B5Q Blogopean Union: who is really Running Back U?

Good morning! This is going to be a daily(ish) post that discusses the goings on of the rest of the Big Ten Conference, and the country as needed. Much like the European Union, the Big Ten is a loosely confederated group of entities that sometimes have the same goals (like free movement of people between countries or not winning national titles in football or basketball) and sometimes accept new members that they later regret (Estonia or Rutgers).

We hope that you will use this post to comment on things happening around the conference and also as a sort of daily open thread to discuss breaking news or argue about Spotted Cow.

• Tyler Biadasz is racking up some preseason love during Watch List Szn.

• We tweeted this out the other day but I don’t think people truly understood how impressive Jonathan Taylor’s yards after contact stats are.

The difference between he and Eno Benjamin is more than the difference between Benjamin and Spencer Brown. THAT’S CRAZY! Taylor just doesn’t go down until the second or third guy hits him. One of the reasons people get so hot and bothered about a quarterback being able to get the ball to Taylor in space is the fact that he can take on a defender himself and still turn it into a chunk play.

• ESPN took on the yeoman’s task of finding out which school produces the most NFL talent at each position and thus can lay claim to the title “Linebacker U” or “Running Back U” or “Punter U.” They mention what their methods are to rank these teams, and you can read that if you’d like, but let’s just see if they correctly rank Wisconsin as “O-Line U.”

AW WHAT THE HELL!?!?!

Wisconsin came in second for both “O-Line U” and “Running Back U” to our long time blood-rival, Alabama. The Badgers finished fifth in the running for “Tight End U” and could maybe crack the top-10 for “Linebacker U” if ESPN redoes this post in a few years. Speaking of which, does anyone remember this commercial for BTN?

I still, to this day, say “big W right on the helmet” and “we’rrrrrrrre linebacker u” whenever I’m talking about college football. I always have timely and topical references.

• Tickets for the best hockey team in town go on sale Wednesday (that’s today) if you want to see the defending national champs skate circles around people.

• Iowa has good tight ends every year. Oftentimes more than one! Here’s a position preview of Iowa’s best unit.
• Nebraska players just can’t stop getting in trouble while having weed on them. Ya gotta love the persistence.
• Jake Kocorowski, may he RIP in peace, was on Corn Nation’s podcast to discuss the differences between Nebraska’s fan base (delusional corn humpers) and Wisconsin’s fan base (attractive Rhodes Scholars). It’s probably good they interviewed him and not me because I don’t think I would have done us any favors in terms of cursing and general boorishness.
• Northwestern beats out Michigan State for a 3-star defensive end out of Ohio.
• Huh. Michigan’s offensive line should be pretty good this year, I see.
• Friday night games are the worst, but at least Maryland students get a half day out of the deal.