Minnesota’s fans gleefully converged on the field as Paul Bunyan’s Axe was slowly paraded through the crowd, eager for a peek at this long-sought trophy that has gone so often to Wisconsin.
The Gophers’ defense swarmed the field like that all afternoon.
Tanner Morgan overcame an interception that was returned for a first-half touchdown, leading three scoring drives after halftime to take down the 18th-ranked Badgers in a 23-13 victory that regained the Axe and gave Iowa the Big Ten West Division title Saturday.
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“We all put a ton into it. I’m just so proud that they have a big reward for it,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said.
The Badgers had only 160 total yards over the final three quarters and three points after halftime. They turned the ball over on downs on their last two possessions, and the Gophers got to sprint to the end zone to hoist the 73-year-old trophy on their home field for the first time since 2003. The rap song “Jump Around” played over the speakers in a taunt of Wisconsin’s home-game anthem.
“Nobody wants to be the team that loses the Axe, so it’s truly disappointing,” Badgers outside linebacker Noah Burks said.
Collin Larsh made two field goals for Wisconsin, but he had a 48-yard try — four yards beyond his career long — bounce off the crossbar early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota went the other way for Matthew Trickett’s third field goal of the game to put the stamp on it.
Morgan went 11 for 16 for 199 yards and a third-quarter touchdown pass to Chris Autman-Bell, but the defense stole the show. The Gophers (8-4, 6-3) delivered the kind of stifling performance by their defense the Badgers (8-4, 6-3, No. 14 CFP) were so used to demoralizing their opponents with.
Freshman standout Braelon Allen was limited to 47 yards on 17 rushes. He topped the 100-yard mark in each of the last seven games, all wins for Wisconsin. The Badgers had 62 rushing yards, after averaging 269 yards on the ground…
Source : foxnews
