Western Courier| October 24th, 2018

Opinions: Sears files for bankruptcy.

Sports: Picking the top 10 teams in college football.

Sports: Volleyball drops to 1-22

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - Vol. 119 Issue 27

AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. SERVING MACOMB SINCE 1905.

SGA discusses ways to get involved and make Western better

Speaker of the Senate Aaron Steele (left) and SGA President Grant Reed (right) conduct business during Tuesday's Student Government Association weekly meeting.

By Marc Ramirez news editor

Western Illinois University’s Student Government Association President, Grant Reed, kicked off the meeting with his weekly report, as there were no guest speakers.

Reed started off by thanking everyone who made it out to the inaugural Superhero Blue Light Fun Run/Walk. He proceeded to pass out thank you cards for Senators to sign to give out to

sponsors who helped make the event possible through all of their donations. Then he made sure to give another push for students to help out the office of admissions.

“It is always important for us to note this each week,” Reed said. “There are several opportunities for you to get involved with, there are Instagram and Snapchat takeovers and that form can be found on the Admission Purple Post page.”

People can also volunteer to be

a Discover Western volunteer and help lead groups around.

No experience is required for this, as the office will provide a short informal training for anyone interested. Reed highly encouraged the legislative body to volunteer, as it is a low maintenance way for everyone to help recruit the next generation of Fighting Leathernecks, and help make a positive impact on their experiences at Western.

Reed went on to discuss a Bill of Resolution that will be hitting

the floor next week. The bill will be in regards to creating a center for preforming arts on campus for the Western community.

They hope to do this by creating a letter writing campaign or a post card drive to help get the word out to Illinois legislators that this is something that the community has wanted for the past decade. Students and Senators, who are aware and knowledgeable on the topic, are encouraged to sponsor or coauthor the bill. Students new to

felicia selmon/courier staff

SGA who haven’t written bills are encouraged to do so, so they can become familiarized with the proper process.

Heading into cabinet reports, Director of Academic Affairs, Colton Markey, spoke about some of the topics discussed during Faculty Senate.

SGA

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Crafty Coop opens in downtown Macomb

By Devon Greene editor-in-chief

devon greene/editor-in-chief

Crafty Coop is ready for customers to stop by on the west side of downtown Macomb.

A new paint your own pottery and craft studio is opening on the west side of downtown Macomb.

The Crafty Coop, LLC, a new business founded by Western Illinois graduate, Laci Todd, is making its grand opening, on Nov. 1. The Crafty Coop is located at 206 N. Lafayette Street, directly across from Chandler Park.

The Crafty Coop had a soft opening last Saturday, where customers were encouraged to come in and paint their own pottery. Families came in and painted dinosaurs, skulls and puppy dogs on the first weekend for the

blossoming company.

Todd credits her husband for coming up with the name of the business.

“We have a flock of nine Plymouth Barred Rock chickens and 14 ducks on our little ‘farm.’” A post on The Crafty Coop’s Facebook page said.

“We’ve raised most of them from babies and hatched several more from the incubator. There will definitely be chicks and ducklings in the spring on display.”

The company logo is a feather, which is featured prominently above the company name on both windows of the business that sits between Mr. Sweeper and Cady’s on Lafayette Street. Underneath reads a quote with a twist

that reads, “ Birds of a feather, create together.”

Todd graduated from Macomb High School in 2008 and went on to earn her Bachelor ’s degree from Western in 2012. Since then, Todd has started a family with her husband and two children.

Todd’s inspiration for her business traces all the way back to her childhood when her grandmother used to take her out to paint pottery.

Todd has carried this tradition down to her children.

“We travel every year, but all the places are over an hour away,” Todd said. “It was just so inconvenient.”

Crafty Coop

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

NEWS

On one of those trips, Todd remembers a story her husband told her.

“He said that I told him ‘I could totally do this, I could open one of these up myself one day.’” Todd said. “I didn’t remember saying that but he says that I did.”

Last summer, when Macomb’s Downtown Development Director, Kristin Terry, held a competition for entrepreneurs in Macomb, Todd was hesitant to apply because of her already tight schedule.

Todd still works two jobs, including a full-time, four day a week job along with

raising her two children, while opening the new business. Todd credits her family and friends for helping her with the load that would be stressful for many.

Eventually, Todd decided that she would jump in with both feet and attend the classes and workshops held by the city of Macomb. These classes lasted for six weeks and included writing their own business plan and developing their own pitches for their perspective businesses.

