The Inside Zone

How about that? A perfect Week 1! Let’s keep the good times rolling … Rutgers +3.5 (-122) at Boston College (FanDuel): If ever there were a time to back Rutgers, it would be now. Greg Schiano’s back is against the wall, and he’s rolling with AJ Surace as his QB. If the Scarlet Knights lose this, they probably won’t beat an FBS team this season. This line opened at +4 — a gross overreaction to the Week 1 letdown at UMass — and all the sharp money has taken this down to +3 in most spots.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — You can be forgiven for forgetting that the last time Notre Dame entered a season ranked in the AP top-5 was in 2022, back in Marcus Freeman’s first season as head coach. Then 17.5-point underdogs, the Irish entered the Horseshoe to take on Freeman’s alma mater, No. 2 Ohio State. They held their own, then held on for dear life.

We just couldn’t have a normal Week 1, could we? 1. The ending of Western Michigan-Michigan was egregious. Absolutely egregious. 2. And no, I’m not just talking about Michigan students storming the field after beating a MAC team, although between getting to experience that win andnot receiving letter grades this year, those freshmen in Ann Arbor sure are having themselves a rewarding college experience, huh? The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication.

We’re back with another edition of CFB Forecast! It’s just me this season, but we’ll play it straight: Three best bets — spread, moneyline, quarter, half, prop, you name it. We’ll start with rather simple bets, given all of the turnover that occurred across the nation this offseason. The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Michigan State -9.5 vs. Toledo (-115, Bet365).

Will Marcus Freeman’s team finish the season No. 1? (Photo: Getty) Week 1 is here, and that means it’s time to make some predictions, both bold and not-so-bold. The College Football Playoff bracket? That could be bold, depending on the teams you pick. Was taking Penn State to beat Alabama in the national title game last year bold? Honestly, not really. The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman spent time together this spring at a Columbus Aviators game to support Ted Ginn. (Photo: Getty) The first rule of the podcast: What happens on the show, stays on the show. Make sense? OK, maybe that’s counter-intuitive for a podcast. But it goes a long way in describing the circle of trust that Marcus Freeman relies on as he gears up for his fifth season leading Notre Dame.

We’re back, people. Week Zero arrives Saturday. And while we’re changing things up a bit from last year’s wagering talk — we’re going with futures in the Week Zero spot here instead of game plays — we still plan on having you covered with the best bets of the week. Here, let’s take a look at some preseason futures. Illinois over 7.5 (+135, Bet365): I have been captain of the Illini hype train this offseason.

Programming note: Slices of Tuna will take some time off from its Monday-Wednesday-Friday offseason routine as we put the finishing touches on some longer preseason content. Enjoy your last CFB-free weekend! 1. What the? Actual college football kicks off in eight days, and there are players who just played in NFL preseason games who are now trying to join college rosters in time for kickoff. “CFB is so broken man,” one personnel staffer texted Thursday, unsolicited.

Just another drama-filled week in L.A. basketball, ain’t it? 1. All-America time Anyone else find it ironic that the SEC has 14 of the 27 preseason AP All-Americans but the Big Ten has the top-two teams in the preseason AP poll? Or that Ohio State has just one preseason All-American despite receiving 40 of 69 first-place votes in the AP poll? Here are some other facts to chew on regarding the All-America teams, which were released Tuesday: The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication.

Happy Last Non-Game Week Monday of the year. 1. Can we settle this in the postseason? There’s usually a method to Curt Cignetti’s madness. Whether it was demanding folks to Google him on his first signing day or predicting that Indiana would make the Big Ten title game in Year 1, the Hoosiers’ coach was strategically attempting to wake up a fan base that was on life support, as he would later say. The Inside Zone is a reader-supported publication.