Minnesota–Wisconsin_football_rivalry

Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry

Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry

American college football rivalry

"Paul Bunyan's Axe" redirects here. For the similarly named Paul Bunyan Trophy, see Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry. For the axe belonging to the American folklore figure, see Paul Bunyan.

The Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers. It is the most-played rivalry in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, with 133 meetings between the two teams. The winner of the game receives Paul Bunyan's Axe, a tradition that started in 1948 after the first trophy, the Slab of Bacon, disappeared after the 1943 game when the Badgers were supposed to turn it over to the Golden Gophers. Minnesota and Wisconsin first played in 1890 and have met every year since, except for 1906. Wisconsin leads the series 63–62–8 through 2023.[2] Wisconsin took the series lead for the first time after defeating Minnesota 31–0 in the 2017 game; Minnesota had led the overall series since 1902, at times by as many as 20 games.

Quick Facts First meeting, Latest meeting ...
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
200km
125miles
Wisconsin
.
Minnesota
Locations of Minnesota and Wisconsin

The rivalry game is sometimes known as the Border Battle.[3]

History

The rivalry was first played in 1890 on Minnesota's campus, in Minneapolis, resulting in a 63–0 Minnesota victory. Theron Lyman led Wisconsin to its first win over Minnesota in 1894. The game became a conference rivalry with the creation of the Western Conference (later the Big Ten Conference) in 1896. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt suspended college football rivalry games for safety concerns, due to player injuries and fatalities on the field. It is the single year the two teams did not play each other.[4][5] Subsequently, it is now the longest uninterrupted rivalry in FBS Division 1 college football. The game has never been played in any city besides Minneapolis, and Madison, Wisconsin.

From 1933 to 1982, it was traditionally the final game of the regular season for both schools. It has resumed being a season finale as of 2014, following the Big Ten's new divisional alignment and schedule for the final weekend of conference play.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, Randall Field, 1903

The 2014 and 2019 games decided the Big Ten West champion; Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 34–24 to go to the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game against Ohio State. In 2019, Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 38–17 to go to the 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game against Ohio State. The last time the rivalry determined a Big Ten Conference champion was in 1962 when #3 Wisconsin defeated #5 Minnesota for a berth to the 1963 Rose Bowl.[6]

Wisconsin won 14 straight meetings against Minnesota, from 2004 to 2017, before the Gophers beat the Badgers in their 2018 matchup. It ended the longest losing streak for either team in the history of the rivalry.[7]

Trophies

Slab of Bacon

The rivalry's first trophy was the "Slab of Bacon", in use from 1930 to 1943. Created by R. B. Fouch of Minneapolis, it is a piece of black walnut wood with a football at the center bearing a letter that becomes "M" or "W" depending on which way the trophy is hung. The word "BACON" is carved at both ends, implying that the winner has "brought home the bacon." The trophy's tenure ended when Minnesota's 1943 victory in Minnesota led to the fans rushing the field. Wisconsin student Peg Watrous was to bring the trophy to a Minnesota representative after the game, but could not find her in the commotion, and subsequently lost track of the "bacon".[8][9] Reportedly, the trophy was sent to Minnesota's locker room, but coach George Hauser refused it, suggesting such traditions be held off until after World War II.[10] It was subsequently lost, and a new trophy, "Paul Bunyan's Axe", was introduced in 1948.[10]

The "Slab of Bacon" trophy was lost for over 50 years. In 1992, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez joked that "we took home the bacon, and kept it."[11] In 1994, Wisconsin intern Will Roleson found it in an old storage closet at Camp Randall Stadium. It had evidently been maintained for some time, as game scores through 1970 were painted on the back. It is now displayed at the Camp Randall Stadium football offices.[8]

Trophy record (1930-1943): Minnesota, 11–3 (.786)[citation needed]

Paul Bunyan's Axe

Badgers celebrating their win by carrying Paul Bunyan's Axe around Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium after the 2009 game