The winner of this competition would win $28,000 in incentives for their business.

When the pitches were delivered on July 19, Todd came up short but remained motivated in her vision.

“I finished in third place,” Todd said. “ But I had still had the drive and I got the recognition from the judges.”

Todd used this drive to move forward and secure loans and find a location for The Crafty Coop.

Todd didn’t plan on opening The Crafty Coop until next year, but everything seemed to fall into place for the business. With the holiday season coming up, Todd wants to take things slow in the early days of the craft shop.

“For now, I just want to start getting the hang of things.”

Todd said. “I don’t have any special craft nights planned yet, but we will be looking into that in the future.”

accountable for upholding these values.

“At this point I will not be taking the bill of the table,” Steele said. “I will be discussing it a little bit during open forum just to keep you guys updated.”

Next on the agenda for new business was SGA Bill of Appropriation 2018/2019.004 in regards to allocating $45 to send three individuals to the Fall Leadership Conference taking place Nov. 10.

“Attendees to the Fall Leadership Conference will be gaining leadership skills learning about group dynamics, facilitation, managing members and other important leadership responsibilities and tasks,” the bill read.

The bill was approved by the Finance and Special Projects Committee by a vote of 5-0-0 and was brought to the Senate for vote. However, it did not need to be voted on by

the Senate.

“We don’t need to vote on it because it’s less than $100,” College of Business and Technology Senator Joe Reinert said.

With that being said there was a motion to close business and move into open forum where Steele continued to gage the interest and concerns of the senate on regards to his bill. As of now the core values remained the same; however, since the concern was that some of the words might have different meanings to different people, the words should be clearly defined in the bill.

Moving forward, Steele brought attention to the enrollment management committee, people who work along side the Registrar, Vice President of Student Services and the head of admissions. This committee looks at barriers to admission while also looking at retention rates.

“I bring this up because you are all from a very broad spectrum of the University and surely one of you has known a student who has struggled to stay here or that has been unable to stay here,” Steele said. “Or maybe you yourself has had problems where you’ve considered leaving the University.”

Members have brought forth reasons such as with the declining enrollment and the consolidation of classes, they’re being forced to stay extra semesters if they couldn’t get into a class that is only offered once a year or once a semester, which would not be ideal for any student. Others brought up the fact that financial aid is sometimes a struggle when it comes to having the funds to stay in school. A thought that financial aid should help connect students to getting private loans from banks was brought to the floor.

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Crafty Coop

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SGA

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“Faculty Senate met today and they discussed two education programs in the state of Illinois and the teacher crisis and how that can effect Higher Education,” Markey said.

Next, Vice President, Madison Lynn, gave Director of Finance Michael Harmon’s report, as he was not present to do so.

Harmon reported that the SGA fiscal year budget for 2019 has been updated. The budget shows the amount approved

by CSAF and shows income, donations and spending outlined. Of the $6,869 budget, the association has used or allocated $1,877.12 leaving the remaining 4,991.88 in the budget for further use.

Lynn proceeded to give her report, highlighting the work everyone put in during Saturday’s event. “The event

WC Located on the third floor of the Heating Plant Annex on the south end of campus across from Sherman Hall.

Mail: 1 University Circle, WIU, Macomb, IL 61455 Phone: 309-298-1876 Fax: 309-298-2309 Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays E-mail: micour@wiu.edu Member: Illinois College Press Association, National Association College Press

was a great success in my eyes, we were able to raise $774 for WIRC- Victims Services,” Lynn said as the crowd proceeded to applaud.

Four guest speakers were present at the opening ceremony for the event, one being Western Illinois President Jack Thomas. Lynn followed by reminding the room that the Student Government Association Newsletter will be sent out to all students on the mailing list Friday. If one wishes to be added to the mailing list, they should contact Lynn or a senator.

Speaker of the Senate, Aaron Steele continued the meeting by conducting business. For old business there was SGA Bill 2018/2019.001 regarding the adoption of core values for the governing body, which was tabled the week of it’s inception with concern that there wouldn’t be a way to ensure that members would be held

STAFF MEMBERS editor-in-chief Devon Greene DJ-Greene@wiu.edu news editor Marc Ramirez MA-Ramirez3@wiu.edu assistant news editor Steven Barnum SS-Barnum@wiu.edu opinions editor Allison Young AN-Young@wiu.edu sports editor Haley Richards H-Richards@wiu.edu assistant sports editor Bradley Piros BJ-Piros@wiu.edu edge editor Jonathan Lynch JJ-Lynch@wiu.edu copy editor Brie Coder B-Coder@wiu.edu

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Faculty Senate discusses realignment plan

By Steven Barnum assistant news editor

The Western Illinois University Faculty Senate discussed the University’s realignment plan on Tuesday night.

