This weekend’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe will make the 121st meeting between Wisconsin (3-2 Big Ten, 7-2 overall) and Minnesota (1-4. 2-7), the first coming all the way back in 1890.
While the axe has only been around since 1948, the nation’s oldest college football rivalry is rich with history, history that head coach Bret Bielema wants to make sure his players understand and embrace as they head to Minneapolis Saturday.
“We’ve done different things during the course of the week [to educate the team about the rivalry],” Bielema said. “But I think you just have to get an idea of what your team needs.”
Rivalry or not, there is no doubt that what this Badger team needs right now is a road victory. Snake-bitten in games away from Madison, the Badgers’ 7-2 record has been consistently discounted by the team’s failure to win a true road game this season. Having lost their only two opportunities on back-to-back heartbreaks in the final minute, Saturday is no doubt a chance for the Badgers to make a statement that they remain a force to be reckoned with at home as well as on the road.
“More than anything, it’s another game on our plate that we have to get prepared for,” UW senior quarterback Russell Wilson said, downplaying the impact of the rivalry. “And in our minds, we have to win.”
While the Gophers head into Saturday just 2-7 and 1-4 in the Big Ten, their play of late has been far better than their record would indicate. Finally hitting its stride under first-year head coach Jerry Kill, Minnesota is fresh off a two-week stretch in which it upset division-contending Iowa in Minneapolis. The Gophers followed their performance up by nearly beating another contender, Michigan State, in East Lansing.
“Last time we went there it was a real tough game,” junior center Peter Konz said of the team’s 31-28 win in 2009. “I know they’re going to step it up. They’re getting better this year.”
Much of the recent success is due to the maturity of junior quarterback and former wide receiver MarQueis Gray. Since taking the helm for good from freshman Max Shortell, Gray has provided the Gopher offense with a spark, making Minnesota noticeably more competitive of late.
“MarQueis is big,” Bielema said of Gray. “But to me, they are just settling in to what their coaches are telling them.”
In last Saturday’s 31-24 loss against the Spartans, Gray passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns, adding 71 yards on the ground as well. Senior wide receiver Da’Jon McKnight caught all three of those touchdown passes, finishing the game with 173 yards receiving on his own. The growing connection between Gray and McKnight is something coaches around the Big Ten are beginning to take note of.
“McKnight and [Gray] obviously have got a very special relationship,” Bielema said. “Any time you have that relationship between a quarterback and a wide receiver, that’s special.”
Saturday marks the beginning of yet another stretch that has the Badgers on the road in consecutive weeks. With just three games left in the regular season, there is little room for error, especially with any hopes of a return trip to Pasadena hanging in the balance.
The Badgers should have senior free safety Aaron Henry back after he left last week’s win with a sprained ankle.
“It hurts, but it’s November; it’s that time of the year,” Henry said about his injury. “This is my last year. I’m willing to lay it all down on the line for my teammates,” Henry added.
Though the losses to Michigan State and Ohio State mean Wisconsin no longer controls its own destiny, the Badgers will need to take care of business first and foremost by winning out before they can hope for the help they need to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game and a shot at the Rose Bowl.
“At the end of the day, that [Paul Bunyan’s Axe] represents a win,” Konz said. “It means you’re doing things the right way.”
Parker Gabriel contributed to this report.
