B5Q Blogopean Union: a mostly Badgers update in the wide world of sports

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 Nebraska).

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).

• You can quibble with PFF’s rankings and how good they actually are, but when their top three linebackers so far this season are two Badgers and a dude from Georgia? Yeah, that’s probably right.

• All three of these guys also show up on Mel Kiper Jr.’s board for inside linebacker NFL Draft prospects? Also makes a lot of sense!

• I looked at the press release about this award, and Matt Henningsen has the best GPA while also being one of the best players sooooo it seems like the award is his to lose. He literally starts on a Big Ten football team while simultaneously having a 4.0 in electrical engineering. I’m overwhelmed just typing that sentence!

• The men’s basketball team had practice that was open to the media on Wednesday and it appears that Lorne Bowman and Chucky Hepburn were back on the court.

• Wisconsin has an exhibition game on Friday against Whitewater. Here is what Evan Flood noticed about a potential rotation. Keep in mind that the second “Carlson” should actually say “Gilmore”

• J.J. Watt has had an amazing NFL career but there will always be a “what if” question with him due to his terrible injury luck. Hopefully he is able to fully rehab and come back to play again next year.

• The Badgers are going to have to bring their A+ game this weekend if they want to combat the powerful energy in this picture.

• Look at everyone getting along!

• The USWNT was in St. Paul, Minn. on Tuesday night for a friendly against South Korea and to celebrate Carli Lloyd’s (a Rutgers alum) legendary career. While Lloyd didn’t score in her final match wearing her nation’s colors, fellow Big Ten alum Rose Lavelle did slot one home in USA’s 6-0 drubbing of Korea.

• Not to sound overly pessimistic but...it’s a bummer this game is on national TV. There is definitely a long, in-depth post to be written about the decline of the Wisconsin men’s hockey program and hopefully this game isn’t another telling footnote in that article.

• A great honor for former Wisconsin wrestler Andy Rein.

• ICYMI on Wednesday night: your Wisconsin Badgers are now in first place in the Big Ten thanks to a sweep at Nebraska. There are some excellent points in this highlight video.

• This is an astoundingly hilarious response.

• The view from Corn Nation after the volleyball match on Wednesday night.
• Wisconsin has, yet again, put Purdue football in an existential crisis.
• It’s almost Halloween, so who are the spookiest teams to play against in college football?
• Here are the key matchups in the Michigan/Michigan State game.
• We’ll have a full post later about the preseason accolades handed out for men’s and women’s Big Ten hoops, but Kofi Cockburn of Illinois was men’s preseason player of the year and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Michigan’s Naz Hillmon split the women’s preseason player of the year award.