Introduced by the administration in a July press conference, the plan is designed to combat a continued decline in enrollment and a lack of financial stability in the budget. Part of the plan counts on school districts across the state of Illinois to partner with Western. This could help provide a smoother transition for high school students once they become Leathernecks.

A teacher shortage is perhaps the biggest concern among the faculty senate. At-large senator Virginia Boynton believes money is a factor.

“The reason we have this shortage is we don’t respect teachers or pay them appropriately,” Boynton said. “If you want more teachers, you pay them.”

Some believe the shortage could also be reduced through lowering requirements in areas where instructors don’t need to be skilled in; for example, those looking to teach English would no longer have to score as high in math or science. Strict qualifications may discourage or prevent students from becoming educators.

Another key element to the plan involves combining certain programs, like humanities and social sciences, which could give students more paths to a degree. Other uni-

versities use this strategy, and according to Interim Provost Kathy Neumann, traditional courses and programs only limit opportunities.

Neumann also believes that the open discussion about the alignment plan is healthy.

“There have been a lot of suggestions and I can say with 100 percent certainty that there will be modifications on the realignment based on that feedback,” Neumann said.

While faculty senate members seem to agree that the state’s financial woes put Western in a tough position, Neumann says the administration will still try to fix the issue on its own.

“We all have to put our collective heads together to solve the problems,” Neumann said. “We have to remain as optimistic as we can.”

Western has offered programs like Ethics and Contemporary US Studies (CUSS), which combined history and political science; however, the college axed those programs because so few students signed up.

Western has also had difficulty with interdisciplinary fields, while fields like graphic design lack depth.

While offering more fields improves the diversity in options for students, underenrolled classes may reflect poorly on the instructors teaching those courses.

Some of proposed fields, like Caribbean Studies, may fall into this category since the University is located in rural Illinois.

While some argue that the University doesn’t market its

fields effectively, Chairperson Christopher Pynes believes that the bottom line is a lack of students.

“There isn’t one example of a program that will increase student enrollment,” Pynes said. “It’s not that students don’t know what’s going on; it’s that there aren’t enough students, and that’s problematic.”

Marjorie Allison echoed Pynes’ point.

“The problem is not how we are aligned; the problem is we don’t have the students,” Allison said. “I don’t know how realignment addresses any of the concerns.”

Some believe the University should communicate the plan more clearly, including Allison, who questioned whether it would ultimately lead to more faculty firings. Neumann says that is not the intention.

“There is no additional list of firings right now,” Neumann said.

One of the challenges to luring more students to Western will be convincing them that their degree will be valuable. Students who rack up thousands in debt want to be assured that their degree will lead to well-paying jobs.

President Jack Thomas is looking to cut $5.5 million from the non-academic side of business. The end goal of the overall realignment plan is to save $10 million in total.

The underlying theme of the night was declining enrollment, but the administration remains focused on increasing the appeal for future students.

NEWS 3

4 OPINIONS

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER

JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER

It’s been recently reported that Sears Holdings, who owns Sears and Kmart, may be filing for bankruptcy in the next few days. They currently owe more money than they have, and they have a huge loan due in the next few days.

Sears holdings follows many corporate companies as of late who have had to file for bankruptcy.

While a lot of stores have stated that competition from online retailers led to their downfall, Sears has established a big online sales preference and were one of the first to do in-store pickup.

Sears has also been a huge name in the U.S. market for decades and has sold billions of dollars in merchandise. With all of those positive factors for the company, it comes as a surprise that this would be a store that has been closing locations for the last couple years like the one here in Macomb. Between Sears and Kmart, they had 3500 locations back in 2005, and now they only have 900. This raises the question as to why the company is having problems.

The biggest issue Sears has now is how they run their company and how they treat their employees.

