Minnesota Football: Paul Bunyan’s Axe losing streak ended vs. Wisconsin

For the first time since 1994, Minnesota football won at Camp Randall Stadium. Here is what to take away from the Golden Gophers upset of Wisconsin.

Minnesota ended a losing streak against Wisconsin that spanned 14 seasons, winning their first game since 2003 in a 37-15 takedown of the Badgers on Saturday afternoon. It also marked the first time that the Golden Gophers won in Madison since 1994, as P.J. Fleck’s team reached bowl eligibility in their final chance of the regular season.

The visitors pulled off the upset thanks to a defense that generated four turnovers. Minnesota controlled play on offense with a huge day on the ground from Mohamed Ibrahim, who racked up 121 rushing yards and a touchdown. Bryce Williams had two rushing scores, and Kamal Martin added another for the Gophers on the road.

Jonathan Taylor did his best to keep the Badgers in the game, as the sophomore Heisman hopeful ran for 120 yards on 19 carries in the loss. But it was hardly enough to keep Wisconsin’s winning streak going, as Taylor was unable to do everything for the Badgers offense all by himself.

With the ground game needing some backup from the aerial attack, Alex Hornibrook instead played a mediocre, mistake-filled game for the Badgers at quarterback. Hornibrook finished 22-of-33 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, and he also coughed up a costly fumble in the fourth quarter when Wisconsin was still within two scores.

On the next play, Bryce Williams punched in a 23-yard touchdown run to make it 30-7 for the Golden Gophers. There was no getting back into the contest at that point, as the Badgers went down three scores at home on a day that was destined to belong to the visitors.

Now Minnesota is eligible to go bowling after missing the postseason last year in P.J. Fleck’s first year at the school. The Golden Gophers got to six wins after a midseason swoon. Their 3-0 start against a light non-conference schedule opened the door to reach eligibility this season.

Wisconsin was already eligible to go to the postseason this year, but the loss to the Golden Gophers pushes the Badgers down the bowl pecking order for the Big Ten. They head into December without any momentum, though they are at least guaranteed to play somewhere during the bowl season.