Tag: wisconsin minnesota

Wisconsin makes history with their 28-14 win over Minnesota

The Badgers make history in their all-time series against Minnesota

Not only did the Badgers move to 7-5 on the year and keep Minnesota out of a bowl game with their 28-14 win on Saturday, there was also historical significance to Wisconsin coming out on top.

Heading into Saturday, Wisconsin and Minnesota had met an amazing 132 times. What’s even more astounding? In those meetings, the two rivals were even at 62-62-8. With the win on Saturday spurred by Braelon Allen’s 165 yards on the ground, Wisconsin took the all-time series lead at 63-62-8.

The Axe is back home in Madison, and Wisconsin will also extend one of the three longest bowl streaks in the nation to 22 straight years.

Ten takeaways from Wisconsin’s embarrassing 23-16 loss to Minnesota

The Badgers lose the axe yet again

In a game that felt like a microcosm of Wisconsin’s disappointing regular season as a whole, Minnesota outlasted the Badgers 23-16 to take Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the second straight year.

It all ended with one of the most confounding drives of the year as Wisconsin’s backup quarterback Chase Wolf led the Badgers down to Minnesota’s five-yard line with a chance to tie the game. Four penalties later, Wisconsin was backed up to the Gophers’ 30-yard line and had little to no chance to tie things up.

Wisconsin fell to 6-6 in a regular-season finale, and year as a whole, to forget. Here are ten takeaways from a season-defining loss:

Status Report: Wisconsin will be without a top offensive weapon vs Minnesota

The Badgers will be without a key offensive starter

The Badgers released their status report just minutes ago, and Wisconsin will be without a top offensive piece against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday. Wisconsin and Minnesota are set for a 2:30 PM CT kickoff at Camp Randall as the Badgers look to regain control of The Axe.

Wisconsin will be without 11 players in total, 8 of whom were already ruled out for the season earlier this year.

It’s a mix of offense and defense, but the big news concerns the Wisconsin running back room. Which 11 players will the Badgers be without? Here is a complete look at the Wisconsin status report for The Battle for the Axe.

Wisconsin appealed Nick Herbig’s targeting call and the verdict is in

The Badgers appeal the targeting call

Wisconsin lost arguably their best overall player in the second half of Saturday’s win over Nebraska when edge rusher Nick Herbig was ejected after a questionable targeting call.

With the targeting ejection, Herbig would be required to miss the first half of Saturday’s game against Minnesota. The Badgers made their plans to appeal the call clear after Saturday’s game, and the verdict is now in.

Interim head coach Jim Leonhard believes Herbig was actually trying to avoid contact with Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson:

“He was committed to making a tackle and did everything he could to avoid contact, as far as rolling off. It’s unfortunate that it was called that way and hopefully, we can get it changed, but I don’t know what the likelihood of that will be.”

Here is a look at the play:

Wisconsin played an integral part in the ‘greatest day in college football history’

There’s nothing like an action-packed college football Saturday. Whether it’s rivalry week in November, a random Saturday in October that

There’s nothing like an action-packed college football Saturday.

Whether it’s rivalry week in November, a random Saturday in October that sees top-10 teams go down or, frankly, any week in the season when football can be watched from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., the sport seems to always deliver the goods during the fall.

Earlier today, Matt Brown of The Athletic put together the ‘25 greatest days in college football history‘ and at No. 1: a day Wisconsin fans probably remember.

October 15, 2005. That was the date of Brown’s best day in the sport’s history.

On that Saturday:

  • No. 1 USC tops No. 9 Notre Dame thanks to the famous ‘Bush Push’
  • Michigan upsets No. 8 Penn State thanks to a last-second touchdown from Mario Manningham
  • Virginia upsets No. 4 Florida State in their second-ever top-5 win
  • West Virginia erases a 17-point deficit and tops No. 19 Louisville
  • No. 15 Ohio State scores two touchdowns in the final five minutes to beat No. 16 Michigan State
  • No. 10 LSU defeats No. 11 Florida

And…No. 23 Wisconsin defeats rival No. 22 Minnesota thanks to a blocked punt touchdown with 30 seconds left.

If you need a refresher, here’s the play:

One of the wildest finishes in the sport that day, in the history of the Wisconsin—Minnesota rivalry and in the history of the sport.

Looking back, there will never be another Saturday that tops October 15, 2005.

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Wisconsin LB Leo Chenal takes home a defensive player of the week honor after a career-best performance

A career day against Minnesota earned Leo Chenal some hardware

After another dominant team performance from Jim Leonhard and this Wisconsin defense in the 20-17 win over Minnesota, a Badger LB took home an individual award.