Sears has changed hands a few times in recent years and has not really been able to keep the same practices because of it. This has led to a lot of confusion, which is reflected in the stores, and creates problems for the employees and staff. They’re also in an attempt to save money, by scheduling very minimal coverage, which can back up stores and make customers upset. This not only makes

the employee’s job harder, but makes customers more impatient and less likely to come back. The employees are also not treated very well and, in a lot of cases ,get hung out to dry. When there are only a couple cashiers and a big rush, lines get long and customers get upset and impatient, and it usually gets directed at the employee who’s just trying to do their best. Anyone who’s worked retail has had bad days and customers, but when it becomes a part of their daily routine, it can kill the employee’s work ethic and make them less motivated at work. Customers will pick up on that and not want to come to the store.

Most successful companies know that happy employees lead to success. The employees in the stores are the foundation of the company and are the ones dealing with the customers. If they are paid and treated well, they’ll feel better about working, and will be more motivated and productive. When customers see happy employees, they are more likely to think of their visit to the store in a more positive way and come back again. When employees are more productive and customers keeping coming back to the store, the company makes more money. If the company is making money, bankruptcy is less likely to happen and the stores stay open. We’ll see what happens to Sears in the future. If they manage to stay open, they need to fix some policies and change their environment soon.

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Many students here at Western know about the parking problem we have encountered.

There is never enough parking on campus for students. This is very prevalent in Thompson’s parking lot.

Living in Thompson Hall last year, I can say that there is not enough parking for residents.

The back row is dedicated to staff parking from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Even if students parked in the back row at night, many still get tickets very early in the morning for not moving their cars. Another huge issue is safety. I have had to park in Q lot many nights because there was no parking at Thompson.

Walking back late at night from a parking lot a little ways from Thompson is a hassle and is not safe. Nothing ever happened to me personally, but that does not mean it will not happen to someone else.

To solve the parking problem at Western, I feel like a few changes need to be made.

The back row of Thompson should be cut in half between students and staff. When I lived in Thompson, there was always a spot left open in the back row that could have been utilized by a student. I also think that Q lot parking passes should be able to park in the library parking lot. There are many spaces, also, that never get used further back in the lot where the commuters and graduate students can park.

There is always jokes made

on social media about parking problems in college but it actually is not a joke and is a serious issue here at Western and probably many other colleges.

If people are paying for parking passes to a certain lot, yet can never find a spot because the lot is full, that becomes an issue. More parking options need to be implemented here at Western. More four-hour meters should also be installed.

That way, students do not have to rush from a class on Tuesday or Thursday because they're fifteen minutes late from the hour meter mark. Not checking the meters until at least 8 a.m. would help bring down the amount of tickets that are being handed out. I do not know of anyone who would want to get up at 7 a.m. to move his or her car. Parking especially becomes a problem in the wintertime.

No one wants to walk from Q lot to Thompson or any other alternative parking lot to his or her building in the cold. I think one thing Western has that would benefit students is the service of having someone walk with you to your dorms or from your car at night, I feel like many people do not use this service, but if it is late at night it could be beneficial and safe to use it. I feel as if Western should start implementing new parking policies for students. We pay to be here and we would like decent parking.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

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OPINIONS 5

Shane Dawson is changing YouTube

Shane Dawson finished an eight-part series on controversial YouTube star Jake Paul last Thursday. The hour and 45 minute video marked the end of the documentary level YouTube series that could be a turning point in the quality of YouTube videos in the future.

Dawson has been a content creator on YouTube since 2008 and he has evolved his content multiple times over the past decade, but his most recent evolution has the potential to change the platform completely.

Others may have different viewpoints, but I see Dawson’s

first YouTube series as the collaboration with Molly Burke, a blind YouTuber. This was a three-part series where in the first “episode” Dawson met Burke, asked questions about her experience being blind and adjusting to the change since she had not been blind for her whole life. In the second episode, Dawson let her drive his boyfriend’s car, and in the third and final part to the series, he switched lives with Burke for the day.

I consider this series a prototype to the content Dawson has begun to make now. Since

then, Dawson has set his sights on YouTubers who have had various problems with their channels or controversies. The first YouTuber he set his sights on was one of the firsts to go viral on the platform, Rachel “Bunny” Meyer, better known as Grav3yardGirl. Meyer’s channel had been hemorrhaging viewers for months and she couldn’t figure out why, so Dawson intervened and tried to help Myers reinvigorate her channel.

Dawson then moved on to Tana Mongeau when they covered the “TanaCon” fiasco that left fans sunburnt, upset and outraged when she tried to throw her own convention for those that didn’t want to attend YouTube’s event, VidCon. Following that three-part series, Dawson began a new adventure

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with makeup mogul and YouTuber, Jeffree Star. This was a five-part series that offered fans a new side of Star and showed sides of him that we had never seen before.

