It’s Ax Week, Badger fans!
THE Wisconsin Badgers take on PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. on FS1 and the Badgers are 1.5-point favorites.
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The Badgers are coming off their most impressive win of the season last Saturday against 21st-ranked Illinois, 27-10. It was a fantastic defensive effort from Wisconsin, as the Badgers racked up five sacks for the second straight game. Darryl Peterson led the charge with three sacks and received the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award.
What should Badgers fans know about the Minnesota Golden Gophers?
Opponent Overview
PJ Fleck’s “Row The Boat” crew is 6-5, but they have lost three of their last four matches. Their previous match might have been the hardest to swallow. Minnesota held a 28-13 lead over Northwestern at Wrigley Field only to see the Wildcats tie the game late in the third quarter. After Northwestern took a late 38-35 lead, the Gophers drove down the field to set up a game-tying field goal attempt by Brady Denaburg from 40 yards out.
Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey had a respectable first season as Minnesota’s starting quarterback. Lindsay has 2,145 passing yards this season, along with 15 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He is coming off a strong performance against Northwestern, where he threw four touchdown passes against the Wildcats.
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Like Illinois, the Gophers do not possess a strong rushing attack. In fact, Minnesota enters this game ranked last in the Big Ten with 1,109 rushing yards this season. Two Gopher running backs have over 400 rushing yards. Star running back Darius Taylor, who has been dealing with injuries this season, has 454 rushing yards this season. Fame Ijeboi is right behind him with 416 yards.
In the passing game, redshirt senior receiver Le’Meke Brockington leads the Gophers with 460 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Second in receiving yards is Miami (OH) transfer wideout Javon Tracy with 430 receiving yards. Tracy played a big role in Minnesota’s last game against Northwestern, catching three touchdown passes to keep the game alive.
The Gophers defense is among the best in the conference when it comes to plays behind the line of scrimmage. Minnesota leads the Big Ten with 34 sacks and is second overall with 79 tackles for loss. Leading that charge at quarterback is defensive lineman Anthony Smith. Smith has a Big Ten-leading 10.5 sacks this season and is tied for first with 13.5 TFLs. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski has the most tackles among Gopher defenders with 79.
Score Prediction
Minnesota is no slouch and its skilled players will test Wisconsin’s defense. Luckily, we get PJ Fleck’s crew at the perfect time. The Badgers are playing great football, while the Gophers are struggling. This game, except miracleis the Badgers’ bowl game, so Wisconsin enters this game with nothing to lose and an ax to gain. For the first time in forever, I’m finally taking the Badgers to win a football game.
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Prediction: 17-13 Wisconsin