LB Leo Chenal had the game of his career on Saturday, racking up 13 total tackles with ten of them being solo. He also recorded a career-high two sacks and always seemed to be in the perfect position to make a play on QB Tanner Morgan and this Minnesota offense.

As a result, Chenal took home the Bednarik Defensive Player of the Week award, and was the first Badger this season to win it:

The sophomore is growing into one of the better LB’s in the conference, and should continue to lead this defense alongside Jack Sanborn next season.

Film room: Five things that stood out from the Badgers’ victory over Minnesota

While reviewing film from Wisconsin football’s 20-17 victory against Minnesota a few things stood out, including Graham Mertz’s continued…

The Wisconsin Badgers’ ended their regular season on a high note Saturday, defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers 20-17 in overtime and retaining possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

There was a lot to take away from the contest, including the play of inside linebackers Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn, Graham Mertz’s continued struggles and the play of key seniors.

Related: Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 20-17 victory over Minnesota

In the end, it’s an impressive win for a team that has overcome a lot this season. It is also a win that helps them carry momentum into their Bowl Game and hopefully into next season.

Related: Will Wisconsin QB Jack Coan stay in the Big Ten? A few landing spots could make sense

Today I went through Saturday’s film and highlighted key plays and miscues by both teams.

Here are five things that stuck out from Wisconsin’s overtime victory:

What Minnesota HC P.J. Fleck said about Wisconsin after the game

Minnesota Gopher head coach P.J. Fleck spoke to the media after the Wisconsin Badgers’ overtime victory Saturday. The press conference was

The Wisconsin Badgers needed overtime yesterday to defeat rival Minnesota and retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

It was a much-needed win for the team as they moved to 16-1 against Minnesota over the last 17 years and moved their 2020 record to .500 after what has been an extremely challenging season.

Related: Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 20-17 victory over Minnesota

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck spoke after the game about how his team performed and about the Wisconsin team he faced–though he didn’t give a quote close to as memorable as his one from earlier last week.

He started his comments by giving credit to Paul Chryst’s team and the job they did on the field.

“I gotta give them credit,” Fleck said. “They’re a well-coached football team with a lot of really good players. Congratulations to them on winning the Axe.”

Related: Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s victory over Minnesota

He continued to talk about how tough the loss was for his team.

“Obviously a devastated locker room,” Fleck said. “Very disappointed, sad, but not pouty. They’re just sad that they didn’t win. And after a hard-fought rivalry loss like that, when you walk into that locker room that’s, I’m not saying that’s what you want to see, but people care. This one means a lot…I told our team that I love them, I’m proud of them, disappointed, take the losing as learning and then we’re going to be really good when we come back in January.”

Many of the questions reporters asked the Gopher head coach were about missed opportunities on the field, how challenging this season has been and what he can take moving forward. He did, however, note the effort level both teams brought to the field yesterday.

“I thought our team executed well, they played hard, they played up to their capabilities, they fought, they scrapped,” Fleck said. “You know both teams. It was a great football game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. That’s why it’s a rivalry game. We were 2-touchdown underdogs and you would never believe that with these players.”

Both Fleck’s Gophers and the Badgers now enter Bowl Season where a lot of question marks still surround whether the teams will choose to play.

Even if this is the last we’ll see of the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers, their resilience and determination were on full display as the group was able to put a tough regular season in the past and finish with a hard-fought victory against their rival.

Five key starters for Wisconsin are OUT today against Minnesota

Wisconsin Badgers will be without running back Jalen Berger, wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis and more today against Minnesota

The Wisconsin Badger offense has been anything but healthy this season, with starting quarterback Jack Coan going down with a foot injury before the season started, members of the team testing positive for COVID-19, wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis missing several weeks and more.

That trend continued today as according to the team’s depth chart they will be without key starters RB Jalen Berger, RB Nakia Watson, WR Danny Davis, LT Cole Van Lanen and WR Kendric Pryor for the second straight week.

Quarterback Graham Mertz will now rely on Chimere Dike and Jack Dunn at wide receiver and Garrett Groshek at running back, a combination that hasn’t worked very well for the last few weeks.

Related: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota: 10 players to watch

One good sign for the Badger offense is this Minnesota defense is nothing close to that of Northwestern, Indiana or Iowa, or even to the unit they had last season.

The game will kick off at 3 p.m. CST and be available on the Big Ten Network and the FOX Sports app.

