NCAAF Game Recap - Minnesota at Wisconsin
Sat Nov 24, 2018 3:30 PM EST

Aub
21
Bama
52
F
SCar
35
Clem
56
F
ND
24
USC
17
F
Mich
39
OSU
62
F
GATec
21
UGA
45
F
Okla
59
WVU
56
F
Wash
28
WaSt
15
F
UCF
38
SoFL
10
F
LSU
72
TxAM
74
F(6OT)
Tex
24
Kans
17
F
Fla
41
FlaSt
14
F
UtSt
24
Boise
33
F
MD
3
PSU
38
F
KY
56
Lou
10
F
BYU
27
Utah
35
F
Syr
42
BC
21
F
Ill
16
NW
24
F
MissSt
35
Miss
3
F
Pitt
3
MiaFL
24
F
K St
38
IASt
42
F
NIU
21
WestMI
28
F
Ball
21
MiaOH
42
F
ColSt
19
AF
27
F
Hou
31
Mem
52
F
Neb
28
Iowa
31
F
C Mi
13
Toled
51
F
Akr
28
Ohio
49
F
E Mi
28
Kent
20
F
Buff
44
BGSU
14
F
Ark
0
MIZ
38
F
CoCar
28
SoAl
31
F
UVA
31
VaTec
34
F OT
ECU
6
Cin
56
F
Oreg
55
OreSt
15
F
Navy
28
Tul
29
F
Bayl
35
TxTch
24
F
W Ky
30
LT
15
F
Purd
28
Ind
21
F
Marsh
28
FLInt
25
F
NCSt
34
UNC
28
F OT
Wake
59
Duke
7
F
OD
13
Rice
27
F
GaSo
35
GASt
14
F
NMS
21
Lib
28
F
Wyo
31
NM
3
F
Troy
10
App
21
F
Del
6
JMU
20
F
ULLaf
31
ULMon
28
F
Stan
49
UCLA
42
F
SMiss
39
UTEP
7
F
UAB
3
MidTN
27
F
AzSt
41
Ariz
40
F
MIN
37
Wisc
15
F
SMU
24
Tuls
27
F
Temp
57
UConn
7
F
ArkSt
33
TxSt
7
F
Tenn
13
Vand
38
F
Rut
10
MSU
14
F
UNCC
27
FlAtl
24
F
SJSU
13
Fres
31
F
Colo
21
Cal
33
F
NorTx
24
UTSA
21
F
(N/A)
27
JacSt
34
F
OkSt
24
TCU
31
F
NEV
29
UNLV
34
F
Hawaii
31
SDSU
30
F OT

Nov 24, 2018, 3:30 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Minnesota (6-6)

3

14

6

14

37

Wisconsin (7-5)

0

7

0

8

15

Gophers take back Axe, beat Wisconsin 37-15
Sat Nov 24, 2018 8:49 PM

MADISON, Wis. (AP) The giddy Minnesota players ran one way down the field, with one lucky Golden Gopher holding tightly on to Paul Bunyan's Axe as they raced toward a goal post.

Coach P.J. Fleck went the other way, jogged past the end zone and gave someone a bear hug.

Fourteen years of frustration, all gone in one memorable night at Camp Randall Stadium.

Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 121 yards and a score, a resurgent defense held up on the road and Minnesota ran away from Wisconsin for a 37-15 win on Saturday to snap a 14-game losing streak in the rivalry and reclaim the precious axe.

"This is why you coach. These are moments and memories you'll remember forever," Fleck said.

The Gophers (6-6, 3-6 Big Ten) also became bowl eligible for the first time under the excitable second-year head coach.

And yet that important step forward for the program was overshadowed, at least for one night, with the victory to take back the axe. It was Minnesota's first win in the series since 2003, and the first victory in Madison since 1994.

"When you hold the axe, now you know why everybody wants it so much," Fleck said. "It's a very surreal feeling."

They earned it by following Wisconsin's blueprint for success, pounding away on the ground in the second half and capitalizing on four turnovers.

Bryce Williams ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both coming on drives after turnovers by Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook.

Jonathan Taylor, the nation's leading rusher, had 120 yards on 19 carries for the Badgers (7-5, 5-4). Hornibrook, starting for the first time since missing two games while in the concussion protocol, threw three interceptions and lost a fumble on a sack.

Minnesota scored 24 points off those miscues.

Hornibrook was listed as questionable during the week after his second concussion in a month. Coach Paul Chryst said the team felt confident that Hornibrook was ready.

"Anytime you turn the ball over that number of times, you make it tough on yourselves," Chryst said.

IMPROVING DEFENSE

What a turnaround for Minnesota's defense since Joe Rossi took over as interim coordinator following a 55-31 loss to Illinois on Nov. 3. The Gophers have allowed just 49 points in the three games since that blowout.

