B5Q Blogopean Union: The Grit Factory is a real place 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 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 all saw the Grit Factory hat on Saturday against Iowa. You all loved the Grit Factory hat on Saturday against Iowa. Now, thanks to the officially licensed gear from BreakingT, you can own Grit Factory gear! Not only will you be supporting B5Q if you click on that link and buy something, you’ll be supporting Collin Wilder too! Get that NIL money, baby!!!!

• Historically, Wisconsin running backs have feasted against Rutgers. Hopefully Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen have been getting some rest because they are likely to get a bunch of carries on Saturday.

• The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team can not stop winning awards. Now that October is over, the WCHA handed out their monthly awards and two Badgers were honored. Goalie Kennedy Blair was named Goaltender of the Month due in no small part to her leading all NCAA goalies this year with 11 wins and four shutouts. She leads the WCHA in goals-against average with a 0.94 clip while her .952 save percentage ranks second in the league.

Makenna Webster was named WCHA Forward of the Month and this also comes as no surprise since she leads the country with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists). Her 15 assists and five power-play goals also lead the NCAA. Her plus/minus of +23 is tied for the best in the country with teammate Daryl Watts.

It marks the second-straight month that Webster and Blair earned player of the month honors as the duo earned WCHA Rookie of the Month and WCHA Goaltender of the Month honors, respectively, for March after leading UW to its ninth WCHA tournament title and the program’s sixth national championship.

• Barnes? Barnes.

• Big series this weekend for the men’s hockey team. Wear red if you’re going to the game and yell at Minnesota extra loud for me.

• If you want to check out how Iowa’s position grades went after the loss to Wisconsin...here ya go.
• Lmaoooooo Penn State isn’t ranked in the CFP.
• Michigan football is at “The Refs Screwed Us” stage of Going Through It after their loss to MSU.
• What did Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano have to say ahead of playing Wisconsin on Saturday.
• The Hoosiers just don’t have it this year. Here are three takeaways from their loss to Maryland last Saturday.
• The Minnesota men’s basketball team shouldn’t win too many games this year, so make sure you check out their box score from the win over Concordia-St. Paul.