The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Minnesota Gophers on a frigid Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium, 20-7.
The victory for Wisconsin means that Paul Bunyan’s Axe remains in Madison for another year, making it 10 straight victories for the Badgers.
The Badgers out gained the Gophers 324-185.
Trailing 3-0, the Gophers scored their only touchdown of the game when linebacker Aaron Hill intercepted a Joel Stave pass and returned it 39 yards for the touchdown.
But the Gophers lead was short-lived as Wisconsin was able to put two second quarter scoring drives together to take a 13-7 lead into the locker room.
Then in the third, Stave found Jarred Abbrederis to kick off the half with an impressive 12-play 83-yard drive that took over 7 minutes off the clock.
While Stave hit some timely passes, the Badgers used their ground game to lead the way. James White rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon. He led the Badgers rushing attack that amassed 197 yards.
The Gophers had their chances, but in the cold and without their top receiver, the passing attack struggled. Gopher quarterback Philip Nelson completed just 7 of 23 passes for 86 yards.
With the passing attack sputtering the Badgers were able to limit Gopher running back David Cobb to 68 yards on 17 carries.
The weather was certainly a factor in the game as both teams had trouble holding on to the football and finding consistency in the passing game. The temperature at kickoff on Saturday afternoon was 17 degrees, with the wind chill it felt more like 5. It was the coldest Gopher football game played at TCF Stadium.
KSTP reports that fans attempted to stay warm by dressing in layers.It’s interesting to note that when the Gophers played UNLV at home to open the season, the temperature at kickoff was 92 degrees.
The loss snaps the Gophers four game winning streak, they are 8-3 and play at Michigan State next Saturday to close the regular season.
