RADIO
This is our last week of ESPN College Pick em this year. We've had a fun group this year! It's still anyone's to win with only 18 points between first and eighth place in the group. The final tallies will be in the Capital One Bowl Mania article coming out the week before the bowls start. I mistakenly thought last week was the last week of Pick Em, but ESPN extended the fun by putting all ten Conference Championship games on here. That means the deadline is on Friday instead of Saturday this week, so plan accordingly!
CTX Surge led the way in the group last week with 46 points. keeepingthelittlehumansalive finished second this week with 44 points. Squid and Judith 6074 picked up 43 points. You know me, I went high on Oklahoma and got myself in a bit of a pickle heading into the final week.
Judith6074 hangs onto the lead with 498 points. BKNoleGirl is within four points of first place going into the final week. 2pretty4orange! rounds out the top three with 492 points. lbockenek sits in fourth with 489 points. Kev Shep rounds out the top five, five points back. There's a logjam at sixth with a tie between keepingthelittlehumansalive, left handed freshman, and myself with 480 points. Bamarick is in ninth, ten points back. Another strong week by Squid has them in tenth.
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College Football Pick Em Overview
This article will follow be for the confidence game mode. You can also read my against the spread picks here every week for every game so you know how I'm leaning for that version of the game. Each week, I will recap who's dominating the group before I get into the picks. If you're going to beat everyone, all of the readers will know about it!
Let's get to the countdown! I will count them up from least confident (1) to most (10). You know, for dramatic effect. If I do change my pick or points at sometime during the week, I will try to update the article or post it on Twitter. Otherwise, you know all of my picks each week. Good luck out there. It's going to be a fun championship week with bragging rights on the line!
ESPN College Football Pick Em Picks Week 14:
(1) Northern Illinois over Kent State
This was a wild one in the first meeting with the teams combining for 99 points. Kent scored 31 in the second quarter alone and was able to hand on for a win. If Rocky Lombardi is out, I'm flipping to Kent and moving it up the chain a little. The Huskies were lost without their quarterback last week against Western Michigan, but they had already clinched a berth in this game. I'm guessing Lombardi plays and the Huskies secure a better bowl in the rematch.
(2) Louisiana over Appalachian State
Louisiana smacked Appalachian State in the first Tuesday night game of the year back on October 12. That's when we knew that the Cajuns were good. When you win by four touchdowns against the heavyweight of the conference since its inception, you turn some heads. I think the Mountaineers keep it closer this time around, and I almost think they win this. I'm keeping the bet low, but this looks like a game where Louisiana could have some trouble. Then again, their only loss was to Texas in the opener. Louisiana has been surviving trouble all season.
(3) Pittsburgh over Wake Forest
I like Sam Hartman and those Wake receivers are good, but I trust the Pitt defense a lot more than Wake and I trust Kenny Pickett to not make mistakes. Jordan Addison is going to be a nightmare for Wake in this one. I expect a delightfully high-scoring game, but Pitt will make some stops. I doubt Wake does.
(4) UTSA over Western Kentucky
These two teams played a very entertaining and high scoring game earlier this season in Bowling Green where UTSA escaped with a win. Now Bailey Zappe comes home to Texas to try and give the Roadrunners a conference title. I'm looking forward to this game most, with the MAC and SEC Championship games a close second. This is what UTSA had in mind when they landed Frank Harris. I think he comes through here.
(5) Oklahoma State over Baylor
I may move this one up a little of Gerry Bohanon is ruled out. I have it here thinking that he will play but be limited. Trestan Ebner has a much better role in the offense now than he did in the first meeting and I think Baylor will be fine if they have to use Blake Shapen again. I just think the Oklahoma State defense is playing very well right now and Jaylen Warren was able to run over the Bears the first time around. I expect another close game, but the Pokes are going to travel to Dallas the same way Baylor will. This isn't a rematch of the Red River Rivalry, but it could be just as entertaining.
(6) Cincinnati over Houston
This is the one that I'm not quite sure what to do with. If Cincinnati plays like the have the last two weeks, Houston is toast. If they start slowly like the did the first two months of the season, Houston is good enough to knock them out of their playoff perches. With all of the talk surrounding Luke Fickell and the Notre Dame job, it might be a distraction for the Bearcats. That's enough of a reason to move this down. If this veteran team doesn't let it get to them though, Cincinnati is capable of rolling again.
(7) Georgia over Alabama
Nick Saban has only been more than a touchdown dog at Bama five times in 14 years with the Tide. Alabama won four of those outright. Their only loss was to Florida in 2009. That being said. Georgia's defense is the best I've seen in the last decade. The offense is going to have trouble against the Tide, but I see Georgia taking care of business. If they don't Cincinnati's in trouble.
(8) San Diego State over Utah State
Utah State's improvement is a great story, especially this defense and the state of the team after Jaylen Warren quit on them last year. Still, this is a tough San Diego State team. Their defense is strong an disciplined and the Aztecs will run at you with four capable backs and a couple of quarterbacks for good measure. Gary Andersen has done a great job, but the Aggies aren't quite at SDSU's level yet.
(9) Michigan over Iowa
How Harbaugh-esque would it be for Michigan to own Ohio State then lose to Iowa? That's what we would expect from a Michigan team over the last six years or so. I don't think it happens here. Not just because Iowa backdoored their way into the game, but because Iowa just isn't strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with Michigan at any position. It sure seems like Michigan is playoff-bound.
(10) Utah over Oregon
Are the Ducks four touchdowns better than they were two weeks ago? We'll give them one for being on a neutral site and not in Salt Lake City. We'll give them another for the big win in the Civil War. That still leaves them losing by two touchdowns.