The Paul Bunyan Axe was created by the Wisconsin letterwinners' organization (the National W Club) and would be instituted as the trophy in the series in 1948. The scores of each game are recorded on the axe's handle, which is 6 feet long. A new axe was created in 2000. The original axe was donated to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.[12]

Until 2014, when the game ended, if the team holding the trophy won, they would run to their own sideline, take the axe and carry it around the field and "chop down" one or both goal posts.[13][14][15][16][17] If the team not holding the axe won, they were allowed to run to their opponents' sideline and "steal" the axe. The tradition was changed in 2014, with the Axe now kept off the field until the game is over. This change was in response to a near skirmish in 2013 in which the Minnesota players surrounded their goal post and would not permit the Wisconsin players to ceremonially chop it down.[18] The usual tradition was restored in 2015, with Wisconsin winning again 31–21.[19]

Trophy record: Wisconsin, 46–27–3 (.625) through 2023

Accomplishments by the two rivals

More information Team, Wisconsin ...

Game results

Minnesota victoriesWisconsin victoriesTie games
More information No., Date ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Winsipedia – Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Wisconsin Badgers football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. [2]
    "Winsipedia College Football Database: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  3. [3]
    "MN-WI Border Battle". Breakdown Sports.
  4. [4]
    "Bielema touts history of Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry – College Football – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. November 12, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  5. [5]
    "Paul Bunyan's Axe – Minnesota vs. Wisconsin – University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site". Gophersports.com. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  6. [6]
    "Wisconsin Badgers Football, Basketball, and Recruiting Front Page". Wisconsin.scout.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Mason, Tyler. "A night 15 years in the making: Gophers finally get their..." The Athletic. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  8. [8]
    Doherty, Justin (2005). Tales from the Wisconsin Badgers. Sports Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 1582614083. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  9. [9]
    "Precursor to the Axe - UWBadgers.com - The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  10. [10]
    Scott Dochterman. "Traveling trophies woven into Big Ten football fabric (with poll, video)". TheGazette. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  11. [11]
    Doherty, Justin (2005). Tales from the Wisconsin Badgers. Sports Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 1582614083. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  12. [12]
    "Original Axe headed to Hall of Fame". The Badger Herald. November 19, 2003. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  13. [13]
    Fox Sports (November 19, 2013). "badgers-gophers-rivalry-gets-boost-as-both-teams-good | FOX Sports on MSN". Foxsportswisconsin.com. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  14. [14]
    Bennett, Brian (May 6, 2014). "Big Ten weekend rewind: Week 13 – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  15. [15]
    "Countdown to end begins for Metrodome". kare11.com. August 9, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  16. [16]
    "Former Badgers Recall Axe Rivalry – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  17. [17]
    "Badgers football: Backfield tandem runs wild — and wildcat — over Gophers : Sports". Host.madison.com. October 20, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  18. [18]
    "Gary Andersen says Paul Bunyans Axe will disappear during Minnesota vs. Wisconsin". The Daily Gopher. November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  19. [19]
    Journal, Todd D. Milewski | Wisconsin State. "After another Badgers win over Gophers, Axe 'qualifies for a state pension' for tenure in Wisconsin". madison.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  20. [20]
    "Minnesota Golden Gophers Index". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  21. [21]
    "Wisconsin Badgers Index". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  22. [22]
    "NCAA Football Championship History". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  23. [23]
    "Minnesota Championships". GopherSports.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  24. [24]
    "Minnesota Bowl History". CollegeFootballPoll.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  25. [25]
    "Wisconsin Bowl History". CollegeFootballPoll.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  26. [26]
    "Minnesota All-America Selections". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  27. [27]
    "Wisconsin Badgers All-America Selections". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  28. [28]
    "Past Heisman Trophy Winners". NationalChamps.net. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minnesota Golden Gophers–Wisconsin Badgers football rivalry.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Minnesota–Wisconsin_football_rivalry, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.