For the first time since 1995, the battle for the Paul Bunyan Axe will not involve a postseason berth for either the Wisconsin Badgers or the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
But neither squad is going to think any less of the football game. In fact, it may mean more to them.
\We're still playing for something and the game still means a lot,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""It's important to them. The seniors have been good leaders all along, regardless of what's going on with them.""
The Badgers have won the Axe six straight times and look to make it seven Saturday. However, for Wisconsin (5-6 overall, 3-4 Big Ten), the hurt of last Saturday's loss to Michigan was still fresh in their minds Monday.
""When you lose a hard game and you put a lot into it, you're down,"" Alvarez said. ""It takes a lot out of you because you put so much in it. And especially when you lose like that. They're not just going to bounce back today and jump around like nothing happened.""
As far as the Gophers (3-7, 1-6) are concerned, the Badgers' defense will have to contain junior halfback Tellis Redmon, who is averaging 96.7 yards rushing per game this season. In addition, the defense must stop senior wide receiver Ron Johnson and his eight touchdown catches.
This combination of a sound rushing attack and aerial assault has caught the eye of Alvarez. He said he believes that the Gophers' offense could hurt them a lot, despite its deceiving record in conference play.
""When I take a look at them, the most impressive thing is their offense; probably one of the most balanced [offenses] and one that presents more problems than most,"" Alvarez said. ""Every game we've had up here has been a real dogfight and the games have gone to the wire, so I expect it will go to the wire. It will be a heck of a football game.""
For Wisconsin junior quarterback Brooks Bollinger, the chance to play against the Gophers in a rivalry game may be a good thing to have because of the way the Michigan game ended.
""I think it's good that we are going to be playing Minnesota because it is a rivalry game ?? and [you're] playing for the Axe,"" Bollinger said after the Michigan game.
However, Bollinger's status is up in the air as the team captain was involved in a scuffle early Sunday morning and taken to the hospital for an injured nose.
Alvarez, though, expects Bollinger to play.
""We anticipate that he'll be cleared to play in the game Saturday,"" Alvarez said.
In a sense, this final game for the Badgers is their bowl game, as they will have played 12 games after Saturday. With the ""Border Battle"" as the final one, nothing is more important to the team now than to win this one game and keep the Axe in Madison for another year.
""We've made that a big deal. It's the longest ongoing rivalry in college football and if you respect the game it should be important,"" Alvarez said. ""It means a lot to us and we [the coaches] try to make it important. The players recognize that and they want to keep it here. It's what you make of it and we've made it important.\
