No one except for Gary Andersen and his inner circle knew this would be Andersen’s last home game as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. The school and the football program did not know they would be searching for another head coach so soon. No one in college football expected the bloodbath which was about to happen in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. It was a simpler time for Wisconsin before that disaster in Indianapolis.
Indeed, before a month of profound upheaval, the 2014 Wisconsin team created its best regular-season moment. The 2015 Outback Bowl was the best moment associated with that 2014 team, but the crowning regular-season experience was the game against Minnesota for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
Unlike 2013 — and like 2019 — this was a division championship game against the Golden Gophers. Wisconsin entered this game 6-1 in Big Ten play (remember that the league didn’t play nine conference games at the time — that would come later), while Minnesota was 5-2. Nebraska finished 5-3 in the conference. This was the first year in which the Big Ten used its East and West Division alignment, a switch from the Legends and Leaders configuration of the previous three years. This switch liberated Wisconsin from Ohio State, and so in this 2014 season without the Buckeyes to worry about, it was important for every Big Ten West contender to announce itself as the program to beat in the division.
Wisconsin made the loudest and most effective statement against Minnesota, and the Badgers haven’t looked back since. They have won four of the six Big Ten West races and lead all Big Ten teams with six conference championship game berths, which is more than Ohio State’s five. The 2014 win over Minnesota was part of that process of becoming the most regular visitor to Indianapolis in early December.
It wasn’t easy.
Wisconsin stumbled out of bed and forgot to set its alarm clock. The Badgers fell behind 17-3 midway through the second quarter, gifting Minnesota short fields and exhibiting no cohesion on offense. Badger drives went three-and-out deep in their own end of the field. Mediocre punts set up the Gophers in great field position. Minnesota gained a 17-3 lead by scoring three separate times on drives no longer than 40 yards. A fumbled punt contributed to the tidal wave of mistakes which created a 14-point deficit. Could Wisconsin dig out of this “Gopher Hole”?
The answer came convincingly in the final two and a half quarters.
Wisconsin was able to shave 10 points off that deficit before halftime, calming nerves throughout Camp Randall Stadium with the Gophers leading 17-13 at the intermission. The comeback required the offense’s participation, and to be sure, the offense did its job. The 10-point rally late in the second quarter helped a lot. Corey Clement then scored on a 28-yard touchdown run to give Wisconsin the lead in the third quarter, 20-17. However, the comeback was piloted mostly by a defense which was placed in impossible situations in the first 20 minutes. When Minnesota no longer started drives in plus territory, the Gophers were stymied by the Badgers’ defense.
After Minnesota took that 17-3 lead, the Gophers gained a grand total of 82 yards on their next five possessions, one of which ended in a lost fumble. All these empty and brief possessions left the Minnesota defense tired against Clement, Melvin Gordon, and the rest of the Wisconsin offense.
Down 27-17 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota did scramble back to score a touchdown and create some tension in Camp Randall. Wisconsin led, 27-24. However, the cumulative effects of staying on the field for most of the previous two quarters caught up with the Gophers’ defense on UW’s next drive. Wisconsin marched 75 yards in six plays, never facing a third down. Wisconsin faced second and three, second and four, and then second and one on its easiest touchdown drive of the night. Joel Stave hit Robert Wheelwright on a 17-yard scoring pass with 4:41 to deliver the dagger.
Wisconsin 34, Minnesota 24. The Badgers won their 11th straight game against Minnesota, kept the Axe, and march on to Indianapolis.