For a team coming into the season with aspirations simply to be bowl eligible, consistently picked fifth in the West Division in the preseason, Minnesota has a chance to head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship with a win Saturday.
After both the Gophers and Badgers won on the road against other West contenders Nebraska and Iowa respectively, the winner of the 124th meeting between the two will win the West and advance to take on Ohio State.
Minnesota (5-2 Big Ten, 8-3 overall) leads the overall series against their rivals, but they haven’t been able to win Paul Bunyan’s Axe since 2003, and they haven’t left Madison with a win since 1994. The Gophers haven’t won a conference title since 1967, the longest drought of the 11 Big Ten schools in the conference before the three recent additions.
The Gophers are coming off their most impressive win of the season, rallying from 14 down to win at then-ranked No. 23 Nebraska to eliminate the Cornhuskers from the West title race. They also featured a dominating 51-14 rout over Iowa earlier in November.
Offensively, the team is paced by their star running back, senior David Cobb. Cobb’s 1,430 yards on the ground are good for ninth in the nation in rushing, averaging 130 YPG. He’s eclipsed the 100-yard mark six times, including two days of over 200 on the ground. Though he was forced to leave against Nebraska with a hamstring injury, the senior should be back out on the field against Wisconsin.
As a team, they’re 123rd out of 124 in the FBS in passing behind redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner. He has just 10 touchdowns on the year with eight interceptions and averages less than 150 yards per game through the air. Leidner is a threat with his feet though, with his best rushing game coming last week against Nebraska with Cobb on the sidelines, as he ran for 110 yards and two scores.
Despite their lack of an aerial threat, redshirt sophomore tight end Maxx Williams has been able to have a strong season, hauling in seven of the Gophers’ 11 passing touchdowns. With just 14 catches, redshirt senior Isaac Fruechte leads the wide receivers on the team in receptions and has 269 yards and a score on the year.
The Gopher defense has been a strong point of the team, allowing just 22.5 points per game, ranking 30th in the FBS. Senior linebacker Damien Wilson leads the way for Minnesota with 103 tackles, including 10 for a loss, and four sacks, good for best on the team in all three categories. Redshirt junior defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun has also helped chip in on the defensive effort with a team-high four interceptions.
Both Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s strengths lie in their ground game and defense. Containing the others’ star running back and forcing them to rely on the passing game will likely be the main point of emphasis for both sides. Whoever can do it more successfully has a good chance of reclaiming the axe and heading to Indianapolis.
