Wisconsin Football Opponent Preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers

It was a huge win for the Wisconsin Badgers football team on Saturday.

They defeated Nebraska 24-17 in overtime and have gained bowl eligibility, guaranteeing one more game in the season. This Saturday will be different as they face their rival Minnesota for Paul Bunyan’s Ax.

The Gophers sit at 5-6 and have won the Ax game the last two season. Game time is 2:30 PM on FS1. Here is an early look at the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota Heading in the Wrong Direction

Entering the month of November, the Golden Gophers were sitting at 5-3 and a had a chance to give Iowa all they could handle in the Big Ten West race.

However, the Gophers have lost three games in a row and have given up over 37 points a game in that stretch. Ohio State is a really good team, but they gave up 49 points to Purdue and 27 to Illinois, two of the worst teams in the Big Ten. That is unusual for a PJ Fleck team that typically plays good defenses and stays in games because of it.

Wisconsin Football Can End Minnesota’s Season

Retaining the Ax is obviously the most important part of this game for Wisconsin football. I’m sure they also know at 5-6, they can end Minnesota’s season with a win on Saturday. Six wins gets a team into a bowl game. Five wins might, but it depends on certain scenarios.

The injury list doesn’t look promising right now for the Badgers. As a result, it’s hard seeing them win this game right now, but anything can change over the course of the week. Wisconsin football also has the chip on their shoulders anyways because they have not won the Ax since 2020 in Madison. There’s potentially a lot of cool things that could happen this week.

A Typical Big Ten West Team

Like most Big Ten West teams, Minnesota wants to run the ball and rely on their defense. The uglier this game gets, the more it favors the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota can use up to four different running backs and are not afraid to use them all. I like their receiving trio of Daniel Jackson, C.J. Crooms and Brevyn Spann-Ford, but I don’t believe they are used as much as they should.

I expect this to be a low-scoring game and a game that will be decided in the fourth quarter. Expect a desperate Minnesota team with their season on the line.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also follow Dylan Buboltz on Twitter @Dylanbuboltz.

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we have become one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets focused on giving a voice to the fans!