SI.COM

FOR OCT. 2, 2017

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20/20 HINDSIGHT

When the college football season kicked off, SI's staff felt confident about a few key predictions. Some of them we got right: Alabama is indeed a juggernaut, knocking off opponents with machinelike precision, and the Big Ten is, as we thought, a three-horse race between Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Some of our other predictions, however.... Yeah, we've got some explaining to do. For starters: LSU is not, in fact, "this year's biggest surprise team"; Clemson (left) hasn't shown any signs of that championship hangover we saw coming; and Texas isn't exactly "back" yet. To see what we whiffed on during the preseason, and why, go to SI.com/college-football

Starr Treatment

Dr. James Andrews has been at the forefront of sports medicine for decades, and now he and his team are diving into a new treatment: stem-cell therapy. Advances could lead to faster recovery times, with stars returning from ACL surgery, for example, in a fraction of the usual time. Eventually, teams could harvest and bank stem cells from players to treat injuries as they occur throughout a season. SI's Greg Bishop explores the significant benefits stem-cell treatments had for the health of 83-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, as well as what these advances might mean for athletes down the road, at SI.com/nfl

One Giant Step

New York once had three major league teams. Then, suddenly, it had one: In 1957 the Giants joined the Dodgers in announcing a move to the West Coast, taking Willie Mays with them. The latest episode of SI's The Narrative podcast examines how, 60 years later, the fans and the city still feel the effects of the Giants' departure. Go to SI.com/podcasts to download or subscribe.