B5Q Blogopean Union: Barry Alvarez Day is Saturday, stock up on sherry

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).

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you should have to choose one thing to be good at. You shouldn’t be allowed to be an excellent football player and a brain genius. DAMN YOU, MATT HENNINGSEN! And congratulations too, I suppose.

• Looks like Tony Granato might be racking up the frequent flyer miles in early December thanks to him being inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

• Barry Alvarez is a true Wisconsin legend. The reason we are so upset about how this football season has started is because of what Alvarez helped build. Was he perfect? No, of course not, but he put the Badgers on the map in football and that, in turn, has helped turn the athletic department into the juggernaut that it is today.

• Freshman guard Maty Wilke, a Beaver Dam native, received the “Legacy Award” from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Per the WBCA website, “the WBCA Legacy Leadership Award will be given annually to an Executive Board member as well as a girl and boy senior student-athlete who demonstrates the exemplary qualities of Character, Courage, and Service.”

• Steve Lowe Night is on Friday. Lowe was the coach at Wisconsin for their first Big Ten title and NCAA Tournament berth. Here is a good writeup from five years ago about what he meant to the volleyball program and his players.

• Free t-shirts and soccer? FREE T-SHIRTS AND SOCCER!

• BIG match on Thursday night (that’s tonight!) for the women’s soccer team against Penn State. It will be aired live on Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. CT and it is going to be way better than the Jaguars/Bengals Thursday Night Football game.

• That’s US Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Tony Granato to you, Don!

• Tyler spoke with our pals over at Maize N Brew about the game on Saturday.
• Michigan’s rushing attack has been great this year, but Wisconsin’s rush defense has been better. Can Wolverines QB Cade McNamara make the difference on Saturday?
• I chatted with Ace Anbender of The Bucket Problem, an excellent Michigan podcast and newsletter, about the game too. The podcast is for paid subscribers only, but they do have free content too that is worth checking out if you want more insight on the Wolverines.
• B5Q has long history of caring about professional wrestling so obviously I am going to link to BHGP’s story about WWE Champion, and Iowa Hawkeye, Big E.
• Reimagining Nebraska’s special teams.
• Northwestern men’s soccer is off to a rough 0-3 start in the Big Ten. Can they turn it around?
• An interesting dive into how the order of a college football schedule may affect a team.
• Is Greg Schiano TOO aggressive on fourth down for Rutgers?
• Maryland volleyball raced out to a 2-0 lead against Penn State but the Nittany Lions pulled the ol’ reverse sweep to win the match 3-2. Despite the loss, the Terps are DANGEROUS.
• The Illini faithful are enamored with their young running back.
• 4-star ATH Dillon Tatum (West Bloomfield, Mich.) chose Michigan State over Michigan on Thursday. The Badgers had offered Tatum, but weren’t in consideration at the end.