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Our Mike Marteny lays out the confidence points in ESPN College Pick Em for week 7 of the 2022 NCAA college football season.
The ESPN College Pick Em game goes into Week 7 this weekend! There will be ten games to pick every Saturday. Each week you assign a confidence total for each game from 1-10 points. If you win, you get that many points. Simple, right? Now that you've got the hang of it, this year we are going to offer a little prize. The winner of the group this season will win FREE access to RotoBaller's college football DFS premium tools for the 2023 season. We have a pretty good turnout of 33 entries. You have a one-in-33 chance of winning, so set your lineups every week!
The group had a good week this week, led by fwwups88 with 51 points. Bamarick finished with 50. I tied with Kev Shep for third this week while five more entries had 45 or more points. We now have a tie for first between HumbleBee and jphowell09 with 250 points. ryan_peoples2 is only two points back. lbockenek is out of the top three by just one point. Fred Smoot Boat Rentals slips into fifth place with 243 points. It is tightening up at the top!
ertlt is three points out of the top five. San Diego's Finest sits in seventh with 235 points. Kev Shep is two points behind that. RickH219 sits in ninth with 231 points. I moved back into the top ten with 228 points. The gap between first and tenth is now just 22 points, after being firmly in the 30's last week. The top 20 is separated from first place by just 40 points!
College Football Pick Em Overview
This article will 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 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. This looks like a tough week. There are some close ones on there, but that's what makes this fun!
(1) Oklahoma over Kansas
Kansas really doesn't like us. Ever since the Baker Mayfield incident with the Kansas sideline in 2017, Kansas fans have been salty. I don't blame them, but neither side was very sportsmanlike in that game. The Jayhawks haven't beaten Oklahoma since 1997 (1996 in Norman), but as you can tell by the ranking, I'm afraid that it may happen here. Jason Bean threw all over TCU in that second half, so the loss of Jalon Daniels doesn't change my opinion much. It does take away from the Kansas run game, so that would be the one spot Oklahoma could get them. I think they do, but that's because I'm a fan. What would you have me do?
(2) Michigan over Penn State
If this game were in Happy Valley, I would go Penn State. It feels that close. The Michigan offense has run the ball effectively, but they haven't played a defense like this either. They wore down Indiana. I'm not sure they'll be able to do that with Penn State. Sean Clifford still isn't making the back-breaking mistakes, so I wouldn't be shocked if Penn State won this outright.
(3) Tennessee over Alabama
I will be floored if Bryce Young doesn't play in this one. Bama didn't really think they needed him at home against A&M, and let's face it – they're not going to risk the long-term health of Young, nor should they. I feel like the Tennessee offense is going to be a problem for Alabama, especially up on Rocky Top. If Tennessee does win this though, the Vol Navy is going to be partying on the river all the way down to Chattanooga...
(4) Minnesota over Illinois
Tommy DeVito or not, I still don't see Illinois winning this. It's going to be a tough game, but Mohamed Ibrahim is back for the Gophers and Tanner Morgan proved in his absence that he is no longer just a game manager. He can make the tough throws when he needs to. Illinois is going to get after the Gophers, but I think they pull it out.
(5) Mississippi State over Kentucky
Kentucky's offense was a disaster without Will Levis, and considering he was in a walking boot on the sideline against South Carolina, I have a hard time believing he'll be able to play in this one. Even if he does, he likely won't be the same quarterback that we're used to. This is as close to a gimme as we get this week. UPDATE: Will Levis is now listed as probable. I'm still taking the Bulldogs but moving this out of the top spot to here.
(6) Syracuse over North Carolina State
I have my questions about Syracuse against this defense, but if Devin Leary can't go – and considering he came out of the locker room wearing a sling on Saturday, I would guess he can't – this is an impossible task in the Loud House for the Wolfpack. I might end up moving this one up even more. If Leary plays, I will leave it here, but I'm still going Syracuse. Leary won't be 100% even if he is out there.
(7) Clemson over Florida State
Clemson's weakness on defense is the secondary, but as they showed against North Carolina State, it's not the whole secondary. Does Florida State have two receivers that will be enough of a problem? I don't really think they do. The Clemson front seven will be able to shut down this run game, and as much as I like Jordan Travis, he won't be able to do this by himself. FSU's first win over Clemson since 2014 will have to wait a bit longer. Their best chance was last year.
(8) Oklahoma State over TCU
The team speed for TCU is going to be an issue, but Oklahoma State is going to score a lot of points as well. Spencer Sanders still keeps improving with every game and the Oklahoma State line is good enough to make up for most of the shortcomings of the rest of their defense. TCU is going to get them a few times, but not enough for them to win this.
(9) Washington State over Oregon State
This might be more of a defensive battle than we expect. The Beavers haven't beaten Wazzu since 2013 (2012 in Corvallis), but this is always a close game. That should tell you something about the games on the slate this week. I don't feel like any of them are gimmes. I want to move this down, but who do I move up? Maybe Syracuse if Leary is out, but the Wolfpack still did enough to pull out a win without him in the second half on Saturday. I like the Washington State receivers and Cam Ward enough to stick with the Cougars.
(10) USC over Utah
I expect a close game, but then again, I don't. Utah is as enigmatic as any ranked team. I don't think they have the receivers to really hurt USC the way other teams have. I'm curious to see how USC does against this defense and considering the way they played in Corvallis, I might end up moving this down a couple of notches. I just don't see the Utah offense doing enough to spring the upset.
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