Baggot Five Things to Know: Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe
November 26, 2024 | Football
Wisconsin welcomes Minnesota for regular season finale
The Wisconsin-Minnesota series is not only the longest continuous rivalry among Football Bowl Subdivision programs, it’s become the most hotly contested.
UW goes into its Big Ten Conference regular-season finale Friday at 11 a.m. at Camp Randall Stadium with a one-game lead in the 133-game duel (63-62-8) and a notable to-do list.
A win would not only make the Badgers (5-6 overall, 3-6 in league play) bowl eligible for the 23rd straight time going back to 2001, it would enable them to retain possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe for at least another year and to make Senior Day memorable for all the right reasons.
Meanwhile, the Gophers (6-5, 4-4) would like nothing better than to end that run of bowl berths by Wisconsin, which is the third-longest active streak in the nation behind Georgia (27) and Oklahoma (25), and to have their Border Battle partner go into the offseason having lost five straight games for the first time since 1991 and having a losing record for the first time since ‘01.
Here are five more things to know:
SENIOR DAY
Wisconsin will celebrate 27 players, student assistants and managers on Friday before kickoff.
WR Haakon Anderson, LB Jake Chaney, CB RJ Delancy III, CB Nyzier Fourqurean, student coach Tyler Gibson, WR Bryson Green, CB Ricardo Hallman, DL Elijah Hills, OL Joe Huber, OL Kerry Kodanko, student coach Cam Large, S Max Lofy, DL Cade McDonald, LS Duncan McKinley, P Gavin Meyers, WR Alex Moeller, OL Jack Nelson, TE Riley Nowakowski, LS Cayson Pfeiffer, OLB John Pius, LB Jaheim Thomas, DL James Thompson Jr., K Nate Van Zelst, student manager Tanvi Wadhawan, RB Tawee Walker, S Hunter Wohler, S Preston Zachman
THE BIGGER PICTURE
UW’s all-time record is 743-518-52 (.585). The Gophers are 723-539-42 (.571). Not bad considering Minnesota once had a 20-game lead in this series alone from 1890 to 1949 (37-17-5).
HE'S COMING ON
Inside linebacker Christian Alliegro was credited with 11 tackles last week vs. Nebraska, making it three consecutive double-digit outings for the sophomore from Darien, Conn. He had 16 vs. Iowa, 10 more vs. Oregon and currently leads UW with five tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. Of his 37 tackles in that span, 24 are solo stops. Curiously, Alliegro had 21 tackles (14 solo) in his previous eight games.
PASSING GRADE
The Badgers currently have five players with multiple TD catches this season – junior Vinny Anthony II, Bryson Green, Trech Kekahuna, Will Pauling, C.J. Williams – marking the first time that’s happened since 2017. Indiana and Penn State are the only Big Ten teams with more players (six) with multiple TD receptions.
IT CUTS BOTH WAYS
Since the introduction of the Axe in 1948, the Badgers lead the series 46-27-5.
