Rocky Top Talk Locks, Week 3

As you can see from the recap article that KidB got to write up because KidB was the weekly winner due to an intricate tiebreak system, KidB was the winner last week due to an intricate tiebreak system.  And this week KidB shall surely be the winner again, as his picks are clearly Free Money. And when we say Free Money we don't mean in the actual monetary sense because we all know that gambling is not yet legal here in this country, though Adam Silver said it's inevitable.  I like Adam Silver.  Good guy.

Anyway, as you likely already know if you are a regular, we pick these in bunches of six; ATS, over/unders, or any other free money propositions are on the table; and you the reader are invited to put your own picks in the comments for others to mock and ridicule.  It's tough love. We kid because we care.

Chris's "The Defending Champion" Picks (3-4 last week, 7-5 overall)

Utah State (-14.5) vs. Wake Forest - yeah, so Utah State may not have a defense. That's cool; the Clawfense never works in Year 1, and 17-0 is a cover. So is 38-21.

Duke (-14.5) vs. Kansas - How has it come to this: Duke, scheduling Power Five cupcakes. Duke!

Baylor (-35) vs. Buffalo - this line moved three points since I first found it. Is that stopping me? Nope: Buffalo's awful and Baylor's still pretty healthy.

Penn State (-3.5) @ Rutgers - probably still inflated based on PSU struggling to down Akron (note: won 21-3 anyway) and Rutgers beating Wazzu (who might not be good based on their loss to Nevada). If I win, it's great. If I don't, I get to hate on James Franklin. What's not to like?

Georgia (-6) at South Carolina - this feels like twelve kinds of trap game action, but either South Carolina's been playing two games' worth of possum (possible against ECU, not so much against Texas &M) or they're not exactly the trendy pick to win the SEC East. On the other hand if it's Thunderdome in here the more conference losses for everyone the better. (Just don't lose by a late field goal, Spurrier.)

Oregon (-43) vs. Wyoming - hey, Oregon at home against an overmatched opponent! /smashes buy button

KidB's "Free Money" Picks (3-4 last week; 7-5 overall)

East Carolina+11 over VIRGINIA TECH:  There's a decent chance ECU wins this outright.  Let's not put tOSU up on a pedestal.

NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN -3.5 over Louisiana Tech:  Do you know why this line is what it is?  So there's this ATS-picking service RAS ("right angle sports"), and when they pick a game the line immediately -- and I mean that very second -- shifts a few points.  The Mean Green, who are both mean and green, were listed initially at -6.5 and dropped down to -3.5 after RAS sent it out as  a pick.  But here's the deal: RAS sucks.  They miss all the time.  Plus, by shifting the spread three points, they make the other side way more of a bargain.  So thanks, guys.

Louisville-6.5 over VIRGINIA: Mike London has done this sort of thing before.  Trotted out a team with a pulse, only to trot on out the next week that's clearly flatlining.  He's terrible, that Mike London, and his team is too.

Georgia-6 over SOUTH CAROLINA:  If Georgia goes Full Richt on this one and fails to cover or loses outright, they will be dropping in the most powerful SEC power rankings.  Yes, even if they win on the road but don't cover, they're droppings. Without question. TAMU beat South Carolina at home by like 90.

Mississippi State-13.5 over SOUTH ALABAMA:  One more time on The Cowbell Train.

Tulsa-1 over FLORIDA ATLANTIC:  There's a chance this FAU team is just really really bad.

I_S's "Never Go Full Milos" Picks (2-4 last week; 5-7 overall)

East Carolina +11 over Virginia Tech. East Carolina has demonstrated a pulse, and I think Virginia Tech is still hungover. Heck, after beating Ohio State, Virginia Tech might still be drunk.

Ole Mass +16 over Vanderbilt. Didn't this game just. . . oh, wait, sorry. Long state names with double s's throw me off. Whatever, if you can keep it close against the Fightin' MacIntyres, you can keep it close against Same Ol' Vandy.

USF +1.5 over NC State. Both coaches are in their second year of reclamation projects. Both coaches were awful in year one after being pretty good at lower levels. I just like Willie Taggart better. Think he gets it done at home.

Baylor -35 over Buffalo. Should I be nervous about Baylor on the road against a team that's not named "Kansas"? Not if it's named "Buffalo."

South Carolina +6 over Georgia. Richt gonna Richt. And seriously, South Carolina's secondary isn't very good, but it's not like Hutson Mason is the strength of the Georgia offense.

Pittsburgh -25.5 over FIU. Here's the thing: Purdue has covered against Notre Dame about 27,000 years in a row, but even with 28 points, I just can't pick them. So I need another game. I have a suspicion that FIU is just horrendously abysmal, and while I don't really trust Pitt to cover big spreads on the road, I do kinda trust FIU to roll over.