Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck celebrated his 44th birthday with a victory against a long-time rival, and the Gophers sang happy birthday to him in the locker room afterward. Fleck said he was also looking forward to the team’s bus ride back to Minneapolis.
Max Brosmer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to help Minnesota defeat Wisconsin 24-7. Wide receiver Daniel Jackson caught six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown for the Gophers (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten), who reclaimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
“We’ve got a good four-and-a-half hour bus ride with that axe, right in the aisle,” Fleck said. “We’ll pass it around and switch buses. We take the rivalry very seriously. We love that axe. We don’t take it for granted.”
Darius Taylor ran the ball 32 times for 134 yards for Minnesota.
Friday’s game was the 134th meeting between the two teams. This rivalry is the oldest among Football Bowl Division schools.
Brosmer completed 17 of 26 passes for 191 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also ran for one touchdown.
The Gophers held Wisconsin to just 43 yards of offense in the first half and 166 total yards in the game.
Fleck was happy with the defense’s performance.
“We tackled in the open space really well,” Fleck said. “We swarm tackled. I thought we created penetration in the backfield in the run game. On the outside, I thought our guys stuck to them like glue.”
“Their quarterback (Braedyn Locke) can sling it, but he’s 6-foot, 6-1. There are a lot of big people up front. Their offensive line is big. We’re big. And we felt if we could get really big, he was going to have to be really precise in man coverage.”
Wisconsin (5-7, 3-6) ended the 2024 regular season with five straight losses. This marks the Badgers’ first five-game losing streak since 1991. They will now wait to see if any bowl games will accept 5-7 teams.
This is the first time in 22 seasons that Wisconsin has finished the regular season with a losing record. The Badgers’ 22-year streak of bowl appearances is the third-longest active streak in FBS. Oklahoma’s streak is at 18 seasons and Alabama’s at 17.
The Badgers finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record and a 3-4 mark in the Big Ten.
Jackson’s performance on Friday moved him into fourth place on Minnesota’s all-time receiving yards list with 2,685 yards. He surpassed Tutu Atwell, who played for the Gophers from 1994-97, who had 2,640 yards.
Wisconsin scored its only touchdown late in the third quarter when Locke threw a 15-yard pass to Vinny Anthony with 3:13 left.
Locke completed 15 of 32 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin kicker Nathanial Vakos missed a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell gave a frank assessment of the Badgers’ situation.
“We’re not in a good place,” he said. “We’re 5-7, and really, we’re not playing well. And that’s the thing. There’s no excuse. Whether it’s injuries, whether it’s this, that or the other thing. I could sit here and tell you things that have cost us (wins), and put us in position to find our way to climb out of it.”
Fickell, in his second season at Wisconsin, was asked what his message would be to fans who are worried about the program’s direction.
“Our job to get them to believe is to put the product on the field,” Fickell said. “Right now, we don’t have that opportunity and we haven’t done it. I would understand if they’re worried. It’s their prerogative. And it’s our job to prove it.”
