After falling behind 17-3, the Wisconsin Badgers rebounded for a 34-24 win over the rival Minnesota Gophers to clinch a spot in the Big Ten title game and retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the 11th straight season.
The 14th ranked Badgers (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) captured the Big Ten’s West Division title and will face No. 6 Ohio State (11-1, 8-0) on Saturday in Indianapolis. The Badgers last won Big Ten titles in 2011 and 2012.
The Buckeyes closed out the regular season with a 42-28 win over rival Michigan earlier in the day in Columbus, but in the process, the Buckeyes lost their starting quarterback J.T. Barrett for the rest of the season with a broken ankle.
Melvin Gordon rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. He also added a 4-yard touchdown catch. Dayne captured the Wisconsin and Big Ten rushing record for yards in a season with 2,260, surpassing Ron Dayne’s record of 2,109. [Read more…]