B5Q Blogopean Union: we are a soccer school now

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 (which we NO LONGER DO).

• In a move that literally everyone saw coming, Ohio State will be allowed to play in the Big Ten Championship Game even though they haven’t played six games. The Buckeyes are clearly the best team in the B1G East, hell they’ve already beaten Indiana this year, but the way the Big Ten has handled this (and everything this season) has been extremely poor and distasteful.

• Look at Sam Dekker still draining dagger three pointers! He had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists

• Last year I shouted at the Mannelly Award account on Twitter for not including Adam Bay on their semifinalist list for best long snapper in the country. Turns out, only seniors are eligible, which they kindly explained to me, so Bay wasn’t eligible until this year. I have literally never heard of a single other one of these players but I’m certain that Bay is the best one.

• Let’s talk about Sydney Hilliard like we are deep into #NBATwitter. Ok...here we go! Hilliard is built different! She’s a walking bucket problem! Hmm, that doesn’t seem right but it doesn’t change the fact that Hilliard has been filling it up so far this season.

• How about those refs from last night’s game?

• Christopher Mueller, a Wisconsin soccer alum, made his debut for the United States Men’s National Team on Wednesday night. He is the first male Badger to ever play for the senior national team and, well, his first game freaking ruled!

Mueller bagged a brace and an assist as the USA romped El Salvador, 6-0. Look at this second goal! He looks like Robin Van Persie!

Mueller set up the first goal of the game after a sweet run and then, as the postgame recap put it, “cutting towards goal from the left wing, the forward leapt over a slide-tackle and maintained possession before dishing between two more defenders to Paul Arriola near the penalty spot.”

He then added his two goals in the 20th and 25th minute to effectively salt the game away. I’m not sure what his future with the USMNT holds, as this was not the “A team” for Gregg Berhalter’s side, but performances like this will definitely keep Mueller on the radar.

• Iowa’s offensive line vs. Wisconsin’s front seven should be a fun matchup on Saturday.
• After the Big Ten dominated the ACC on Tuesday night, Wednesday was a different story entirely. Nebraska lost to Ga. Tech, Northwestern blew a double-digit lead to Pitt, the Terps got blown out by Clemson and the Hoosiers fell to Florida State in OT.
• Here is a deep dive into how the Penn State men’s guards can transform their game on any give night to help the team.
• Purdue vs. Indiana was officially canceled on Wednesday.
• The Buckeyes flipped 2022 5-star QB Quinn Ewers from Texas recently and now he is the top prospect in the country. Glad they finally caught a break on the trail.
• Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson has been playing very well this year.
• Minnesota men’s hockey swept Michigan and are now 8-0 on the season.
• And here’s a little nightmare fuel to start your day!