In a back-and-forth contest through more than three quarters, Wisconsin was able to find a way to pull away in the final five minutes to win the game by 18.
Wisconsin received the opening kickoff and drove into Minnesota territory, but Brandon Williams caught a pass for a first down and fumbled and the Gophers recovered. Wisconsin made another mistake a few minutes later when punter R.J. Morse had his punt blocked by Minnesota’s Jermaine Mays and the Gophers started with great field position at the Badgers 30. Bucky’s defense was able to hold strong and keep Minnesota out of the end zone and the Gophers settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Davis and Brooks Bollinger would combine to rush on seven of the eight plays on the next Badgers drive, which ended with a Davis touchdown from four yards out. It would remain 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, but the Gophers were driving as the first quarter came to a close.
Two plays into the second quarter, Minnesota was able to inch closer on a field goal by Dan Nystrom. Wisconsin was able to drive down the field by running the football, but Bollinger ended the drive by finding a wide open Darrin Charles in the back of the end zone to give the Badgers a 14-6 lead.
Then, the teams traded touchdowns to end the half. Tony Patterson caught a 37-yard pass from Asad Abdul-Khaliq to help the Gophers get down to the Wisconsin 25. That set up a touchdown by Terry Jackson III from a yard out. Ben Utecht caught a two-point conversion to tie up the game at 14.
Davis carried the ball 10 times on a 58-yard drive the next possession, including a touchdown from a yard out on 4th-and-Goal with three seconds left in the first half. The sophomore standout wanted to bring Paul Bunyan’s Axe back home after the Badgers lost the axe in 2001 after six straight wins over their rivals directly to the West. Bucky led 21-14 at the half.
But Minnesota would bounce back in the second half, scoring 10 quick points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to take the lead 24-21. The score would remain that way until late in the third when the Badgers had terrific starting field position after a Gophers punt. The 38-yard drive was all Davis. The running back carried the ball all three plays of the drive and ending it with a 25-yard touchdown run to give Bucky the lead back. It would stay that way until the fourth quarter.
Another long Patterson reception set the Gophers up at the doorstep. Two plays after that, Thomas Tapeh scored on a 2-yard reception and all of a sudden, Minnesota took the lead back. But in a back-and-forth affair, Bollinger ran it in from a yard out to give Wisconsin the lead right back. The big play of the drive came on a connection from Bollinger to Jonathan Orr for 36 yards to give Wisconsin a 1st-and-10 at the Minnesota 25. It was a perfectly thrown pass and Orr made a nice sliding catch to set Wisconsin up to tie or take the lead. Russ Kuhns caught a 20-yard pass to put the ball even closer to the Minnesota end zone. Two plays later, Bollinger scored to give the Badgers the lead for good.
After a Minnesota punt, Bucky started a march that would put the game away. Wisconsin had an 11-play drive which was exclusively on the ground, with the exception of a pass interference. On 3rd-and-Goal, Davis plowed into the end zone from two yards out and the Badgers took a 42-31 lead.
It looked like the Gophers were going to rally to make this a one possession game again, but sophomore safety Jim Leonhard, who would lead the country in interceptions, had other ideas. After a long pass from Abdul-Khaliq to Aaron Hosack of 37 yards, Abdul-Khaliq threw a pass into the end zone, but Leonhard picked it off and the Badgers had the ball and an 11-point lead.
I mentioned that Davis would have five touchdowns on the day. He would put the final nails in the Minnesota coffin on a record-tying run. His first two runs of the drive went for nine combined yards. His third went for 71 and his fifth touchdown of the game. He ran up the middle and broke free at the second level and then won a footrace to the house.
Leonhard would pick off one more pass on Minnesota’s final drive and after the kneel down, the team made a beeline for the axe the team had lost one year prior. The Badgers also needed to win to become bowl eligible, so they won a trip to Texas, where they pulled the upset, winning 31-28 in overtime over Colorado.
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