All of these series have been leading up to his most controversial one yet: his eight-part series on Paul. Paul has caused his fair share of chaos including terrorizing his neighbors, building a huge bonfire in his backyard and was the subject of multiple accusations of abuse.

Dawson took a huge chance with this series and he got plenty of backlash when it was announced. Fans told Dawson that they shouldn’t give Paul a bigger platform than he already has, and that he didn’t deserve a redemption story.

After watching the entire series, I believe that my perception of

Paul has completely changed. I won’t forget the stupid mistakes that he made in the past, but this series makes me believe that he wants to get better and it helped me understand the man behind the chaos more.

However, the more important thing about these series that Dawson has begun making is the potential impact it will have on the platform. Dawson’s content has gone above and beyond the quality of most YouTube videos and I think other content creators will follow his lead and up their game to keep up with Dawson’s pace. The content that he is making now is television quality with solid reporting on multiple viewpoints.

YouTube needs legitimacy and Dawson is providing a new style of video that will prove to change the platform for the better.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

6 SPORTS

Soccer

from back page

BECCA LANGYS/PHOTO EDITOR

Melanie Patenaude streches for a ball served in practice.

Volleyball from back page

The Mastodons recorded 18 kills in the second set and hit at a .516 clip, while the Leathernecks logged 17 kills while hitting .351.

In the third frame, Western Illinois’ offense was notable as they recorded a .293 hitting percentage. The Purple and Gold found themselves up 18-13 in the set after kills from Sanders and Norris.

After a Purdue Fort Wayne timeout, the Mastodons took seven-straight points that put them on top, 20-18. WIU restricted the Purdue Fort Wayne momentum and made it 22-21, but the Mastodons overcame the Leathernecks to win

25-23. Western Illinois’ offense cooled off in the fourth set as Purdue Fort Wayne won 25-18.

The Leathernecks held an advantage in kills (60-58), digs (59-57), assists (55-49) and total attacks (153-139) but came up short. Dieter shined for Western today as she ended with 11 kills while hitting at a .500 clip.

Sanders put together a strong performance as well as she tied her career-high in kills (12) while recording a .321 hitting percentage. Patenaude ended one dig shy of a double-double after she finished with 11 kills and nine digs.

Western Illinois is back on the court on this Friday inside Western Hall against South Dakota. First serve is set to start at 7 p.m.

The Pioneers did not back down, and after 18 minutes, the leading goal scorer for the Pioneers, Samantha Feller, found her seventh goal of the season assisted by a high cross from teammate Natalie Beckman.

The Western defense failed to control the cross and Beckman found the ball and put it right past Ines Herrera Palmerio for the goal.

Up one goal, Western needed to equalize. Denver, up 1-0, thought that they owned the field and decided to play like it. Taking shots from 45 yards out to try to catch HerreraPalmerio off guard and constant pressure by their Palmieroforwards made Herrera it impossible for the Leathernecks to get a run on them.

Coming out of the half, Western had a couple chances and a great cross that was headed toward the goal by M a d e l i n e Edwards, but it was denied by goalkeeper Brittney Wilson.

Then, Madeline Denver took Edwards advantage of the constant pressure and won

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the ball at midfield. With the ball about 30 yards out, Meg Hulvorson fired a shot to the top right corner that should be a candidate for goal of the year.

An amazing shot out of the box put serious pressure on the Leathernecks, needing two goals to level up the score and it seemed impossible.

Nevertheless, director of soccer, Eric Johnson, had good things to say about his players.

“They are a motivated group and were disappointed but never quit,” Johnson said.

He also talked about how talented these two goal scorers are for Denver.

“Denver has two players that can score a goal without help and they both scored in the first half,” Johnson said.

“That gave them a cushion and they sat back and protected it.”

They protected it well and even added one later goal from Abbey Miller for a final score of 3-0. This loss permanently eliminates Western from the playoffs, as they have to finish their season out with two road games where both the team and coach’s playoff are only focused on winning.

With these four graduLilly Butler ating seniors about to depart

from Western, one of the leaders on defense, Lilly Butler, described her time here with one word: Rewarding.

“My favorite memories are probably meeting my best friends through soccer and experiencing practices, games and road trips with them,” Butler said.

With a disappointing season coming to an end, Western is not disappointed with our seniors. They played with passion and diligence that will not be forgotten, and it’s tough to say goodbye to such amazing talent.