 

Minnesota preview:

Five things the Wisconsin Badgers must do to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe

Minnesota team preview

What Minnesota HC P.J. Fleck is saying about Wisconsin before the game

HC Paul Chryst gives an update on the status of WRs Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis

Film room: The good, the bad and the questionable from Graham Mertz’s performance against Iowa

Wisconsin is a big favorite according to BetMGM

College Gameday picks for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

Wisconsin still has a (complicated) path to the College Football Playoff

Due to Wisconsin’s rivalry contest against Minnesota being canceled due to COVID-19 cases in the Minnesota program, the Badgers are…

Due to Wisconsin’s rivalry contest against Minnesota being canceled due to COVID-19 cases in the Minnesota program, the Badgers are now unable to fulfill the six-game requirement to qualify for the Big Ten Championship.

Even if there was no game requirement to qualify for the conference championship, making it anyway would be a longshot with Northwestern sitting at 5-1 and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Badgers.

Related: An update on our bold predictions for the Badgers’ 2020 football season

Despite the state of the season, there remains a path for the Badgers to defy all odds and make it to the College Football Playoff. Specifically, ESPN’s updated FPI gives the team a 3.7 percent chance of making the playoff. A lot has to go perfectly, but there is a path.

Stay with me here.

Due to a COVID-19 outbreak within their program, Ohio State‘s contest against Illinois last weekend was canceled, making it the second game the Buckeyes have missed this season. If Ryan Day’s team is unable to play either of their next two games the team would fall into the Badgers’ situation and will no longer be eligible for the Big Ten Championship.

Related: One of the Badgers’ starting cornerbacks has declared for the 2021 NFL Draft

The Buckeyes then would likely finish second in the Big Ten East (technically) and face Wisconsin during the Big Ten’s conference-wide December 19 postseason week, that if the Badgers win each of their two remaining games.

So even though it won’t be in the Big Ten Championship, Wisconsin would get a shot at redemption from last season’s losses and have a chance at a resume-defining victory.

Still working hypothetically: If Wisconsin is able to win that game after finishing the regular season 2-0, they would sit with a 5-1 record with a win against a top-5 team in Ohio State, a win against a top-10 team in Indiana and their only loss coming to a top-15 Northwestern team. 5-1 wasn’t the desired record for the team entering this year, but it would be an impressive resume given the circumstances.

So, how would that resume get them into the playoff?

The current playoff rankings have Alabama at No. 1, Notre Dame at No. 2, Clemson at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 4, Texas A&M at No. 5 and Florida at No. 6.

If Alabama and Notre Dame run the table they will both be undefeated and get in at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. That would also give both Clemson and Florida two losses since they are likely to face off against the aforementioned teams in their conference’s title games.

So they would be out of the equation, leaving Texas A&M, Cincinnati and Ohio State as roadblocks for a Badger playoff appearance.

Note: Oklahoma is currently ranked ahead of the Badgers in the playoff rankings and controls its own destiny to reach the Big 12 title game. However, the Sooners have two losses and a 5-1 Wisconsin team with wins against Ohio State and Indiana may jump Oklahoma in the rankings down the road.

Again, this scenario is a longshot to come true, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be outlined and thought about.

Here is a list of everything that would need to happen in order for Texas A&M, Cincinnati and Ohio State to fall behind the potential 5-1 Badgers with Alabama and Notre Dame also winning out:

  • Texas A&M loses to either Auburn or Tennessee, giving them two losses and taking them out of the picture
  • Cincinnati loses to Tulsa this weekend and finishes as a 1-loss team without any Top 25 wins
  • The committee sees Wisconsin’s head-to-head win against Ohio State as enough to put them as the best 1-loss team
  • The Pac 12 champion finishes with two losses
  • Northwestern loses to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game or to Minnesota or Illinois to close out the regular season, therefore giving them two losses

If all of this comes true, this would be the final-season rankings

  1. Undefeated Alabama (SEC champion)
  2. Undefeated Notre Dame (ACC champion)
  3. A debate between the following resumes for the final two spots:
    • 5-1 Wisconsin with wins against Ohio State and Indiana and only loss coming to Northwestern
    • 5-1 Ohio State who lost to Wisconsin during Big Ten’s championship weekend
    • 8-2 Oklahoma (Big 12 champion)
    • 9-2 Florida (with their only losses coming against Texas A&M and Alabama)
    • 7-1 Cincinnati (with no Top 25 wins)
    • 7-2 Indiana (Big Ten Champion, but with losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State)
    • The Pac 12 Champion (it’s too early to tell how many losses they’ll have)
    • Several other 2-loss teams that did not win their conference championships

The committee could still see those resumes and chose conference champion Oklahoma, 9-2 Florida or the winner of the Pac 12. But if the Badgers get to face Ohio State due to the Buckeyes not qualifying for the conference championship, the door would be open for a playoff birth for the Wisconsin Badgers.

This is purely speculation and clearly has a low chance of coming true, but after the Northwestern loss and Minnesota cancelation, it looked like the playoff was impossible for Paul Chryst’s team. That now is not completely the case.