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Robin PottratzMinnesota and Wisconsin: The Battle for the Ax
November 13th 2008 18:12
It's an exciting time in the world of college football. The bowl picture is taking shape, the BCS is being disputed, and most importantly the true rivalries in this great sport are being played. Each conference has their own rivalries and trophies. The SEC has the Omicron Delta Kappa-James E. Foy V Sportsmanship Trophy, The Pac-10 has the Victory Bell, but one conference above all has the most competitive, and folksy trophies of all...The Big Ten Conference.
The Big Ten conference has a grand total of 12 trophies that the 11 teams compete for during the college football conference year. Some are more popular than others. For example, Michigan and Michigan State play for "Paul Bunyan's Trophy," Illinois and Northwestern play for the "Sweet Sioux Tomahawk," and Purdue and Indiana renew their rivalry every year for the "Old Oaken Bucket." However, no school in the Big Ten plays for more rivalry prizes then the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota can play for up to four games a season, in which a folksy reward is at stake. They play Michigan for "The Little Brown Jug," they play Penn State for "The Governor's Victory Bell," and they play Iowa for a bronze pig known as "Floyd of Rosedale."
However, the biggest rivalry in the land of 10,000 lakes comes in the form of a game that this weekend will be playing its 118th edition. On Saturday, the Gophers will travel to Camp Randall to play the Wisconsin Badgers for the prize of "Paul Bunyan's Axe." The Minnesota/Wisconsin rivalry is the oldest in all of college football with Minnesota actually leading the all time series 59-50-8. The two teams simply played for personal pride...until 1930 when the first trophy was instituted "The Slab of Bacon," which was a piece of black walnut wood with a W or M printed on it depending on the angle that you looked at...it also featured the scores of each year's game carved into the back of it. It was the trophy until 1943, when after a Gopher victory, coach George Hauser refused to accept it and the trophy vanished...it was later found in Wisconsin with the scores of each game up until 1970 carved into it...those shifty badgers.
From 1943 to 1948, the feud went without prize...until a new trophy was created..."Paul Bunyan's Axe." Created in 1948, the axe is colored maroon, gold, red, and white...and it features the scores of each game written on the handle. During the axe era, the Badgers have an edge on the Gophers in the series 33-24-3. Some of the most exciting games of either team's season have been the battle for the axe. In 1999, the Badgers, led by Ron Dayne came into Minneapolis and squeaked out a 20-17 overtime win. In 2003, a Rhys Lloyd field goal at the end of regulation gave the Gophers the win...and the axe...and lastly, in 2005, a botched and blocked punt led to Wisconsin scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes and leaving Minneapolis with an unbelievable win.
This brings us to today. The Wisconsin Badgers are a disappointment this season with a 5-5 overall record and just 2-5 in the conference. They need to win out to secure a bowl birth. The Gophers, by contrast are having a season that is beyond expectations. They are 7-3 on the season and are 3-3 in the conference. They also need to win out in order to stay in the hunt for a New Years Day bowl. Minnesota has lost 2 in a row and Camp Randall is not the easiest place in the world to play. Not to mention that Minnesota's best player, WR Eric Decker will be out of Saturday's game. If Wisconsin has proven to be anything, it is inconsistent. They have lost to an inept Michigan team as well as a choking on an upset attempt at Michigan St. Both of these teams will be up this one, because it is a rivalry game and this will be one of the most evenly matched games in the history of the border battle.
Prediction: Minnesota 24 Wisconsin 30...Badgers take the axe
If you have some time on Saturday at 2:30 PM feel free to change the channel to ABC and witness the latest chapter in rich college football history. Some rivalries may get more publicity and more heat...but for my money there is no rivalry as fun and homegrown as the border battle between the Badgers and the Gophers.
The Big Ten conference has a grand total of 12 trophies that the 11 teams compete for during the college football conference year. Some are more popular than others. For example, Michigan and Michigan State play for "Paul Bunyan's Trophy," Illinois and Northwestern play for the "Sweet Sioux Tomahawk," and Purdue and Indiana renew their rivalry every year for the "Old Oaken Bucket." However, no school in the Big Ten plays for more rivalry prizes then the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota can play for up to four games a season, in which a folksy reward is at stake. They play Michigan for "The Little Brown Jug," they play Penn State for "The Governor's Victory Bell," and they play Iowa for a bronze pig known as "Floyd of Rosedale."
However, the biggest rivalry in the land of 10,000 lakes comes in the form of a game that this weekend will be playing its 118th edition. On Saturday, the Gophers will travel to Camp Randall to play the Wisconsin Badgers for the prize of "Paul Bunyan's Axe." The Minnesota/Wisconsin rivalry is the oldest in all of college football with Minnesota actually leading the all time series 59-50-8. The two teams simply played for personal pride...until 1930 when the first trophy was instituted "The Slab of Bacon," which was a piece of black walnut wood with a W or M printed on it depending on the angle that you looked at...it also featured the scores of each year's game carved into the back of it. It was the trophy until 1943, when after a Gopher victory, coach George Hauser refused to accept it and the trophy vanished...it was later found in Wisconsin with the scores of each game up until 1970 carved into it...those shifty badgers.
From 1943 to 1948, the feud went without prize...until a new trophy was created..."Paul Bunyan's Axe." Created in 1948, the axe is colored maroon, gold, red, and white...and it features the scores of each game written on the handle. During the axe era, the Badgers have an edge on the Gophers in the series 33-24-3. Some of the most exciting games of either team's season have been the battle for the axe. In 1999, the Badgers, led by Ron Dayne came into Minneapolis and squeaked out a 20-17 overtime win. In 2003, a Rhys Lloyd field goal at the end of regulation gave the Gophers the win...and the axe...and lastly, in 2005, a botched and blocked punt led to Wisconsin scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes and leaving Minneapolis with an unbelievable win.
This brings us to today. The Wisconsin Badgers are a disappointment this season with a 5-5 overall record and just 2-5 in the conference. They need to win out to secure a bowl birth. The Gophers, by contrast are having a season that is beyond expectations. They are 7-3 on the season and are 3-3 in the conference. They also need to win out in order to stay in the hunt for a New Years Day bowl. Minnesota has lost 2 in a row and Camp Randall is not the easiest place in the world to play. Not to mention that Minnesota's best player, WR Eric Decker will be out of Saturday's game. If Wisconsin has proven to be anything, it is inconsistent. They have lost to an inept Michigan team as well as a choking on an upset attempt at Michigan St. Both of these teams will be up this one, because it is a rivalry game and this will be one of the most evenly matched games in the history of the border battle.
Prediction: Minnesota 24 Wisconsin 30...Badgers take the axe
If you have some time on Saturday at 2:30 PM feel free to change the channel to ABC and witness the latest chapter in rich college football history. Some rivalries may get more publicity and more heat...but for my money there is no rivalry as fun and homegrown as the border battle between the Badgers and the Gophers.
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