No. 19 Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) once again will maintain possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe after shutting the door on No. 25 Minnesota (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten), 20-7 Saturday afternoon. The Badgers kept the Gophers offense off the scoreboard in the win and now Wisconsin can hope for some help from above in the standings to make a late BCS at-large push.
Joel Stave completed a short two-yard touchdown pass to Jared Abbrederis in the third quarter to cap a 12 play drive spanning 83 yards. The score gave Wisconsin a 20-7 lead and that was all of the scoring in the second half. James White rushed for a game-high 125 yards and one touchdown to help the Badgers control the time of possession. Wisconsin only managed to put together 318 yards of offense but the defense was more than up to the task of holding down an inspired Minnesota team. The Gophers managed just 185 yards against Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has one more game to play to make a case for a BCS at-large spot, although the competition for a BCS spot may be pretty deep. The Badgers wrap up the regular season next weekend at home against Penn State. Penn State clipped Wisconsin in overtime in State College last season.
Minnesota will conclude their regular season at Michigan State. The Spartans clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win Saturday at Northwestern.