1. Wisconsin 38, Minnesota 17 (2019)

The build up to this game was enormous. With three weeks left in the regular season, Wisconsin trailed by two games. Minnesota was undefeated, while Wisconsin had two losses, to Ohio State and an embarrassing loss to Illinois. The Gophers had just had one of their biggest wins in 50 years, knocking off Penn State to reach a perfect 9-0. The same week, Wisconsin held off Iowa 24-22 in Madison. Following the win over Iowa, the Badgers needed help from the Hawkeyes if they wanted to earn a trip to the Big Ten Championship game. They got the help, as Iowa beat Minnesota the next week as Wisconsin defeated Nebraska in Lincoln. Each team won in the second to last week of the season, which set up the big showdown to see who would play Ohio State in Indianapolis, as 9-2 Wisconsin played at 10-1 Minnesota.

It was being built up as the biggest game for Minnesota in more than 50 years. The Gophers had not won the Big Ten since 1967 and defeating Wisconsin would be one step closer to doing just that. The Gophers had dominated the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium 37-15 the year before and Wisconsin was out for revenge. To make things even better, College Gameday was in town. Up to that point, Minnesota was one of just a handful of teams to have never hosted Gameday. The show chose that site over great games like Auburn/Alabama and Michigan/Ohio State. The game was on ABC at 2:30 CST with the A-team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call. And oh yeah, one of the greatest trophies in college football—Paul Bunyan’s Axe—was on the line.

Wisconsin and Minnesota—the biggest meeting since the 1960s. The hype was enormous. All the folks on Gameday picked the Gophers, including Pat McAfee. Despite Minnesota getting most of the love, Wisconsin was put as a slight favorite. I guess maybe Vegas knew something many fans did not?

I mentioned the raucous crowd at TCF Bank Stadium….and it didn’t get any quieter at the beginning of the game when the Gophers defense stuffed Wisconsin on the first possession and a short punt set up the Gophers near midfield. Two plays into the possession, Tanner Morgan found a WIDE open Rashod Bateman running a post down the field, and he jogged into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.

The whole game changed, though, in the second possession. Wisconsin registered one first down before punting. The Gophers then moved inside the 40, but were stuffed on back-to-back plays, forcing them into a 4^th-and-2. Instead of going for it, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck chose to punt. Momentum gone. They couldn’t get it back the remainder of the game.

While Wisconsin didn’t score on its ensuing possession, it did get the offense going and gain confidence before Aron Cruickshank fumbled after receiving the snap out of the shotgun.

But the Badgers responded with a takeaway of their own. On third down, Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan threw to the left sideline, but was intercepted by Caesar Williams. That pick led to a field goal to cut it to 7-3.

Wisconsin took the lead on its next possession, turning a seven-play 82-yard drive into a touchdown. On a third down from their own 35, they ran a tight end middle screen and he broke a tackle which would have stopped him shy of the line to gain. Jake Ferguson broke numerous tackles for 20 yards, moving into Gophers territory.

Three plays later, Bucky had that lead. The Badgers ran a wheel route and Coan threw it down the right sideline to JT23, who caught it at the 6 and back pedaled into the end zone for the score.

The Gophers reached the Minnesota 49, but a Jack Sanborn sack ended the hopes for a score before the end of the half.

Wisconsin owned the second half right from its first offensive possession. The Badgers held the Gophers off the scoreboard to begin the half, but were backed up to their own 9 after the punt.

It took Bucky just four plays to go the 91 yards to make it a two-score game and it started with the first play of the drive. Backed up, Chryst called a deep ball. Coan found his favorite target, Quintez Cephus, for 31 yards to the 40. Three plays later, Coan went deep to Cephus for a 47-yard touchdown in a blizzard.

After Minnesota booted a field goal, Wisconsin took control of the game. With the score 17-10, the Badgers ran some trickery on the ensuing kickoff. Cruickshank caught the kickoff and handed it off to Isaac Guerendo, who was running from right to left. He found some room and blasted for a long return down to the Gophers 39.

Two plays later, Wisconsin made it a two-score game once again. With the ball at the 26, Wisconsin ran a jet sweep with Kendric Pryor, who received great blocking and he sprinted untouched for the touchdown to quickly answer the Gophers score to make it 24-10.

Minnesota had a tremendous drive going, aiming to cut it back to one score again. Morgan found Bateman for 18 yards down to the Wisconsin 6, as the Gophers were knocking on the doorstep as the fourth quarter began.

Two plays gained them two yards, which set up third down from the 4. On third down, Morgan looked to the back left corner of the end zone intended for Tyler Johnson that was knocked away by Williams. On fourth down, Morgan went back to that same matchup at the goal line. Once again, Williams was equal to the task, knocking the pass away to keep the lead at 14.

With a 96-yard drive, the Badgers broke it open. Specifically, one play daggered the Gophers. The Badgers faced a 3^rd-and-6 at their own 19. Minnesota had a chance to get the ball back with good field position. However, Coan took the snap and the Gophers brought the blitz. Wisconsin had a screen called, the perfect play call. Coan dumped it to running back Garrett Groshek, who rumbled 70 yards down to the Gophers 11.

One play later, JT23 busted through for an 11-yard touchdown to break the game open. His second score of the game made it 31-10.

If the Badgers didn’t have the game in hand before, it did following Minnesota’s next drive. On the first play of the possession, Morgan was sacked by Garrett Rand and lost the ball and Wisconsin recovered.

Four plays later, JT crashed in from a yard out to cement the Badgers trip to Indianapolis and give Bucky a 38-10 lead.

The Gophers scored a late touchdown, but it was too little, too late, for Minnesota. Wisconsin gained 453 yards of total offense to win by 21.

Wisconsin went to 10-2 with the win and the win helped them make a return trip to the Rose Bowl. What makes this so high is destroying the dreams of Minnesota fans. In the biggest game for the Gophers in more than 50 years, the Badgers obliterated them. Fun times in Madison.