How to Pick Winners in ESPN College Football Pick 'em

ESPN College Football Pick'em is a popular online game played throughout the college football season on the ESPN website. About 300,000 entries are submitted every season. There is only one prize for the top scorer at the end of the season. This is usually a television. The incentive for nearly all the players is fun and bragging rights over their friends when they score higher. Picking winners in ESPN College Football Pick'em is not an exact science, but there are ways to make better educated guesses.

Instructions

  1. How to Pick Winners in ESPN College Football Pick 'em

    • 1

      Understand how ESPN College Football Pick'em is played. Every week you are given 10 college football matchups. You must pick the winner of each game and rank each game from 1 to 10. For every game you pick correctly you are awarded the number of points you assigned to the game when you ranked it. A bad pick on the game you assigned 10 points will hurt you just as much as picking wrong on four games ranked 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is therefore more important to rank your picks intelligently than it is to pick winners of every game.

    • 2

      Pick your winners. Decide which team you think will win each game. Some weeks are tougher than others. Some matchups will be obvious blowouts, while others are toss ups. Still others will be teams you know nothing about. If you are unsure about a pick, click the links on the team names. All the historical and statistical information on the team will appear. Consider common opponents and the expert analysis when making your picks.

    • 3

      Rank the obvious picks first. Assign your obvious blowouts the most points. Your surest pick gets 10 points, the next surest nine and so on. Games that you expect to be close should get the least points. If you are predicting an upset you should assign the game points on the low side. If you are right you will already be ahead since most other players will assign the favorite higher points that they will not get. If you are wrong you are hurting yourself a lot by assigning the game high points. Assigning low points to a game you think will be an upset will minimize loses if you are wrong.

    • 4

      Get guidance on matchups you are unsure about by looking at "Who Picked Whom." There is a link toward the top of the ESPN College Pick'em page. It shows what percent of players picked each team and the average number of point they assigned. You can choose to go with the majority for a safe pick. If the team wins you all win. You can also choose to go against the majority. If you are right you will earn more points than the majority, however, if you are wrong you will fall behind.

    • 5

      Check out the odds. Professional gamblers use odds to determine favorites and underdogs. While ESPN College Pick'em is not gambling, you can use the gambling odds to help you make your decisions. Certain publications provide college football odds on their sports page. The odds show pointspreads. The greater the pointspread the more confident gamblers are that the team will win.

    • 6

      Consider other factors for close matchups. If you have examined all the available information and still aren't sure who to pick, take a look at intangibles. Favor teams that are playing at home or are on a winning streak. A team with a strong passing game may not do well if rain is expected on game day. Teams that "must win" to keep their bowl hopes alive or want to punish a bitter rival often do much better than expected.