MINNEAPOLIS — If you listen hard enough, you can hear the wind of change howling through the Northwoods of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

But you have to listen really, really hard.

On the surface, the 131st on-field clash for Paul Bunyan’s Axe requires little by way of synopsis.

Beat your archrival. Potentially ruin their season. Snare the trophy. Maybe play for your 1st conference championship since 1967.

But in terms of depth, this one is more like Lake Superior and less like Excelsior Bay.

Saturday’s 3 p.m. game against Wisconsin represents a sudden opportunity for Minnesota to take the next step as a program. Win the big one. Give yourself a chance to play for a title.

In reality, the Golden Gophers — fresh off a thorough 35-14 win at Indiana — could call this a successful season no matter what happens Saturday. The standard set by coach P.J. Fleck, coupled with Minnesota’s current place in the football landscape, means 7- or 8-win seasons and middle- to high-tier bowl games can be the expectation.

There have been some bumps along the way, starting with clunkers against Bowling Green and Illinois. It’s easy to forget this team is playing without 2020 Big Ten running back of the year Mohamed Ibrahim, too.

But in terms of the big, big picture, there’s not much to lose.

Just don’t tell Gophers fans and players that.

Because the flip side is that there’s almost everything to gain. A victory over Bucky with a Nebraska win against Iowa and a Purdue triumph over Indiana would put Minnesota in the B1G championship game.

Competing for division titles represents that next step.

The Gophers had a similar chance in 2019, although they didn’t need any help in that scenario. But good old border nemesis Wisconsin spoiled Minnesota’s best season since the early 1900s.

Even when the Gophers are rotten, this game means a ton to the locals. But in a B1G West that has been particularly wild this year, there’s a lot more than simply an Axe to grind.

These are the kinds of opportunities Fleck and Minnesota’s administration dreamed about when he signed a 7-year contract extension through 2028. Fleck fits here, and the university is certainly grateful for the amount of relevance its football program has been able to achieve.

But being relevant and being a champion are 2 very different things.

The Gophers couldn’t quite make it happen against Iowa 2 games ago. Can this time be different?

It won’t be easy.

There’s a lot on the line for quarterback Tanner Morgan, who reminded us Saturday what he can do when he has capable receivers running down the seams.

While the Gophers were dusting off the Hoosiers, Nebraska showed that Wisconsin’s vaunted defense — No. 1 in total yardage allowed entering the weekend — has holes, especially on intermediate throws. Looking at you, Chris Autman-Bell and Brevyn Spann-Ford.

This is also a chance for Joe Rossi Jr.’s defense to display just how much it has come along since an oft-putrid 2020 campaign. Minnesota’s rush defense is 10th in FBS. Wisconsin’s ground attack — led by 17-year-old, 2nd-coming-of-Ron-Dayne running back Braelon Allen — is 12th.

This will be a good old-fashioned meat grinder, the kind in which Minnesota has shown an ability to hang around.

That’s where the program is at today — one that hangs around and makes things interesting. But can it make the jump from dangerous to deserving?

That’s what’s truly up for grabs this weekend.