Wisconsin Football Defeats Minnesota 28-14, Brings the Axe Back to Madison

Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football team (7-5, 5-4 B1G) reached a major milestone on Saturday evening, defeating their rival Minnesota Gophers (5-7, 3-6 B1G) 28-14 in the inaugural “New Era” season.

The Badgers’ victory gives the program a winning record against the Gophers at 63-62-9, and brings the Paul Bunyan Axe back home to Madison — a prideful ending to a rocky 2023 regular season.

Let’s look at three big takeaways from Wisconsin’s rivalry win.

Braelon Allen Made a Statement in What Could Be His Last Game

If this really is junior running back Braelon Allen’s last game as a Badger — man, did he leave with a bang.

Wisconsin’s big No. 0 led the field with 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

After weeks of questionable health and fewer touches, Allen showed the nation what he is capable of when playing at 100%. Allen titled the clash in Wisconsin’s favor with a huge 50-yard rush, followed by a touchdown carry towards the beginning of the second half. This came after his first-quarter score to level the game at seven a piece.

Allen wasn’t going to leave Huntington Park Stadium without the axe. He was throwing Gopher defenders around like he was on a high school football field around, and looked to be a threat every time he had the ball in his grasp. The Fond du Lac native was visibly emotional as he chopped down the Minnesota goalposts with the Paul Bunyan Axe.

You made us proud today, Braelon.

Wisconsin Football Wanted It More

Veterans Tanner Mordecai and Hunter Wohler’s post-game interviews following Wisconsin’s loss to Northwestern left Badger fans with a lot of questions about the state of the program.

The two team captains made it clear that there was a severe effort dilemma going on behind the scenes, and that the locker room had to get their act together quickly if they wanted to see any more success this season.

Fortunately for the Badger faithful, Fickell and his men have done a whole 180 since their last defeat, and have gone on to win two victory games against Nebraska and Minnesota.

It was evident that each Badger was playing their heart out on the field today, for something bigger than themselves. Fickell must’ve made it very clear that the Axe wasn’t only for the record books, but also for the graduating seniors, trust in the new staff, and for the culture of Madison.

Saturday’s victory was the best showing of heart this season from the Badgers. After going down one score early on in the matchup, both sides of the ball got their act together and put on arguably the best showing of the New Era so far. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s hard work was on display late in the first half, as QB Mordecai led a four-play, 75-passing-yard drive to tie the game at 14 — talk about the Air Raid.

Man, was it nice to see Dike, Rucci, and other deserving seniors lift the Axe in Gopher territory.

Wisconsin Football Is — Again — In Very Safe Hands

Back in my pre-game storylines piece, it was stated that the 2024 football season began on Saturday evening for Wisconsin — and the first test was a success.

Some key expected returners put their talent, grit, and school pride on display in the Badgers’ comfortable victory over Minnesota.

Sophomore wide receiver Will Pauling entered the matchup as “questionable” on the injury report, yet still recorded a huge 11-yard touchdown grab to cap off a magnificent offensive drive. Star sophomore cornerback Ricardo Hallman was a ball hawk once again, grabbing his sixth interception of the season to practically seal the victory. Although he’s likely off to the NFL Draft this offseason, junior safety Hunter Wohler completed a game-leading 12 tackles on the defensive side of the ball — how nice would it be to get him back this season?

Returning the Axe back to Madison on top of a 7-5 regular season record automatically makes Luke Fickell’s first year at the throne a success. Sure, our pre-season expectations might’ve been a bit too high — but take the unfortunate offensive injuries out of the picture, and this Badgers squad could be standing on two losses and a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship.

It’s going to be really fun to see what Fickell, Longo, and co. can achieve with their own recruits going forward.

But for now, let’s celebrate this rivalry win, Badger fans.

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