Their path forward will bring nothing but success if they embrace it as they embraced their time here in Macomb. Hopefully they can end their season on a high note. Up next, Western will hit the road to face Indiana University Purdue UniversityFort Wayne. Kickoff in Fort Wayne is set for this Thursday at 6 p.m.

Last year, Western beat the Mastadons by a score of 1-0.

In that game, junior Emily Bollman found the back of the net for the Leathernecks.

Fort Wayne is currently ranked at the bottom of the Summit League standings.

Western is in eighth place, taking the spot right above IPFW. Neither of these teams will be making the Summit League tournament this year. The conference tournament will be held Nov. 1-3.

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Looking for 2 roommates to share a 3-bedroom furnished house beginning in August for 2018-19. 10- to 12-month contract. New carpet, air, garage w/ storage, laundry. $300 each per month, plus utilities. Call Sharon at 309-338-3888.

The nicer apartments are going fast, excellent service- 24 hour emergency maintenance. Reasonable prices. Studio, 1-3 bedrooms, locations on/off campus available ‘18-’19 school year. Check us out at rentcollegepads.com. If interested, please call F & H Rentals 309/837-1705.

RATES $5.50 per issue (open rate) $4.00 per issue (campus rate)

ALL APARTMENTS - ALL INCLUSIVE Get control of your budget. Know exactly what you are spending each month. Each apartment includes free a/c, free heat, free electricity, free water, free cable tv, free hi speed internet, and free off street parking. Laundry on site.

No noise policy. Bus stop across the street. Close to campus. Well maintained. Studios are $460/mo, One bedrooms are $620/mo. Call Doug at 309-255-8179 for an appointment.

APARTMENT FOR RENT: FOR QUIET PERSON. ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT LOCATED AT 314 West Carroll ST Macomb, Ill 61455. Available end of August 2017-new carpeting yearly lease SMALEST FURNISHED IN MACOMB $345.00/month - HEAT & AC INCLUDED private entrance, off-street parking included call for appointment309-837-4748 or 255-5075 woodburning fireplace, ask for Paul.

For Rent: Little Swan Lake, 30 min from campus. 2br, 2bth, heated double car garage with work area. $600 per mo.

(309) 335-2206 after 6:00 pm, may leave message anytime.

Spacious 3 Bedroom Upper in Duplex close to campus and Jackson St. All utilities furnished and appliances Includes cable and internet 18/19 school year $375.00 per Br Ph 309 255 8086 Please leave message Still have some nice large locations available at reasonable prices. Excellent service- 24 hour emergency maintenance. 1-8 bedrooms, locations on/off campus available ‘18-’19 school year. Pets at some locations. Check us out at rentcollegepads.com. If interested, please call F & H Rentals 309/837-1705.

@WesternCourier

It’s Oct. 24 and that means in six days the first College Football Playoff rankings will come out in the 2018 season.

Since the 2014-2015 season, college football has moved to this format moving on from the BCS rankings.

Before these rankings come out on Oct. 30, the AP Polls determine the top 25 teams in the country for now. The current top 10 consist of UCF at 10 followed by: Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, LSU, Norte Dame, Clemson and Alabama. Below is my current top 10 through eight weeks of the season.

Coming in at No. 10 is the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are coming off one of the worst losses of the season in their 49-20 loss to Purdue, who started the season 0-3.

Urban Liar I mean, Meyer has lost his third game by four or more touchdowns in his tenure with the Buckeyes. Before the loss to the Boilermakers, they found out they lost their AllAmerican defensive end, Nick Bosa, for the year. Bosa went down with injury and decided to leave school to focus on the NFL Draft. This is a huge hit for them, because with him they ranked 117th in the FBS in giving up big plays. It showed on Saturday in their loss. However, OSU still controls their own destiny behind one of the most eclectic quarterbacks’ in the nation, redshirt sophomores Dwayne Haskins.

He’s thrown 30 touchdowns and almost 3,000 passing yards. There is no question they will need to win out to make the CFP. My No. 9 pick is the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma is coming off a 12-2 season, where they fell to Georgia in the National

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Semifinals last year. This year QB Kyler Murray has done a fine job of replacing former Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. The offense has not been a problem after averaging 48.6 points a game. Just like every Big 12 team the problem is defense. In the Sooners loss, they gave up 48 points to Texas in their three-point defeat. The Sooners can still make the playoff, but will have to win out, and that includes beating No. 13 ranked West Virgina on the road on the last week of the regular season.

