B5Q Blogopean Union: USA/Canada hockey games can pretty much just be Badgers scrimmages

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).

• Folks who have been reading this site for a while may remember that we used to do a post every morning (during the week) that contained updates from around the Wisconsin athletic department and the Big Ten in general. Now that it is fall (by sports being played, NOT by weather) we’ll be doing it again. You can expect this post to go up (just about) every weekday morning between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. CT.
• While we are doing some site announcements, let me list all of the writers’ Twitter accounts so you can harass them over there too. Matt Belz, Tyler Hunt, Owen Riese, J.J. Post, Bremen Keasey, Jake Dicker, Ryan Mellenthin and Kevin O’Connell. You can find my Twitter handle at the top of this post and, as always, you can reach us @B5Q.
• You should also follow us on Instagram @buckys5thquarter and subscribe to Bucky’s 5th Podcast on Spotify, Apple and Stitcher. You can also like us on Facebook. Once Tyler finally learns how to dance, you’ll be able to find us on TikTok too.

• Hopefully you caught Tyler’s recap of what Paul Chryst had to say on Monday morning about the opening game of the season. It was full of bon mots like this.

• Chez Mellusi’s old teammate at Clemson, and current Jacksonville Jaguars running back, Travis Etienne (who is sadly out for the season with an injury) gassed up Mellusi for earning the RB1 distinction for the Badgers.

• Miss you both, mean it.

• Canada vs. USA in ice hockey. Does it get any better? Only if a bunch of former Badgers are involved and...would you look at that, there are 13 former, current and future Badgers potentially playing for the gold medal on Tuesday!

Canada’s roster features five former Badgers in Kristen Campbell, Emily Clark, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull. While Team USA has former Badgers Alex Cavallini, Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight and Abby Roque; current Badgers Natalie Buchbinder, Britta Curl and Lacey Eden; and one future Badger, Caroline Harvey.

• I forgot to mention this in Monday’s edition, but Knight is now the all-time leading scorer for Team USA, surpassing Cammi Granato. That’s awesome!

• The men’s soccer team...might not be very good this year. The loss to Green Bay is disappointing for sure, but how they lost is even more discouraging. Wisconsin was up 1-0 for the entire second half, until the 88th minute when Green Bay equalized...and then the 89th minute when the Phoenix took the lead.

Just zero composure from the Badgers. Losing games like this makes it just about impossible for them to even think about making the NCAA Tournament unless they make a miracle run in the Big Ten Tournament.

• The women’s soccer team, on the other hand, were clicking on all cylinders on Sunday, scoring the most goals in a game since they scored six against Hofstra in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

• We know that the Big Ten released the men’s hockey schedule on Monday. We’ll have a post on it later today!
• Same thing with the volleyball rankings!

• Even if Michigan is undefeated, should they change QBs before they play Wisconsin?
• It’s annoying when Ohio State does cool shit, but their new Block O jersey tradition is...pretty cool.
• This is just an open thread for Penn State fans, but the questions that the article brings up are interesting to read as a Wisconsin fan.
• Iowa vs. Indiana should be another great Week 1 Big Ten matchup. Here is how the Hawkeyes will line up.
• Michigan State vs. Northwestern should be...not as great as some of the other games, but is still full of intrigue AND revenge!
• Rutgers is looking to take baby steps towards respectability in football. Here are their five most important games this season.
• Unlike the Wisconsin men’s soccer team, Maryland’s men soccer team was able to beat their in-state rival (UMBC in this case).
• There were only two teams eligible for the Big Ten’s weekly football awards. Surely each team would at least get one of the four awards right? WRONG! LMAOOOOOOO NEBRASKA!
• The Gophers added another piece to their men’s basketball 2022 recruiting class. If I’m reading correctly, they could have eight (!!!) scholarships available for the ‘22 class.
• Michigan State, reportedly, has a new athletic director.