennessee could make significant strides this year, but it wont be in the first game. This West Virginia offense could be one of the best in the conference with Mayfield and Rudolph gone.
(7) Arizona over BYU:
Khalil Tate could win this game by himself. The bad news is that he may have to. That will fly before conference play. I just don’t see anyone for BYU that can contain the Arizona athletes. Arizona will have some work to do before the conference season, but this team just isn’t good enough to beat them. Arizona wins even if they are a bit sloppy.
(8) Oklahoma over Florida Atlantic:
I am interested to see how Kyler Murray handles this offense, and I want to see some improvement on the defense. Is that too much to ask? FAU may put up a fight for much of the game. Lane Kiffin is a decent enough coach and I don’t think the Owls come out flat. I do want to see some hunger from Oklahoma though. Is Murray committed long term since he knows this is his last year playing football? Is he too concerned about his paying career that he is afraid to get hurt? If so, this could be a long season, but it wont start here.
(9) Ohio State over Oregon State:
Ohio State could suit up the parents and the waterboys and still win this game. That’s how bad the Beavers are. They are one of the few Power Five teams that sniff the bottom ten.
(10) Alabama over Louisville:
The Alabama QB situation makes for compelling TV, but this game is going to be about as boring as Bama’s rout of Florida State was in the season opener last year. ESPN can hype this all they want, but we all know that Lamar Jackson had an awful supporting cast. We get to see just how awful here. It’s going to get messy.
ESPN College Pick Em Week 1 2018
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