Going into Saturday's final Camp Randall contest of the year against Minnesota, the Badgers seem to have it all. They claim an undefeated record, have one of the nation's top defenses and are ranked fourth and fifth in the nation. However, Wisconsin is determined to claim ownership of one more thing-the Paul Bunyan Axe.
The Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry has been played 113 times, making it the most played rivalry in Division I NCAA football, and for the past 56 years, the winner of the annual contest claims the rights to the Axe. Last season, the Badgers traveled to Minnesota and lost possession when Gopher senior kicker Rhys Lloyd nailed a 35-yard field goal in the final seconds to ensure a 37-34 victory and the rights to the Axe.
\It was pretty sad because the seniors from two years ago worked pretty hard winning that last home game and bringing the Axe here,"" sophomore offensive lineman Joe Thomas said regarding last year's game. ""Then we had the job to keep it in Madison and when you don't come through on doing what you're supposed to do, it's pretty hard to take.""
""It hurt us last year losing, especially seeing that trophy case in the locker room all year and then you go in there the next week and it's just empty,"" senior safety Robert Brooks said. ""You don't think it's that big of a deal until you lose it. We just want to go out there and play a good game and bring the Axe back.""
The first game between these two teams was in 1890, when the Gophers started off the rivalry with a 63-0 pounding of the Badgers. The rivalry continued until it took a temporary halt in 1906, as President Theodore Roosevelt canceled the game because of the injuries and even deaths that had occurred in college football rivalries. The game resumed in 1907 and has been on-going ever since.
In the 113 times these two teams have played each other, the record stands in Minnesota's favor: 59-46-8. Recently though, the Axe has been on the Wisconsin side of the border. From 1995-2000 the Badgers claimed ownership but from 2001-'03, the trophy has gone to the home team. This weekend, the odds are in Wisconsin's favor with its 29-22-6 record in Madison.
Before the Axe came around in 1948, both teams fought to ""bring home the bacon."" In 1930, the Slab of Bacon award was given to the winning team from a sorority at the losing team's school. During the early 1940s, the Bacon award could no longer be used because the trophy mysteriously disappeared. The Bacon was not gone for good though. In 1994, the Slab of Bacon was found while cleaning out a Camp Randall storage room. Though the trophy had been missing from the early 1940s, all of the series scores from 1930-'70 were somehow marked on the Axe.
With the Bacon on display in the offices at Camp Randall and the Axe currently in the hands of the Gophers, the Wisconsin coaches have been reminding the team what they have to play for.
""It's a tremendous rivalry, and we'll show them all the clips of former years,"" UW Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""And we've already given them their history lesson on the Axe and the rivalry. You know we'll make it important, because it is important.""
The upperclassmen are also helping the freshmen understand the importance of the rivalry.
""They haven't seen the Axe in the case so they don't really know what it means,"" Brooks said. ""Once we get it, they'll understand how important it is. Once the game starts, they'll realize the intensity.""
Once Saturday's game is over, one of two results will occur. The Gophers could give the Badgers their first loss of the season and take the Axe back to Minnesota for another year, or Wisconsin will finally be able to show off what they have been working for all year. The Badgers are hoping for the latter of the two options.
""We built a trophy case for that Axe and it's empty,"" Alvarez said, ""That's not good.\
