Wisconsin Badgers chop down rival Minnesota, 28-14, to take back Paul Bunyan's Axe

MINNEAPOLIS – Luke Fickell, back in the Big Ten for the first time since the 2016 season, began discussing the importance of Wisconsin’s rivalry games long before the Badgers’ Sept. 2 opener.

The rivalry game, of course, was Saturday at Minnesota.

“I think coach Fickell has done a great job in trying to explain what this game means,” offensive tackle Jackson Nelson said before the game. “To this team. To guys that have been here. To the new guys. What it means to him in his first year in this rivalry.

“It means a ton. It means a crap ton. To this team. To me. To this state. To Minnesota. When they have the Axe they take and parade around with it. If that doesn’t tell you something.”

UW’s players got their hands on the Axe on Saturday, for the first time since the 2020 season.

Led by tailback Braelon Allen and quarterback Tanner Mordecai, UW overcame an early one-score deficit to hand the Gophers a 28-14 loss and likely deny them a bowl invite.

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 28, Minnesota 14

Paul Bunyan’s Axe is returning to Madison as the Badgers finish the regular season 5-4 in the Big Ten and 7-5 overall.

P.J. Fleck’s rowboat likely will be placed in drydock for the 2023 bowl season because the Gophers finish 3-6 in the league and 5-7 overall.

Allen rushed for two scores and combined with Mordecai for 234 rushing yards. Mordecai also passed for two scores.

As a result, UW’s losses to the Gophers in 2021 and 2022 remain on the record, but the memories have been shelved.

Minnesota’s 23-13 victory in 2021 in Minneapolis snapped UW’s winning streak at seven games and denied the Badgers the West Division title and a berth in the league title game.

Minnesota’s 23-16 victory last season in Madison ruined Senior Day.

“They both really sucked in their own individual way,” center Tanor Bortolini said before the game. “It always hurts. Both years have been… not enjoyable losses. You finish your year and you’re sitting back looking at the season. You’ve got a full week off to sit and think about what happened…

“Axe week is a big week every year. And after the past two seasons you really want to get back after it.”

Led by Allen and Mordecai, the Badgers got exactly what they wanted.

“I’ve never held that Axe,” Nelson said before the game. “I was on the team when we won it in 2020 but I wasn’t playing. I played those next two years when we didn’t have it.

“I need to feel that Axe in my hands.”

He got that chance after the victory.

"I held it in my hands," Nelson said. "It was an incredible feeling."

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Braelon Allen, who missed UW's loss to Minnesota last season, carried the Badgers on Saturday

Allen, nursing an injured ankle when the teams met last season in Madison, watched the Badgers suffer a 23-16 loss to the Gophers.

That came one season after Allen was limited to 47 yards on 17 carries as the Gophers rallied for a 23-13 victory in Minneapolis.

Allen, perhaps in his final regular-season game for UW, got the last laugh Saturday.

The junior rushed 26 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 27 yards.

How impressive was Allen’s day?

UW tailbacks in the last two meetings with the Gophers were limited to a total of 167 yards on 44 carries, an average of 3.8 yards per carry.

UW tailbacks rushed 18 times for 52 yards in the loss two seasons ago. UW tailbacks rushed 26 times for 115 yards in the loss last season.

Before Saturday, Garrett Groshek was the last UW tailback to rush for a touchdown against Minnesota. He had a 39-yard touchdown run and finished with 154 yards on 24 carries in the Badgers’ 20-17 overtime victory in 2020.

Allen scored on a 4-yard run to help UW take a 21-14 lead with 9 minutes 24 seconds left in the third quarter.

To that point, UW had 309 yards of offense – 199 rushing and just 110 passing.

UW finished with 412 yards -- 267 rushing and 145 passing.

Mordecai lauded the work of the offensive line.

"Those guys are the MVP of the game," he said. "They busted their butts. They were physical, violent. That is why the game was won."

Tanner Mordecai makes winning plays for UW with his feet and his arm

Mordecai complemented the running of Allen with draws and scrambles and finished with 69 yards on nine carries. He also completed 14 of 22 passes for 145 yards.

He had touchdown passes of 11 yards to wide receiver Will Pauling and 5 yards to tight end Riley Nowakowski.

UW FOOTBALL INSIDER: What the Badgers' final two wins of Big Ten season say about team heading into bowl game

Rough start, but a strong finish for cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean

Cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, who transferred to UW from Grand Valley State and eventually supplanted senior Alexander Smith in the starting lineup, struggled early Saturday.

He was called for pass interference on Minnesota’s first touchdown drive and drew another flag on the Gophers’ second touchdown drive.

On both plays, Fourqurean was beaten off the line of scrimmage, never located the ball and drove into the receiver.

Six plays after getting the second pass interference call, Fourqurean was beaten to the inside for a 7-yard touchdown by wide receiver Daniel Jackson. That score helped the Gophers take a short-lived 14-7 lead late in the first half.

Fourqurean was solid in the second half, however. His coverage was sound and he made several open-field tackles. Fourqurean finished with seven tackles, the No. 2 mark on the team, including six solo stops.

BADGERS TRENDING: Wisconsin players and football alums troll Minnesota, Gophers coach PJ Fleck

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin beats Minnesota to reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe: Takeaways