They will also have to win the Big 12 Championship game, which will most likely be Texas or West Virginia.

At No. 8 is the 6-1 Florida Gators. Since the Gators lost to Kentucky, they have been on an impressive five game winning streak, including wins over Mississippi State on the road and beating LSU by eight. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they take on the Bulldogs from Georgia.

Their season is on the line this weekend, and if they lose, they won’t make the playoffs.

At No. 7 are the Central Florida Knights (7-0). It’s a shame that UCF is only No. 10; they’re 20-0 over the last two seasons. Yes, I know they’re not in a power five conference, but it doesn’t matter, they haven’t lost a game in two seasons; they deserve the recognition.

They have the most underrated player in the nation, junior QB McKenzie Milton. All Milton has done in his college career is throw for 7,817 yards and has 63 touchdowns. The good news for UCF is their schedule does get tougher when they play Cincinnati and the undefeated No. 21 South Florida.

If the Knights go undefeated

from here on out, there is no doubt they should be in the four-team playoff.

At No. 6 are Georgia Bulldogs (6-1). The Bulldogs are coming off a 13-win season and the national runners up.

Sophomore QB Jake Fromm, had a lot of expectations coming into the season after posting a 12-2 record in his freshman year. This year Fromm has only thrown 1,409 yards. They lost to LSU by 20 on the road two weeks ago. They are now coming off a bye week heading into their biggest game of the year against the Florida Gators.

Expect head coach Kirby Smart to open up the playbook for the promising QB and give them momentum in the second half.

Coming in at No. 5 are the 7-1 Michigan Wolverines. Heading into the year head coach Jim Harbaugh got a lot of criticism for not being able to beat his rival and the good teams. It did not get off to a great start with their 24-17 loss at Norte Dame. But since then U of M has been on a seven-game winning streak, and is arguably the best team in the country. Junior QB Shea Patterson, who transferred from Ole Miss, has improved week by week becoming the most dynamic offense in Harbaugh’s tenure.

Since only scoring 17 points in week one, they are now averaging 38.7 points a game, but their offense doesn’t tell the whole story.

The best defensive coordinator in the country, Don Brown, leads them. Brown is only in year three, but his defense gets better year in and year out.

Fifth year defensive end Chase Winovich has been one of the many stars on Brown’s defense.

Last year Michigan lost to Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State.

Two weeks ago, after dominating Wisconsin 38-13, Winovich said it’s a “revenge tour” for the Wolverines. The very next week, Michigan demol-

ished MSU 21-7 on the road.

Winovich said, “you just gotta put them in place,” referring to them as their “little brother.”

Michigan still has PSU and OSU to accomplish, but if they complete the “revenge tour," they will be favorites to win the National Championship.

My pick for No. 4 are the Norte Dame Fighting Irish (7-0). Norte Dame has one of the best wins in college football this year in their 24-17 victory over Michigan in week one. But after that they haven’t looked particularly strong. Yes, they have blown out two other top 25 teams at that time, one being No. 7 Stanford by 21, but Stanford is now only 5-2 and only No. 24 in the current rankings and Va. Tech is no longer in the top 25.

They will have to win out and win convincingly from here on out. But they have the QB to do so in Ian Book. Book took over for Charlie Wimbush in week four, and in his four games as a starter, ND has averaged 39.5 points a game. He will need to continue his performance along with a stellar D if they want to be one of the four teams competing for the national championship.

At No. 3 are the 7-1 Louisiana State Tigers. The Tigers strength of schedule is one of the best in the country. They are 4-1 against top 25 teams led by head coach Ed Orgeron in his third season with the Tigers. Their only loss was on the road against Florida. The Tigers most impressive win was their 20-point blowout against the Georgia Bulldogs two weeks ago. The Tigers head into their bye week after their 19-3 win over Mississippi State. It’s a perfect time to have their bye, as they will host the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide the current No. 1 ranked team in the country. Vegas has them as 14-point underdog heading into this biggest game of the year. LSU has a great opportunity to prove that they

can hang with the best of the best. This is a must win game in Death Valley.

At No. 2 are the Clemson Tigers (7-0). Clemson is undefeated, but not without controversy. Head coach Dabo Swinney decided to bench QB Kelley Bryant for freshman QB Trevor Lawerance early in the season. Bryant led the Tigers to a 12-2 record last season as his first year as a starter.

