SI Betting Mailbag: NFL Week 2 and CFB Week 3 (Not Buying Into the Bears, Cooper Rush, and Ohio State)

The first week of the NFL season is in the books, and we're now well into the college football season. We once again have a loaded slate of games on both Saturday and Sunday, so the summer is now over and football season has begun.

Throughout the football season, I'll be doing a weekly mailbag to answer YOUR questions about betting on both the NFL and this year's college football season.

You have two ways to submit questions each week:

Send me (@IainMacBets) a DM on X or Instagram
Send me an e-mail at iain@si.com

Each week, we'll choose a few questions to answer in an article.

This week, we're talking NFL Week 2 and college football Week 3. Let's dive into the questions.

NFL Week 2 + CFB Week 3 Mailbag Questions

I just wanted to say thank you. I read your articles and then bet the opposite. Needless to say, you’re making me lots of money. Especially last night. Who the heck would take the lions with the secondary they have? Rock Ya Sin is the worst CB in the league. Have a great weekend and I’ll continue to read your content.
Robert T.

Thank you for the e-mail, Robert! Whether you're fading me or betting against me, I'm just glad you're reading my content.

In all seriousness, there's no avoiding the fact that it's been a rough start to the football season for yours truly. In hindsight, betting on the Lions with the shape their defense is in against the Bills team in their stadium opening game was one I wish I had back. The good news is we still have 17 weeks of football action to make up for it! Either that, or I continue to lose and Robert continues to make money fading me.

p.s. The ricochet shot on Rock Ya-Sin was uncalled for.

You came into the season saying that the Bears were going to be bad this year. Are you ready to admit you were wrong? 59 points against the Panthers.
Derek D.

I'm the first person to put my hand up and admit I was wrong about a take, and I will do that when the time is right, but despite the impressive offensive performance in Week 1, I'm sticking to my take: Chicago is going to miss the playoffs.

Let's not forget the defense gave up 37 points to Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. Let's also remember the plethora of teams throughout the years that got off to strong starts before finishing as one of the worst teams in the league.

Remember the New Orleans Saints two years ago? Their first two games were wins of 47-10 against the Panthers and 44-19 against the Cowboys. People were pegging them as NFC contenders and would make claims about how revolutionary their offense was with all their pre-snap motion. That same Saints team then lost seven straight games and finished the year with a 5-12 record. Chicago fans would be smart to hold off on victory lapping for now.

Can Ohio State still win the National Championship after losing to Texas?
Brandon M.

They can still win the National Championship. Would I still bet on them at +530 as the favorites? Absolutely not. I think you'd be wrong to say that Ryan Day has completely figured out how to handle high-pressure situations late in games. With that being said, he's led them to a national championship once before, so it's certainly within the realm of possibility.

To be honest, that game against Ohio State and Texas makes me believe the winner is going to be someone else in the field. Neither the Buckeyes nor the Longhorns looked like a National Championship-winning team. I'm now looking at Notre Dame, Georgia, Miami, Indiana, or LSU as the team to win it all. I may need one more week of results before I decide who I'm going to bet on. Come back to me next week about it.

What the h*** are the Falcons doing man? Cooper Rush??
Jeremy L.

Why the Falcons aren't starting Jack Strand is beyond me. Worst-case scenario, he's as bad as Cooper Rush, and we lose. Best-case scenario, he's better than Rush, and he may have struck gold with an undrafted free agent. Instead, they're choosing to start the guy who had a historically bad game last week, effectively ending any chance the Falcons have of winning this game.

By the way, I have a prediction that we won't see Michael Penix Jr. on the field for the entire season. I don't like the way things sound.

I LOVE Panthers -2.5 on Sunday.

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