B/R College Football 2023 Betting Locks with Adam Kramer: Week 3

The Week 3 slate of college football games, if we're keeping things honest, isn't exactly oozing with interesting matchups. The good news about that, of course, is any game can be interesting with a point spread attached.

Locks of the Week was built for weekends like this. Before conference play really heats up, we plan to maximize a bizarre board of CFB offerings.

That is not what happened last week. Injuries, bad beats...and more bad bets were everywhere, and our overall record for the season is now 10-12. One rough week does not derail a season, and it won't stop us. We're just getting warmed up.

Before we get into this week's picks, let's talk through the good and bad from the week that was.

The Good: Purdue (+3) vs. Virginia Tech: Oh, we earned this one. With weather delays, the game took roughly 400 hours to finish. In the end, however, we were able to hang onto a cover and an outright win.

The Bad: A Lot, but Let's Stick with Texas Tech (+6.5) vs. Oregon: A bad week turned worse when Tyler Shough threw a pick-six with less than a minute remaining to push the deficit to eight. That one hurt. A lot.

With that, here are the picks.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

This is not the first time we've bet on Ohio this year. In Week 0, we bet the Bobcats against San Diego State, and they lost by a touchdown. Starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke left that game with an injury, and that didn't help matters.

Rourke returned to action on Saturday in the team's win (and cover) against FAU this past weekend. In a game that shouldn't feature a ton of scoring, he feels like an X-factor.

For Iowa State, it's likely to be a struggle once again. The Cyclones struggled mightily against Iowa, and they'll now hit the road to take on a sneaky-good team at an early start time.

The ingredients are all in place for this to be an ugly football game. And Ohio, which has the nation's No. 25-ranked scoring defense this season, will be in a position to win this game outright.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

Kansas State has looked like a dominant force. Missouri just squeaked by Middle Tennessee State. If you're wondering why this point spread isn't larger, you aren't alone.

It's one of the more interesting lines of the weekend, and the action will be heavily in K-State's favor. Given the way this group just dissected a solid Troy squad, it's not hard to see why.

And yet, I still like what I have seen from Missouri quarterback Brady Cook. He's accounted for five touchdowns in two games—albeit against lesser competition. He's a threat when he's on, although the challenge will be robust.

While Missouri has been unimpressive, it's still a challenge play in Columbia. Just ask Georgia, which nearly lost at this venue a season ago.

Kansas State wins a nail-biter. Mizzou covers.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

For the second week in a row, we're fading Virginia Tech. As always, it's never personal. Only business.

The Scarlet Knights have outscored Northwestern and Temple 60-14, which says something about Rutgers and plenty about the competition. It hasn't been great. That should be obvious.

But this is an ideal spot to take down a Hokies squad that is still struggling. Va. Tech deserves the utmost credit for hanging with Purdue last weekend after a long delay. In fact, it was such a long day—and a game effort—one can't help but wonder if there will be a residual impact as a result.

The combination of QB Gavin Wimsatt and running back Kyle Monangai should be solid in this matchup. It's rare to say that Rutgers has a significant offensive advantage in a game, although that appears to be the case here.

Scarlet Knights by double digits.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

Truthfully, both teams feel like a bit of a mystery at the moment.

Florida bounced back from an ugly loss against Utah with a 49-7 easy win over McNeese. It was, after all, McNeese. Tennessee, meanwhile, was sluggish against Austin Peay after clobbering Virginia in the opener.

Perhaps the most notable performance in that Austin Peay game came from Joe Milton III. While he ultimately accounted for three touchdowns, he completed only one of his first eight passes.

How that start translates on the road is certainly a storyline to monitor. Tennessee, the more talented team, just feels slightly off. The fact that it will now travel to Gainesville to take on a program trying to find itself makes for a delightful, curious football game.

The Vols will ultimately win, although I don't believe it will come easy. Florida hangs tough.

Translation: Gators cover.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

This has a chance to be an ugly football game, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way.

Oregon State is one of the darlings of the young season, even if the schedule hasn't picked up quite yet. While San Diego State isn't exactly a beefy challenge, this total is noteworthy.

Statistically, San Diego State hasn't played superb defense. Last week against UCLA, the Aztecs allowed 35 points. (They scored only 10.)

That's where this play starts to come into focus. I simply don't believe San Diego State has the offense to make this game competitive or drive up the score. Brady Hoke's team is ranked No. 104 nationally in scoring offense. Oregon State has a top-20 scoring defense.

The end result is a non-competitive, low-scoring football game that should look familiar to the one the Aztecs played last week.

Oregon State 34, San Diego State 7.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.

Ohio vs. Iowa State (Under 44.5)

We're double dipping on this game and leaning into the under as well. There's a decent chance the score and play look similar to last week's Iowa-Iowa State game.

Fresno State (-3) at Arizona State

Last week was not pretty for Fresno State, although the Bulldogs ultimately pulled out the win against Eastern Washington. Back on the road, I expect a much sounder performance against an Arizona State roster that has major holes.

Arizona (-17.5) vs. UTEP

We're getting both Arizona schools involved, and this time we're backing the Wildcats. Arizona put forth a quality effort on the road at Mississippi State, and that should translate much better at home. UTEP just got clobbered by Northwestern. We're not overthinking this.

UConn (-9.5) vs. FIU

The Huskies are 0-2, although they're nearly a double-digit favorite this week. Don't read too much into the record. UConn is a much better team, and I believe it will finally translate to on-field results.

For the latest spreads on these games, go to DraftKings.