NICK MERSCH
SPORTS EDITOR
You read it in the headline: October is incredible. If you know me, you know I love March so much, but I do recognize my bias for college basketball and “the madness.” However, October is undefeated because of the medley of sports that is presented. You have football, both college and NFL, in full swing. You have playoff baseball, which is always surprisingly electric. And lastly, you have the NHL and the NBA starting as the month winds down. Let’s take a broad look at what’s happening currently across these sports.
The World Series
I have no idea how they did it, but the Washington Nationals are in the World Series and looking like they’ll run away with it. As I write this, the series is 2-0, and by the time this gets published, the Nats may have taken it. If they already have, then congrats — but it still doesn’t make sense. I think the Astros should take the next two games simply because of their pitching, but they’ve been getting rocked so far. Gerrit Cole let up five runs in seven innings pitched; Justin Verlander let up three through seven innings, and their bullpen looked abysmal after taking over for Verlander. This is a team that didn’t seem to have a real weakness entering the playoffs but looks very human now. It would be really cool if the Nats stayed hot and won the World Series after losing their franchise player, but I, and the rest of the world, would like to see a game six and seven. By the time this is being read, we’ll already know if I got what I wanted.
CFB Playoff Picture
Obviously, we know that the top four is looking really strong. Dark horses like Wisconsin and Georgia are starting to drop off, while Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are all cemented in the playoff as of right now. However, here are some scenarios that could shake things up in the future.
Clemson is definitely in the weakest conference of the three present in the top four (SEC, Big 10 and ACC), so Clemson dropping one game for the rest of the season will definitely take it out of any conversation. It needs to be perfect, which it will most likely do, but it did almost lose to North Carolina, who has looked very average this year. That close game alone was most likely what brought it from second to fourth without losing a game. Its only somewhat tough game left is in late November against Wake Forest, currently ranked 25th, so we’ll have to wait and see how it performs.
Alabama and LSU will play soon, but I think both teams will still find themselves in the playoffs if they take care of business outside of this game. That leaves Ohio State, who will have played Wisconsin by the time this comes out; if it loses, that puts it back on the fringe, opening up a spot for maybe a Penn State or Oklahoma to get in there. Even if Ohio State wins this week, it will have to face Wisconsin again in the Big 10 championship, most likely. No matter what happens, I think this will be a very exciting college football playoff for fans of all teams.
Start of the NBA
The NBA has finally started, and I’m mostly excited for the first parody league in a long time. We have around six or seven legit championship contenders and even a few more dark horses. There’s such an exciting narrative around the league this year from different superstar team-ups and exciting young players looking to shake things up. This may be the most unpredictable year the NBA has seen in a long time.
The New Generation of the NHL
This year is interesting because of this new generation of young players finally taking over the league. Nathan McKinnon and Connor McDavid are the two best players in the NHL, and I don’t think it’s really that close. Those draft classes from around 2014-2015 are taking over the league, and it’s cool to see them step into their own and lead their teams. Also, many really solid players are on new teams this year which always shakes up the playoff picture and makes it more exciting for fans.
That’s all for now. Until next time, enjoy October while we have it, and thanks for reading.