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Mike's ESPN College Football Pick'ems for Week 13 of 2025. His college football picks with confidence points -- expert upsets, targets, avoids, and predictions.
We are down to the last three weeks of the contest. It was once again a tough week for the group. There are 16 entries within 20 points of first place, so it's still tight in the race for prizes.
96addison led the group this week with 44 points. dbacchusdds was second with 41 points. PAPI PEREZ and Cliff316 were the only other entries to break 40. Ilene leads the group with 448 points. Bullgator is just one point back. Cliff316 used his big week to move into third place with 445 points.
All 30 entries on the first page of the standings are within 40 points of first place. It has been a very competitive group this year, which should make for an exciting finish!
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College Football Pick'em Overview
This article will be about the confidence game mode. You can also read my against-the-spread picks on RotoBaller every week for every game, so you know how I'm leaning toward 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 sometime during the week, I will try to update the article or post it on X. Otherwise, you know all of my picks each week.
Good luck out there, RotoBallers!
(1) TCU over Houston
The public is very heavy on Houston (88%), presumably because they are ranked in the CFP rankings. They shouldn't be. Houston lost to West Virginia in their last home game. Vegas has Houston as a slight favorite (-1.5), but FPI has TCU as a 53.2% road favorite. I'll gamble my 1-point pick on an upset.
(2) Pittsburgh over Georgia Tech
Pitts last 5 games @ Georgia Tech ⬇️:
2021: Pitt 52-GT 21✅
2020: Pitt 34-GT 20✅
2019: Pitt 20-GT 10✅
2017: Pitt 17-GT 35❌
2015: Pitt 37-GT 34✅The Panthers are looking to win a 4th straight @ Bobby Dodd Stadium (Acrisure South) infront of a MAJORITY Pitt Crowd🔥 #H2P pic.twitter.com/geBshcWjn8
— Fifth Quarter Pitt (@FQPitt) November 19, 2025
I'm convinced that a great many ESPN Pick 'Em players haven't watched a down of Georgia Tech football this season. Tech needed a furious comeback to beat a 1-9 Boston College team last week. That chart above also doesn't bode well for the Bees.
I don't care that it was on the road. SMU blew out Boston College in the same venue one week before. Pitt looked terrible against Notre Dame, but the Georgia Tech defense won't be able to create the pressure on Mason Heintschel that the Irish did.
Tech has been living dangerously all season, and it's a miracle (and poor officiating) that they have only lost one game. The best-case scenario for the ACC is for Miami to miss out on the ACC Championship game and get in the CFP as an at-large. A Tech loss would give that a good chance at happening.
(3) UTSA over East Carolina
Vegas knows what's up. The money line on UTSA is +105. FPI has ECU favored at 62.8%, but FPI doesn't factor in trends. UTSA has won 24 consecutive conference home games under Jeff Traylor.
Ask Tulane about that voodoo. Tulane is the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, but got manhandled in the Alamodome by a team that is currently 5-5 and won its first conference road game in over two years.
ECU is a good team, but it's not an accident at this point. UTSA gets fired up for home games.
(4) SMU over Louisville
There are rumors from some Louisville outlets that say Isaac Brown has an ACL injury. If that's true, he's likely done for the season. Brown is a great talent, but the running game hasn't been the issue for Louisville. Keyjuan Brown and Duke Watson have filled in well, though they aren't as explosive as Brown.
The issue with Louisville of late is the defense. Cal torched the secondary. The defense did a solid job against Clemson, but the special teams failed. I don't know that the absence of Issac Brown has affected either game. How will Louisville lose this week? It's become a game at this point.
For what it's worth, SMU is a heavy favorite according to FPI (67.9%) and is a 2.5-point favorite in the desert.
(5) Kennesaw State over Missouri State
If this game were in Springfield, I would be all over the Bears. They haven't been terrible on the road, but Kennesaw is 5-0 at home with an average margin of victory of 12.5 points. That's too much for Missouri State to overcome.
(6) Oregon over USC
A lot of teams are hoping for an Oregon win. Believe me, if I could move this down, I would. Oregon has only beaten two teams with a winning record (6-4 Minnesota and 6-4 Iowa). Montana State is 9-2 and ranked in FCS, but does that count?
USC's schedule isn't much better. They lost to Notre Dame and Illinois and escaped Iowa. The Michigan win looks good. Oregon doesn't even have that. Here we are in mid-November and still know very little about both of these teams.
USC has only beaten Oregon twice since 2010. The Ducks have owned the series lately. I don't know why that would change with the game in Eugene.
(7) Southern Mississippi over South Alabama
Braylon Braxton is still listed as questionable on the injury report, but he has been present at practice. Coach Charles Huff said that he feels better about Braxton playing.
Landry Lyddy wasn't bad last week, but he wasn't great either. Be ready to move this game on Saturday if Braxton can't go. If he's out, this is going near the bottom of the list, and I may flip to South Alabama.
(8) BYU over Cincinnati
This is the sixth straight bowl-eligible team for BYU. Do you realize how hard that is in the age of super-mega-big-ass conferences? Look at the Big Ten schedules and you'll see how difficult this really is.
Bear Bachmeier has handled himself well on the road, but this will be his first look at a 3-3-5 defense. That may confuse him for a while, but Cincinnati's defense has had issues this year.
The BYU offense isn't flashy, but it is successful. I feel like the Cougars pull away late. The bad news is that they need style points and may not get them.
(9) Jacksonville State over Florida International
ESPN hasn't just put the biggest names in Pick' Em this year. They have chosen a few "name" games but have concentrated more on getting matchups that Vegas and predictive metrics expect to be close. That's why we're seeing lower scores this season.
The Gamecocks have everything in front of them right now. It likely won't result in a CFP invite thanks to the strength of the American and James Madison's march to the Sun Belt title.
Vegas actually has this game as more of a toss-up, but I've watched enough of the Gamecocks to realize this is a very winnable game for them. The strength of FIU is the run game, but the Gamecocks are only allowing 145.4 rushing yards per game on 36 attempts.
(10) Tennessee over Florida
Florida's availability report vs. Tennessee has 20% of UF's scholarship players listed on it. pic.twitter.com/Y4rzKSv59g
— Graham Hall (@GrahamHall) November 20, 2025
The state of Florida football is not a good one right now, and the withdrawal of Tulane coach Jon Sumrall's name from the coaching search confirms that Lane Kiffin is coming (if you're a Florida fan) or that no one wants the current toxicity of the program (if you're normal).
Tennessee is only jockeying for a bowl position right now, but the Vols have only beaten Florida three times in the last 21 years. All of those have come since 2016. The team and the fans want this win, and that should make all the difference.
