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Wisconsin wins Paul Bunyan’s Axe for 12th straight year
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Final: Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 21
Key play: Michael Caputo forces K.J. Maye fumble
It looked like Minnesota and Wisconsin were set for a back-and-forth battle. Trailing 21-14 and hoping to tie it up at the end of the half, Mitch Leidner completed a pass to Maye over the middle, but Caputo popped the ball loose and killed the Gophers’ momentum. Wisconsin capitalized on the short field and took a two-possession lead into the half. Overcoming two-possession leads against that Wisconsin defense is not ideal, as Minnesota found out.
Telling stat: Minnesota turns ball over five times
Fittingly, the game ended on a Tanner McEvoy interception of Leidner. The Wisconsin do-it-all senior forced two of the five Gopher turnovers. Minnesota’s margin for error was slim. Without many big play-threats, Minnesota is not a team that can overcome turnovers in a hurry. That surfaced on Saturday. Leidner wasn’t particularly accurate, and against a veteran defense like Wisconsin’s, that was a problem.
Worth noting:
–Wisconsin dominates on ground without Corey Clement
There were a lot of people calling for Wisconsin to get back to its bread and butter to get the ball out of Joel Stave’s hands. Well, Paul Chryst followed that blueprint, especially after Stave threw a pick-six to Briean Boddy-Calhoun on the opening drive. The Badgers ran the ball 62 times and only threw it 17. It didn’t matter that Clement was out. Dare Ogunbowale was a monster for Wisconsin. He and Taiwan Deal combined for 245 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries. The Wisconsin model is still in place, no matter who is in the backfield.
–Minnesota had the ball for less than 20 minutes
Yikes. It was an ugly day for the Minnesota offense after a promising start. That was a product of Wisconsin dominating the line of scrimmage. As a result, the Gopher running game was virtually non-existent. Just 18 carries was a season-low for Minnesota, which had to establish balance to have a shot against Wisconsin. But the Badgers took Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith away, and forced the Gophers to go to the air. That was the formula for a victory.
What it means: Wisconsin didn’t quit after last week
Saturday could’ve been rough for the Badgers. They weren’t playing for a B1G Championship, and they were on the road against a Minnesota team that was trying to earn a bowl berth. Coming off of last week’s controversial loss, Wisconsin could’ve easily come out flat. Instead, the Badgers continued their dominance of Minnesota and came back to Madison with Paul Bunyan’s Axe. In a season that’s had plenty of frustrating moments, Saturday certainly wasn’t one of them. Despite this being a “down” year for Wisconsin, it still has a chance to lock up another 10-win season. That’s impressive.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.