ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 8 2018: Penn State will dominate

It was another rough week in ESPN College Pick Em in the Fantasy CPR reader’s group. I wasn’t as bad as last week, but the group still only had three entries that broke 30 points, and one one mdaallen’s upset picks entry. No one in our top ten broke 30, and only two broke 25. My 21 was bad, but I still managed to hang on to the tenth slot. That’s how bad we all were collectively again.

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uscbill65 led the league with 38 points this week. That vaulted him into 16th place overall.

Jay_da_gr8_1 managed to keep the group lead despite 21 points this week. His 263 points top our ranks, but Brian Prete’s top 10 leading 26 points got him within eight of the lead. BKNoleGirl is in third with 249 points. Ernie and Protege21242 are tied for fourth, two points behind that. mdaallen holds tight in sixth one point behind those two. Kev Shep, earleyca, and Protege21242’s second entry are all tied for seventh with 243 points. I am one point back in tenth. My hold is tentative with keepingthelittlehumansalive and Brandon8736 just one point behind me and Irish Dawgs & Ducks and mnsooners just one behind them.

Again, there were no clean sweeps, but 25 out of 26 of us took Penn State in the loss. Only mdaallen’s upset entry picked Michigan State. Only keepingthehumansalive picked Virginia aside from mdaallen’s upsets. Only pitt2534 and inrareform pick Iowa State aside from mdaallen. The best picks for a winner were 24 of us picking UCF, but only four had it as the ten point pick.

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.

Can the group collectively rebound from an awful week 6…..and 7?

ESPN colege pick em — CLEMSON, SC – SEPTEMBER 7: A general view of Howards Rock in Memorial Stadium prior to the game between the Clemson Tigers and South Carolina State Bulldogs on September 7, 2013 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images)

(1) Washington State over Oregon:

I kind of think the Ducks are going to have Washington hangover. This game is in Pullman in prime time. You know, where the Leaches have been trying to get back to since the days of Ryan Leaf. Expect a high scoring game, but when it comes down to it, I think the Cougars have the better defense. Can Oregon push through the hangover? I have my doubts.

(2) North Texas over UAB:

UAB is a pretty good team with a pretty good defense. I still think that North Texas QB Mason Fine is the best player on the field. We aren’t picking spreads here. The North Texas offense got back on track last week. I think that carries over and the Mean Green take a close one.

(3) Cincinnati over Temple:

Temple is a dangerous team. The sheer number of people going after Cincinnati already almost makes me want to punt this and pick Temple just to gain on the field. That said, this Cincinnati defense is nasty. If Temple gets to use Anthony Russo and Ryquell Armstead in this one, there is a good chance they can win this game. Despite Cincy’s ranking, I’m a little worried here.

(4) Clemson over North Carolina State:

If this game weren’t at Clemson, I might take NC State to win. The Wolfpack always give Clemson problems for whatever reason. Ryan Finley is still there, but Nyheim Hines is playing on Sunday’s and the Wolfpack miss him. I think Clemson stumbles somewhere, but probably not at home against a one dimensional North Carolina State team.

(5) Washington over Colorado:

I’m through making excuses for this Washington offense. Whenever you have an offense that plays this poorly, there is always a chance they could lose the game. No matter what the defense looks like. Laviska Shenault is going to have some issues with this secondary, and I kind of doubt Montez can sling it to win it. Still, the offensive ineptitude of the Huskies is concerning.

(6) Utah over USC:

It’s kind of the same thing with Utah, but just when their offense looks like nothing special, they play Arizona and look like the 2017 Sooners. USC is improving by the game, but this Utah defense is very good and can force them into mistakes. USC is good enough to hold Utah under 30, but they may not hit 20 against this D.

(7) LSU over Mississippi State:

Stopping a stumbling Auburn offense is one thing. Stopping an LSU offense that is getting more balanced by the game is another. I may move this down later in the week because hangover is a real thing. LSU is coming off their biggest win in five years, so there could be some letdown here. Still, they aren’t losing to the Bulldogs at home. AT NIGHT.

(8) Oklahoma over TCU:

Oklahoma is going to lose again with that defense, but it wont be to a team that can’t move the ball. TCU can’t run and can barely throw, which is pretty unfair considering they may have the best athletes in the conference. This game may be closer than the experts think in Ft Worth, but TCU isn’t pulling this out.

(9) Michigan over Michigan State:

I know this is a rivalry, and I know it’s on the road. However, Michigan State’s offense is like Wisconsin’s without an elite running back. They aren’t finding the end zone unless Michigan turns it over inside the ten, and even then it’s not a given. Michigan’s offense wont score at will like they did on Wisconsin. This could be a 16-3 game, but Michigan is still going to dominate.

(10) Penn State over Indiana:

I’m going big on Penn State again, and it’s all because Iowa QB Nate Stanley threw for six touchdowns against them last week. McSorley is at least that good, and Iowa doesn’t have a receiver nearly as good as K.J. Hamler. Expect a huge week for that duo, and that’s not even taking into account what Miles Sanders can do to the Hoosier “defense.”

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