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The bracket doesn’t need saving, but it does need protecting. I open with a full-throated case against expanding March Madness to 76 teams—why it muddles the bracket, rewards the wrong résumés, and makes office pools a midweek mess—then follow the money toward a bigger worry: private equity knocking on college sports’ front door. What happens to classes, rivalries, and the middle tier when financiers chase margins and rebrand conferences like product lines? If you care about the games more than the gloss, this part will hit a nerve.

From there, we recalibrate with on-field truth. Illinois puzzles USC, Georgia earns an ATS ban, and Oregon–Penn State delivers a double-OT jolt that reminds us why we watch. I dig into why Bama’s offense can’t be trusted laying big numbers, how to price Florida State’s top-ranked attack against Miami’s legit defense, and where the value lives in a week dotted with injury landmines. On the NFL side, we parse a wild tie, question the Eagles’ sustainability, weigh the Rams’ short-week edge against a shorthanded San Francisco, and make sense of those “bad team, close spread” traps you don’t need to touch to have a profitable Sunday.

We also update the ban list (sorry, Georgia and Chargers), put James Franklin on the frosty throne with unforgiving big-game numbers, and close with a confident lock: Giants +1.5 at New Orleans, with a sprinkle on the moneyline. If you want sharper bets and a saner sport, ride along, challenge the takes, and bring your card.

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