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In college football, Sports Illustrated is making a bold statement — Notre Dame sits at number one in their latest mock College Football Playoff bracket for the second consecutive week. The Fighting Irish are slotted for a first-round bye and a quarterfinal matchup, even as the AP and Coaches polls have them sitting at number three. SI isn't waiting for the committee to catch up.
Meanwhile in Madison, the Wisconsin Badgers are turning heads nationally after their stunning upset at Penn State in Week Four. USA TODAY's full one-thirty-eight re-rank has Wisconsin surging twenty-two spots, making them the fourth-biggest riser in the entire country. Only Stanford, UCLA, and UAB climbed higher. The Badgers are no longer a team anyone is sleeping on.
And over in baseball, October arrived three days early this year. All four MLB Wild Card best-of-three series kicked off simultaneously, with the Phillies, Astros, and company already deep in elimination-game intensity. Speaking of Houston, Chicago's White Sox enter Game Two today with a chance to close out their first postseason series win since their two thousand five championship run. The stakes couldn't be higher.
That's your play-by-play. Sports Desk, back to the booth.
