Minnesota players were thrilled to be keeping Paul Bunyan’s axe after defeating Wisconsin for the 2nd-consecutive season.

The last time the Gophers won the Axe in back-to-back seasons was almost 30 years ago, in 1993 & 1994. The players were seen jumping up and down and passing the axe around in the end zone after the victory.

Minnesota also delivered the customary chops to the goalpost with the Axe in hand:

The Gophers were led by Athan Kaliakmanis at QB, who has been filling in for Tanner Morgan. Morgan suffered an upper-body injury in the Nebraska game and has not played since.

Kaliakmanis had a fantastic game against Wisconsin, going 19-for-29 for 319 yards and 2 TDs. The young QB also contributed 14 rushing yards and did not turn the ball over.

Also of note, Gopher RB Mohamed Ibrahim finished with less than 100 rushing yards for the 1st time since the 2019 season.