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.
Here’s the video:
“They do what they can do. And what you know they can do, they do”#Louvre pic.twitter.com/St1oFM4YSz
— Ben Kenney (@benzkenney) December 18, 2020
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.