[lawrence-newsletter][lawrence-auto-related count=2]The Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry feels renewed over the past couple of years. The arrival of new Minnesota Head Coach P.J. Fleck has brought in new life to a Gopher program that was laboring for a pair of decades. Over the past two decades in total, however, it would be hard to call the “battle for the axe” a true battle. While the rivalry and competitiveness is back now, it has not always been there over the past 20 years simply because Wisconsin has dominated on the football field.
College football Twitter account “NCAAF Nation” recently released the stats that back up Wisconsin’s two decades of dominance.
• Battle for Paul Bunyan's AXE
Wisconsin vs Minnesota pic.twitter.com/zFEYJPjuvS
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) May 4, 2020
The Badgers 17-3 stretch over the past twenty years of the rivalry has also given UW the all-time lead over Minnesota in a battle that dates back to 1890. Overall, Wisconsin leads the series 61-60-8 (yes, ties used to exist in college football).
After UW had a pair of first-round selections in 2017 with T.J. Watt and Ryan Ramczyk, the Badgers improved their decade total to 13 first round selections. The number of current Badgers in the NFL stands at 37 compared to Minnesota’s 13.
Although Minnesota football is undoubtedly back from mediocrity, Wisconsin has absolutely owned the rivalry at all levels over the past two decades.