The Gopher defense dominates and Minnesota wins Paul Bunyan’s Axe
With a 24-7 win, Paul Bunyan’s Axe returns to Minnesota for the third time in four seasons. The Gopher defense shut down Wisconsin and Minnesota then used a balanced offense to control the game as they cruised to the win in Madison.
The Gopher win not only secured the Axe but it gave Wisconsin their first 5-game losing streak since 1991 and they are not bowl-eligible for the first time since 2001.
Minnesota dominated the first half. Wisconsin’s six possessions all resulted in punts and the Badgers had 43 yards at the break. On offense, Minnesota had two lengthy drives for touchdowns. Brosmer hit Daniel Jackson for 37 yards to eventually set up a Brosmer rush for the game’s opening touchdown. Then Marcus Major sprinted for 40 yards to set up a Brosmer to Jackson touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead.
The second half began looking very similar. Wisconsin went three-and-out after the kickoff and Minnesota went 83 yards for a touchdown and it was quickly 21-0 with the Badgers having zero momentum. On the drive, Brosmer was 6/6 and threw a dime to Jameson Geers for the score.
Wisconsin, down three touchdowns and having shown no ability to move the ball suddenly their offense managed to find a couple of first downs. On 3rd and 15 from the Gopher 45, Brandon Locke checked down to Vinny Anthony for a loss of one. But Joey Gerlach gets called for hitting Anthyone out of bounds for a 15-yard penalty. Two plays later, Locke finds Anthony for a 15-yard touchdown and momentum felt like it was swinging back to the Badger sideline.
After both teams exchanged a few punts, Darius Taylor put the game away for the Gophers. Taking the ball with 7 minutes left and up two touchdowns, Taylor was given the ball over and over. He rushed for 16 on second and eight. He rushed for 10 on second and 12 before converting the first down on the next play. Fleck gave the ball to Taylor eight consecutive plays for 35 yards, eating up nearly 4 minutes of clock before Dragan Kesich iced the game with a 43-yard field goal.
On 4th and 1, the Gopher defense stopped the Badger rushing attempt for no-gain and took over with 2 minutes and the 17-point lead.
Taylor finished the game with 143 yards. Brosmer was 17/26 for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns. Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer combined for 11 catches and 136 yards. Defensively, Minnesota held Wisconsin to just 36 yards rushing on 23 carries and their offense was 3/13 on third down.
Up next? Hard to believe the regular season is already over and Minnesota awaits their bowl game fate. The most likely destinations are Nashville for the Music City Bowl or Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. We would be aided by an Iowa win over Nebraska in this evening’s game.