B5Q Roundtable: bye week edition

There isn’t any Wisconsin game to react to this week so let’s check in on the rest of the country and see what our staff enjoyed doing with a fall Saturday devoid of Badgers-centric angst!

What was your favorite game to watch on Saturday with the Badgers not playing?

Tyler: I think because of the imagery the Auburn-Penn State game. Two teams that don’t meet much made it a really cool sight. It’s hard to beat a White Out in Happy Valley.

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Bremen: I enjoyed watching the train wreck that was Nebraska and Oklahoma. While the best game was obviously Penn State vs. Auburn — which actually lived up to the hype — that Nebraska and Oklahoma game were two teams that were playing in similar style to how I felt that morning, after a few too many drinks from Monday’s (if you know you know). It obviously was not good, but I felt they were matching my energy and appreciated that.

JJ: Penn State/Auburn had a little bit of everything. With the best atmosphere in college sports (it pains me to say it, but once you’ve experienced a White Out you know it’s true), a competitive game between ranked teams, all kinds of game-changing plays, and a little bit of refball, this game had it all. Plus, there’s something just so hilarious about watching Bo Nix and Sean Clifford square off as a matchup of quarterbacks for elite teams.

What was your Sickos Game of the Week?

Tyler: I’d have to agree with JJ that the Clemson/GT game was pretty ugly. You expect Georgia Tech to be pretty bad, but Clemson was horrendous. That was unreal.

Bremen: My sicko game was the last couple minutes of Stanford and Vanderbilt, which I happened to be watching. Stanford kicked the Commodores butts, the stadium was way over half empty, and Vandy scored a little touchdown in literally the dying minutes of the game that meant nothing and you could hear little cheers. Then I fell asleep. I think that is the best way to describe what those two teams are capable of on the football field.

JJ: Clemson/Georgia Tech was such a glorious sickos game. GT’s only scores being two field goals and a safety is the epitome of comedy on offense. Calling a gadget pass on fourth and goal from the one yard line and just getting stuffed was utter hilarity by the Yellow Jackets, who do deserve some credit for also making this game really funny by dragging Dabo and the Tigers into a complete rock fight at home. Voted “dumbest game to put on in the press box at Notre Dame vs Syracuse women’s soccer” by me and probably the two broadcasters behind me.

Who is the best team in the Big Ten based on these first four weeks of the season?

Tyler: I think if I had to pick a team it would be Penn State, but I don’t love it. Something isn’t right with Ohio State. You don’t see them struggling weeks on end normally. I think so far we’ve seen that college football thus far is pretty much even behind Alabama.

Bremen: Nobody overreact, but Penn State might be the best team in the conference. They looked the part on defense against Wisconsin but struggled offensively. Then, they worked out the kinks and Sean Clifford seemed able to actually throw the ball mostly competently against Auburn, and they obviously won that game. I also am saying this to make me feel better about Wisconsin’s own dreadful offensive performance against the Nittany Lions, and hope that what it means is Wisconsin is actually pretty good too. It’s called wishful thinking and manifesting.

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JJ: I never thought I’d say this, but I’m on the Iowa train. I also was high on Penn State to start the season, and they’re (finally) repaying that faith, but man do the Hawkeyes look good. The offense isn’t electrifying, but as I’m sure Wisconsin fans can appreciate, they get the job done well. The defense is one of the best in the nation. They’re tough up front, don’t lapse in the secondary, and will make your life Hell hitting you on any level of the field. We’ve repeatedly seen it’s almost impossible to keep up with Bama’s offensive machine in the playoffs- I’d be really interested to see if Iowa’s meat grinder defense would fare any better. That is, assuming they don’t get derailed in a Madison matchup that’s looking more important to the Badgers season each day.

If you had to pick a CFP field right now, who would you have in?

Tyler: Bama, UGA, Oregon, Penn State? I guess? Is anyone really that good? Can Bama just win and we play an eight team bracket for second? That would be incredible.

Bremen: Bama and UGA are locks at the moment. I am shocked to write this, but Ohio State definitely is not a lock for the playoff like normal. So I will say Big Ten team to be named later (probably Iowa or Penn State) and I want to throw out a wildcard for shits so Fresno State. All for the quarterback Jake Haener who killed UCLA with a bad hip.

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JJ: 1. Alabama. Obviously. 2. Georgia. Obviously. 3. Oregon I didn’t even have in the top ten to start the season, but it’s impossible to not merit them with a spot, at least as of right now, after they took down Ohio State in such impressive fashion. And 4. Cincinnati, because I refuse to be in the camp of people who don’t respect G5 undefeateds.

What else did you do with your Saturday? Eat or drink anything fun?

Tyler: I was out on the Pontoon Porch on Lake Monona and then took the pup to a new brewery/dog park called The Boneyard. I highly recommend if you want to enjoy some adult beverages while your dog is able to run and play. Perfect idea for Madison.

Bremen: Well, funny story: I graduated. I was a part of the class of 2020 at UW which — for obvious reasons — did not have an in-person ceremony. In fact, on May 9, I woke up in my house in Atlanta instead of my college apartment and said “hey, I graduated I guess.” Then I went and played NCAA Football 14 where I was leading the Badgers to a glorious, Alabama-like reign.

So this weekend, we had a class of 2020 ceremony at Camp Randall, and now it feels like I really did graduate despite the fact I actually did it and got a diploma and everything. My parents came up, I jumped around, I had beers at the Terrace and got lots of yells of “congrats” from people on the street in my robes. It was a good time.

JJ: I went to the Notre Dame/Purdue slugfest, but you said anything fun so…I tailgated before the Notre Dame/Purdue slugfest?