RADIO
Our Mike Marteny lays out the confidence points in ESPN College Pick Em for the week.
There are some big prizes on the line in the revamped ESPN College Pick Em game this season. $13,200 across their three entry modes. So we here at Rotoballer will try and help you win some money, because that's what we do. I have created a group for you Rotoballer readers out there. Once based on the confidence game mode, where you pick the winner of each of the ten games they pick and then assign a point value from 1-10 based on how confident you are on each pick. You can play along with me and other Rotoballer readers here. The other group has ten games that you have to pick the winner of against the spread. You can play along with that group here. They are free to enter, so come on and match wits with the rest of the readers of Rotoballer!
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, and I hope one or more of us take home some of that free money from ESPN!
(1) Indiana over Iowa:
Spencer Petras is painfully average, but Iowa does return most of their rushing attack with Tyler Goodson and Ivory Kelly-Martin. Indiana lost an explosive playmaker in Stevie Scott, but QB Michael Penix returns as does leading receiver Ty Fryfogle. Indiana's only loss before the bowl last year was by a touchdown at Ohio State. Indiana lost Scott and Whop Philyor, but they gained USC RB Stephen Carr and Florida State WR D.J. Matthews. This is still a loaded team when healthy. Loaded enough to outlast Iowa.
(2) UCLA over LSU:
UCLA's opening win over Hawaii last week was their first non-conference win since September 9 of 2017 when they beat.....Hawaii. It was an impressive win for the Bruins, in particular for the defense and for Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet. It was a pedestrian game for Dorian Thompson-Robinson. That can't happen if they want to beat LSU. LSU had three quarterbacks attempt more than 130 passes last year, got dismantled by Mike Leach in his SEC debut, couldn't find a consistent running back (and Chris Curry transferred to Utah), lost Terrace Marshall to the NFL, lost Arik Gilbert to Georgia, and were displaced to Houston by Hurricane Ida. Yet they're somehow supposed to be that much better than last year? I'll believe it when I see it. This game is in California and the Bruins look better than they have in five years.
(3) Texas Tech over Houston:
Last year's starter for Texas Tech, Alan Bowman transferred to Michigan, but Oregon's Tyler Shough transferred to Lubbock and won the job. SaRodorick Thompson is a great back. Though KeSean Carter transferred to Houston, Erik Ezunkanma and Nevada transfer McLane Mannix are still very capable receivers. Houston's best offensive players besides QB Clayton Tune are Texas Tech transfers Ta'Zhawn Henry and Carter. That alone makes this a very intriguing game to watch. I think this is going to be close and and I'm not convinced Tech will win. They should, but that means just about nothing, hence the lower wager.
(4) Wisconsin over Penn State:
I don't really trust either team and I could just as easily flip to Penn State because of the experience factor. Graham Mertz was solid last year and Jalen Berger looks like he might be able to be the next in a long line of really good Wisconsin backs. He wont have to fight Garrett Groshek for carries this year. Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington are both underrated receivers, but Sean Clifford was benched once last year. I have no faith in his ability to consistently get them the ball. I see both teams relying heavily on the run, where Wisconsin has a huge advantage.
(5) Georgia over Clemson:
It's not that I don't believe in Clemson, but when you lose guys like Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and Amari Rodgers to the NFL, it's going to hurt. D.J. Uiagaleiei looked capable last year and I've long been a fan of Lyn-J Dixon, so it's not like this team is short on firepower. However, a huge matchup this early in the season will favor the experience of JT Daniels. Georgia returns both top running backs and added Arik Gilbert to an already loaded receiving corps. I'm going with the experience of the Bulldogs here. If this game were later in the season, I would take Clemson.
(6) Texas over Louisiana:
Hudson Card won the starting QB job, which means Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson should be very busy in this game. Look, I like Levi Lewis and Trey Ragas, but losing Elijah Mitchell to the NFL is a massive blow for the Cajuns. They upset Iowa State in the opener last year, but I don't see that happening again. That was due to special teams disasters on the part of the Cyclones. Texas is strong on special teams and the run game should be dominant enough to let Hudson Card complete a bunch of short passes to get in a groove.
(7) West Virginia over Maryland:
If the Maryland defense didn't strongly resemble Three Mile Island, I might pick them in this game. The West Virginia offense was a discombobulated mess for much of last season. The good news is that the defense is still strong and Leddie Brown has the potential to be a really good back. Taulia Tagovailoa can't do it on his own for the Terps and he still has no help outside of Dontay Demus on this offense. This could be an ugly game, but that's how West Virginia likes it.
(8) Alabama over Miami(FL):
The return of D'Eriq King and the addition of Charleston Rambo to an already strong receiving corps will help the Hurricanes keep this game close, at least for a while. Alabama doesn't rebuild, they reload. Bryce Young will be fine. Jameson Williams joins an already strong receiver corps anchored by Slade Bolden and John Metchie. I'm not too comfortable betting Alabama to cover, but I think they still win by double digits.
(9) BYU over Arizona:
Zach Wilson is gone, but there is still a lot of firepower on this BYU offense. Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa both return from a strong run game. Puka Nacua transferred in from Washington. Samson Nacua came in from Utah. They join Romney to Romney in the passing game and a strong defense. Arizona is starting a true freshman at QB, and why not? It is literally impossible for them to be worse than last year. They lost to in-state rival Herm Edwards and Arizona State by 63 points......
(10) Oklahoma over Tulane:
No, this isn't just my fandom taking over. At least not all of it. Kennedy Brooks returns and Eric Gray transferred in from Tennessee to jump-start the run game. The passing game is fine and the defense is better than it has been in almost a decade. Tulane having to move this game to Norman because of Hurricane Ida has caused a jump in the spread, but we don't care about that here. This is just for the outright win, and Oklahoma is the most likely to come through for us this week.
