The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers had a hard time shaking the Purdue Boilermakers early, but pulled away for a 45-24 win at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
The win allows the Badgers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) an opportunity to play border rival Minnesota (10-1, 7-1) for the Big Ten West Division title and the right to face Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship.
Saturday’s match-up at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will be the 129th meeting in the long rivalry with Paul Bunyan’s axe on the line. The Badgers lost the axe last season in a 37-15 loss to the Gophers at Camp Randall. It ended a streak of 14-straight Badger wins in the series.
The Badgers extended their win streak to 14 games with the victory. Running back Jonathan Taylor rushed 28 times for 222 yards and a touchdown. Taylor topped 200 yards for the 12th time in his career.
As a team, the Badgers rushed for 403 yards on 55 carries.
Quarterback Jack Coan completed 15 of 19 for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception. [Read more…]