And they had to play Saturday without top linebacker Blake Cashman for the majority of the game after the standout linebacker was ejected for targeting on a punt return early in the second quarter.

Jacob Huff had 10 tackles and forced fumble for the Gophers.

SCORING FLURRY

The Gophers took control in a pivotal stretch late in the second quarter that started when Ibrahim ran untouched into the front left corner of the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the 10 with 2:21 left in the half.

Normally sure-handed receiver A.J. Taylor dropped a third-down pass to force the Wisconsin punt returned by Demetrius Douglas for a 17-0 lead with 1:05 left.

WISCONSIN BADGERED

Wisconsin looked like it would take momentum back after Jake Ferguson made an athletic, twisting catch in the end zone on a 7-yard pass from Hornibrook with 1 second left to get to 17-7.

But the Badgers couldn't convert on fourth-and-3 from the Minnesota 44 on the opening drive of third quarter. It was a sign of things to come for Wisconsin.

"We didn't play good enough football to earn the right to keep the axe," Chryst said.

SEE IT, BELIEVE IT

Fleck said he had his team visualize all week what it would be like to claim back the axe.

"Being able to visualize this was huge," quarterback Tanner Morgan said.

TAKEAWAYS

Minnesota: The Gophers ran for 152 yards on 33 carries in the second half and went 5 of 9 on third downs. They held the ball for 21 after halftime and forced two turnovers over the final 5 minutes. It was Wisconsin-like football.

Wisconsin: The loss epitomized an underwhelming season for the offense. Taylor is the team's best big-play threat, though the Gophers keyed on the star running back early in the game. Hornibrook has been in and out of the lineup for much of the last five weeks because of injury. The passing game sputtered for much of that time whether Hornibrook or backup Jack Coan has been behind center. Hornibrook was 22 of 33 for 189 yards and two scores.

UP NEXT

Both teams await their bowl destinations. Representatives from the Citrus, Holiday and Pinstripe Bowl were at the game.

---

More AP college football coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

MIN Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
T. Morgan 16 9 56.3 0 124 28 0 81.3
Wisc Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
A. Hornibrook 33 22 66.7 2 189 13 3 63.8

Rushing

MIN Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
M. Ibrahim 26 121 4.7 18 1
B. Williams 8 50 6.3 23 2
Wisc Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Taylor 19 120 6.3 20 0
G. Groshek 4 44 11.0 21 0

Receiving

MIN Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Johnson 4 76 19.0 28 0
C. Autman-Bell 3 26 8.7 16 0
Wisc Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Davis III 10 93 9.3 13 1
J. Ferguson 5 46 9.2 12 1

Fumbles

Wisc F FL
D. Davis III 1 0
A. Hornibrook 2 1

Returning

MIN KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Douglas 0 0 0 1 69.0 1 69
Wisc KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
A. Cruickshank 2 20.5 0 24 0 0 0
J. Dunn 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 0

Punting

MIN Punt Yds Avg LgPu
J. Herbers 2 75 37.5 49
Wisc Punt Yds Avg LgPu
C. Allen 3 115 38.3 42

Takeaways

MIN Int Yds InTD
C. Durr 1 25 0
T. Johnson 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

MIN Wisc
Points For 37 15
Total Yards 325 359
Rushing Yards 201 170
Passing Yards 124 189
Passing Completions / Attempts 9/16 22/33
Turnovers 0 4
Interceptions Thrown 0 3
Fumbles - Lost 1/0 4/1
First Downs 19 21
Penalties - Yards 2/20 6/54
Time Of Possession 06:06 54:54
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 5/14 4/11
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 3/3 0/1
Punts - Average Yards 2/38 3/38

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter MIN Wisc
MIN 12:23 FG Emmit Carpenter 34 yd FG 3 0
2nd Quarter MIN Wisc
MIN 12:39 TD Mohamed Ibrahim 10 yd run (Emmit Carpenter kick) 10 0
MIN 13:55 TD Demetrius Douglas 69 yd punt return (Emmit Carpenter kick) 17 0
Wisc 14:59 TD Jake Ferguson 7 yd pass from Alex Hornibrook (Rafael Gaglianone kick) 17 7
3rd Quarter MIN Wisc
MIN 07:13 FG Emmit Carpenter 23 yd FG 20 7
MIN 13:58 FG Emmit Carpenter 42 yd FG 23 7
4th Quarter MIN Wisc
MIN 10:04 TD Bryce Williams 23 yd run (Emmit Carpenter kick) 30 7
MIN 12:29 TD Bryce Williams 16 yd run (Emmit Carpenter kick) 37 7
Wisc 13:48 TD Danny Davis III 13 yd pass from Alex Hornibrook (Adam Krumholz 2pt pass from Alex Hornibrook) 37 15

Game Information

Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
Attendance: 74,038
Game Time:
Weather: