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College Football

3 takeaways as Wisconsin retakes the Axe with win over Minnesota

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Wisconsin and Minnesota headed into Rivalry Weekend with a massive showdown in store to decide the fate of Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Both teams were looking to make a statement, and the Golden Gophers were looking to secure a bowl game with a 6th win of the season.

In the end, Wisconsin scored 21 unanswered points and dominated the second half to pull out a 28-14 win and reclaim the Axe. As for Minnesota, PJ Fleck’s team will now have to wait to find out their fate for the postseason.

Here are the key takeaways from the rivalry matchup:

Braelon Allen dominates after 2022 absence

Braelon Allen and the Badger offense battled injuries throughout the season. Fortunately, Allen was healthy for this one, and he left his mark in a major way.

Allen led all players with 26 carries for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. His second touchdown of the day came in the third quarter to give Wisconsin a 21-14 lead.

That type of performance in a rivalry game is always sweet, but it will linger even sweeter for Allen. As a freshman in 2021, Allen was limited to 47 yards and he missed the 2022 game due to injury.

Now, he was able to help the team reclaim the Axe with his best performance of the season against the Gophers.

Luke Fickell moves to 1-0 in rivalry

How successful is Fickell’s first season in Madison? That depends on your expectations for the Badgers entering the season. In the preseason media poll, Wisconsin was among the favorites in the B1G West, but those expectations were quickly revealed to be overblown.

Some results this season will undoubtedly leave Badger fans scratching their heads. That includes a road loss to Indiana and a home loss to Northwestern, but some bright spots are included.

With a win over the Gophers, Fickell guarantees a winning season with his 7th of the year. Wisconsin will head to a bowl game at 7-5, so a shot at an 8th win is still on the table.

As for the win over Minnesota, don’t overlook the impact of a rivalry win. Wisconsin had lost two straight (under Paul Chryst in 2021 and interim head coach Jim Leonhard in 2022), and those losses are significant.

There is still plenty of work to be done in Madison, but this is undoubtedly a positive note for the Badgers to wrap up the regular season at 7-5 and the Axe back in Madison.

Minnesota awaits bowl game fate

Unfortunately, the Gophers have been stuck on 5 wins since a win over Michigan State at the end of October. That win put Minnesota at 5-3, but a winless November with losses to Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State and Wisconsin has muddled the team’s bowl picture.

While 5-7 is a disastrous finish under those circumstances, Minnesota could have a chance at a bowl game. If there are not enough 6-6 teams to fill the bowl slots, the Golden Gophers could sneak into the postseason, but that’s far from a cheery thought at this point in time.

The good news for PJ Fleck this season is wins over Iowa and Nebraska in the first half of the season. The bad news is losing the Axe and going winless in November when just one would have clinched an easy bowl berth.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.