Badgers bury Gophers on Senior Day

Minnesota almost doubled the Badgers in total offensive yards 226 to 144. The visiting Gophers are no slouch, however, and can still earn a share of the league crown and reclaim Paul Bunyan’s axe. Honoring its senior class.

“Anything can work when guys are helping the team rather than themselves”, senior Houston said of the team’s performance Saturday. He rose in front of his team, Axe in hand, and calmly explained that this game came down to what he was holding.

“They like football. They like each other”. It can show opponents that we’re not going to give up no matter what the situation is. Don’t listen to the outside noise, he said, this Axe represents us and our journey.

Curtis Samuel swept in for a 15-yard touchdown after Ohio State barely converted a fourth-and-1 and the second-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 3 MI 30-27 in double overtime Saturday to win one of the greatest games in the history of one of college football’s greatest rivalries.

WISCONSIN (kills-digs-blocks) – Nelson 11-1-3, Gillis 16-6-1, Haggerty 17-17-2, Williams 12-1-5, Carlini 2-6-2, Kriskova 11-1-2, MacDonald 0-12-0, Bates 0-22-0, Dodge 0-7-0, Dodd 0-2-0.

Wisconsin will face Minnesota Saturday, a game that still means a lot to the Badgers, despite already clinching the conference championship appearance. But Minnesota blew an opportunity as well when Drew Wolitarsky couldn’t hang on to a pass in the end zone on second-and-goal in the first quarter.

Over his next 10 pass attempts, three of them went for interceptions and none were completed. Leidner actually played pretty good in the first half, but he was terrible after halftime.

According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Wisconsin is the favorite in this game, as the Badgers are getting odds of -14.5 points against the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota: The rough fourth quarter overshadowed a terrific first half for Minnesota. UW gained 144 yards on six drives (80 coming on its lone touchdown drive) and gave up 226 total yards and 115 on the ground.

“I felt like we were playing two teams”, the head coach said. We’re trying to beat Minnesota and we’re trying to beat (ourselves).

“We played as good as we’ve played all year”, Beathard said.

If Musso’s speech immediately resonated with the Badgers, it wasn’t evident.

Leidner spotted Rashad Still in the end zone but he failed to see safety Leo Musso in the vicinity. After Minnesota claimed a commanding 14-6 lead over UW, Wilhite put the nail in the coffin, ending the five-set thriller with a match-winning kill. Led by senior tailback Corey Clement, UW has averaged 212.8 rushing yards per game during the streak.

In the fourth, a Minnesota pass is intercepted by Sojourn Shelton and returned for 40 yards. The Gophers closed out the set with a 7-0 run which included three P Tapp kills and two from Alexis Hart. Badgers use it to their advantage with a two-yard rush from Corey Clement for a touchdown to tie it up, 17-17. We aren’t going to lose this game and have them take the axe’.

“Being down at the half, it reminded me of two years ago”, Clement said. The real MVP of this drive though was WR Jazz Peavy, who had a huge 71-yard run to the Minnesota 5-yard-line.

An errant third-down pass to linebacker Leon Jacobs while under pressure with less than seven minutes to play, which Badgers running back Dare Ogunbowale turned into points on the next play.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A fourth-quarter flourish erased memories of a jittery first half for No. 5 Wisconsin against Minnesota. “We will have to play well, or it could get ugly”. “That big play, and then we didn’t execute in the second half, either”.

Three days later, set to encounter much stiffer competition, Wisconsin ventured off to Minnesota and fell to the second-ranked Gophers (17-3, 25-4) for the second time this season. Nine non-Michigan, non-Ohio State teams have lined up across from the Badgers this year, and all nine of them have lost.

“Tonight was a special night”, Biegel said. “We had some really nice swings, but they were just making phenomenal defensive plays”.