But when he got benched, he decided to quit the team and will eventually transfer from the University. This obviously hasn’t affected the team as they haven’t lost a game all year and are coming off their best game, in a 41-7 win against No. 16 NC State. Just like Norte Dame, Clemson doesn’t have to face a top 25-team left on their schedule. It’s looking like Clemson will be headed to their fourth straight CFP appearance.

Finally, at No. 1, are the Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0).

It’s no shock that Alabama is the best team in the country. The defending National Champions have destroyed every team in sight. Their closest game was their 22-point win against Texas A & M. Yes, they’ve had a weak schedule so far, but they will have a great challenge coming up in their next game against LSU. The Crimson Tide have the best player in the country, sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa.

All he’s done this year is thrown 25 touchdowns and even more impressively he hasn’t thrown an interception.

We will see how good this team is when they head to Death Valley in two weeks. Even if they lose this game, it does not mean that they still can’t make the playoffs. Last year they went 11-1 and didn’t even play in their conference championship. But if Tua keeps playing the way he does, I don’t see the best team in the country losing any time soon.

Necks fall in another conference game

By Taylor Jordan courier staff

Shian Sanders awaits a serve in a home game inside Western Hall.

BECCA LANGYS/PHOTO EDITOR

MACOMB, Ill. — The Western Illinois volleyball team put together their best performance of the season offensively against Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday. The Leathernecks ended up falling 3-1 to the Mastodons.

Western drops to 1-22 (0-9) on the season, while Fort Wayne advances to 14-10.

The Purple and Gold have had the last seven days off after a 3-0 loss to Denver on Oct. 14. Western Illinois played the Pioneers tough in all three games, but they couldn’t pull through. Freshman Madeline Dieter and senior Melanie Patenaude ended the game with five kills apiece, while sophomore Cassie Hunt led the team with 12 assists. The Leathernecks were looking to bounce back against the Mastodons after all that time off.

Four Leathernecks recorded double-digit kills in the match against Purdue Fort Wayne as senior Shiah Sanders led the team with 12 and Patenaude, Dieter and sophomore Emma

Norris all logged 11. As a team, Western Illinois recorded 60 kills, which ties its seasonhigh (60 vs. North Dakota), and recorded a .222 hitting percentage which ranks second best of 2018 (.277 vs.

Fairleigh Dickinson).

Western Illinois volleyball played in pink jerseys for “Pinktober.” Western came out inspired in the first set after eight-year breast cancer survivor Valerie Rizzi was honored before their match.

Looking for a win, Western Illinois tied 4-4 in the opening frame. The Leathernecks then went on to win three-straight points after an attacking error and back-to-back kills from Norris and Patenaude.

The Mastodons bounced back to take a 13-11 lead, but the Leathernecks stopped the Mastodons run and won fourstraight points of their own.

With the 22-21 lead, Western Illinois won three points to end the set, 25-21.

Volleyball page 6

Soccer says goodbye to their seniors

By Michael Harms courier staff MACOMB, Ill. — The Western Illinois women’s soccer team took on the Denver University Pioneers with playoff hopes on the line. The Purple and Gold fell by a score of 3-0 this past Sunday.

At 3-11-1 (0-5 in conference) the Leathernecks needed to win out the rest of the season and garner some help from other teams to get a spot in The Summit League tournament, whereas Denver was just two wins away from clinching the first seed at 10-5-2 and 5-1 in the Summit League.

This game was the last home game for the Leathernecks, as they celebrated four graduating seniors, a graduating junior and an honorary senior, who is currently the team manager.

Those four seniors are Lilly Butler, Madeline Edwards, Emma Keckeisen and Ashley Kuhlmann. Stacie Wolfgram is also graduating, but as a junior, and Nicole Beer has been with the team for four years, played for three and

will graduate this year.

With no wins at home this year, the desperation was palpable for these seniors ready to win in their last game at John Mackenzie Alumni field.

Denver on the other hand, walked off the bus with an air of confidence.

Winning last year versus Western 5-0 and the No. 1 seed in conference they looked like bullies eager to take some lunch money.

From the early whistle Denver was on the attack.

Moving the ball up the sidelines and beating the Western backline feeding it into the box on a multitude of occasions they were determined to find the back of the net. At first, the Western defense proved tough and denied the Pioneers from an open opportunity.

Unfortunately, the Purple and Gold could no longer hold Denver. Allowing the visiting team to get on the board first.

Soccer page 6

Madeline Edwards runs to the ball on John Mackenize Alumni Field.

FILE PHOTO