Minnesota Football vs. Wisconsin: The Elite, The Meh & The Ugly

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5) put the finishing touches on a perfect record at home this season and held on to Paul Bunyan’s Axe with a snow-slowed 17-7 win over the Wisconsin Badgers (4-8) on Saturday.

The Elite

John Nestor. This transfer class has been underwhelming to say the least, but the former Iowa cornerback has been one of the few bright spots, and he shone bright in the snow on Saturday. Nestor was the unequivocal MVP of the defense, leading the team with nine total tackles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery.

The Minnesota defense. Coming into this game, defensive coordinator Danny Collins’ unit needed to do what they could not against Northwestern a week ago: Stop a bad offense. Fortunately, the Gophers took care of business against the Badgers, aided in part by the snowy field conditions. Wisconsin’s lone score of the game was set up by a busted coverage that led to a 67-yard pass before halftime, and even then the Badgers needed an assist from the replay booth to convert a fourth down pass play into a touchdown. Outside of that drive, Minnesota’s defense stifled the Wisconsin offense, forcing three turnovers and holding them to 4-of-13 on third downs.

Tom Weston. In a low-scoring game like this, the field position battle is critical, and Minnesota’s punter did his part not to give the Wisconsin offense a short field. Weston punted five times in the game and three of them were downed inside the 20-yard line, forcing the Badgers to try to sustain long drives.

The Gophers’ ground game. With the passing game limited by the weather, Minnesota needed to lean on its run game, which has been inconsistent all season. Against a Top 25 run defense, the Gophers were able to move the chains with Darius Taylor, including a 49-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter. Taylor finished with 100 rushing yards on 19 carries, and Fame Ijeboi contributed 25 rushing yards on seven carries.

The offensive line. Maligned all season long, the Minnesota Movers saw Tony Nelson make his first career start at right guard and proceeded to hold their own against a very tough defensive front. The Badgers came in averaging 4.8 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss over their last four games, and the Gophers only surrendered one sack and two tackles for loss. It was a much-needed performance from an underachieving unit.

Drake Lindsey. Not a performance anyone will write home about, but 18-of-24 for 90 passing yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers, was good enough to get the Gophers the win.

The Gophers finish undefeated at home for the first time since 1967. Credit to all of the fans who have filled the stands at Huntington Bank Stadium this season. Whether you felt it or not, you made it a challenging environment for every opposing team. I was especially impressed with the number of people who braved the blustery conditions on Saturday and showed up to see the Gophers hold on to the Axe.

Paul Bunyan’s Axe stays home. Right where it belongs.

The Meh

Brady Denaburg. I’m not going to beat a dead horse here. I know the 38-yard field goal attempt he knuckleballed in the first quarter was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but I’ll let you decide whose fault that was. Denaburg did redeem himself with a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter to give Minnesota the lead.

The Ugly

I got nothing. I’ll take a win over Wisconsin any day. Better dead than red!