Wisconsin takes on Minnesota for Paul Bunyan’s Axe
It is today. Wisconsin (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) hosts Minnesota (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) with plenty to play for. I will be in attendance at this game in the UW student section after bumbling down Regent Street early this afternoon. If you are not attending in person, you can watch today’s game at 2:30PM CST on ESPN.
Wisconsin and Minnesota are both bowl-eligible and neither team is in contention for the Big Ten title. Despite that, both teams feel they have a lot to play for. Wisconsin is trying to reclaim the Axe after last season’s loss at Minnesota - the Badgers’ first loss in Minneapolis since 2003. Minnesota is seeking beat Wisconsin in back to back years for the first time since 1993 and 1994. Gophers head coach PJ Fleck, who came into the job when Wisconsin was in the midst of the longest win streak in the history of this rivalry, is 2-3 in the Axe Game - a win would vault his opinion even higher with Gophers fans. Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard is seeking his first win in the rivalry as he hopes to have the interim tag removed. Lastly, Wisconsin currently leads the all-time series by one game 62-61-8; there’s 132 years of history on the line today.
This game will be decided by who succeeds in running the ball. Minnesota running back Mo Ibrahim leads all of FBS in rushing yards per game and he just ran for 263 yards against Iowa which boasts one of the nation’s best run defenses. Ibrahim will be plenty motivated as he is just 103 yards shy of Minnesota’s single-season rushing record. Wisconsin is led in the running game by Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi. Allen has been dealing with some minor injuries lately, but Mellusi’s return from injury to the lineup last week propelled Wisconsin to a victory.
Defensively, Minnesota and Wisconsin each allow the 10th and 11th fewest rushing yards per game in all of FBS respectively. Wisconsin allows the 4th fewest yards per rush and Minnesota allows the 29th fewest yards per rush. Minnesota has a particularly stingy defense on third down allowing teams to convert just 25.6% of the time which ranks second nationally (Wisconsin ranks 25th). The Badgers, however, will be without one of their best defenders for the first half of this game. Outside linebacker Nick Herbig was ejected following a targeting call in the second half of Wisconsin’s game against Nebraska. Herbig leads all of FBS in sacks per game and leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss.
#3 Wisconsin volleyball defeats #5 Nebraska to secure fourth consecutive Big Ten title
The Wisconsin Badgers (24-3, 18-1 Big Ten) defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-4, 16-3 Big Ten) in four sets (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19) and won a fourth consecutive Big Ten title. Such a feat has only ever been accomplished by one other program in Big Ten history (Penn State). The victory in the match was also Wisconsin’s 17th in a row. Wisconsin finishes regular season play tonight at 6:00PM CST against Ohio State. You can watch the regular season finale on the Big Ten Network.
Wisconsin won a highly competitive match led by the efforts of junior Devyn Robinson who recorded a match-high 16 kills. Those kills allowed Wisconsin to hold-off a Nebraska offense led by Kaitlyn Hord with 13 kills. Nebraska’s defense put it in the driver seat for the second set, holding Wisconsin to just .132 hitting in that set. The third and fourth sets, however, Wisconsin managed to take leads early and hold on to them. Wisconsin had a 20-13 lead in the fourth set and got pushed by Nebraska which cut the lead to 23-19 before Wisconsin won two consecutive points to end the match.
Wisconsin will have two more important days yet this weekend. The Badgers play #8 Ohio State tonight - which fell out of Big Ten title contention yesterday with a loss to Minnesota - in a match Wisconsin would like to win to ensure it has a top-seed in the NCAA tournament bracket. The NCAA tournament selection show will be tomorrow on ESPNU at 6:30PM CST. First and second-round matches will be next weekend; Wisconsin will host those matches as a top-16 seed nationally.
Milwaukee Bucks defeat Cleveland Cavaliers behind incredible 3rd quarter performance
The Milwaukee Bucks (13-5) defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-7) by a score of 117-102 last night to maintain its spot in second-place of the Eastern Conference standings. Milwaukee next plays on Sunday to host the Dallas Mavericks.
Milwaukee trailed by 11 points at halftime, but the game was never competitive in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee outscored Cleveland 35-10 in the fourth quarter while Giannis Antetokounmpo completely took over the game. Giannis recorded 38 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in just 31 minutes last night. Donovan Mitchell added 29 points to lead the scoring effort for the Cavaliers.
Who’s in and who’s out: Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
Every member of the Green Bay Packers except one practiced yesterday as the Packers got some key returns. Tight end Robert Tonyan and tackle Rasheed Walker returned to practice after missing Thursday due to illness. TE Mercedes Lewis practiced Friday after taking a day off for veteran rest. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell practiced for the first time yesterday since suffering a knee injury during the Packers’ game at Buffalo on October 30th.
Wide receiver Romeo Doubs was the only Packers player to not return to practice on Friday and he is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Eagles. Despite returning to practice, Campbell is doubtful. Tackle David Bakhtiari and cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles are questionable with knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Packers fans may see a new player on the field Sunday. With their injury concerns at the outside linebacker position, Green Bay added Justin Hollins to the roster this week and Packers defensive coordinator says he might play in the upcoming game. Hollins will be wearing #47.
Wisconsin close to removing interim tag from Jim Leonhard
According to reporting done by Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jim Leonhard could be announced as the head coach of the Wisconsin football program as early as tomorrow (Sunday, 11/27) or Monday. Sources with knowledge of the coaching search told the Journal Sentinel that Wisconsin officials “want to get moving as soon as they can.”
Fans have been eager to see Wisconsin promote Leonhard to head coach even before Paul Chryst was removed from the position. A win over Minnesota today would be the exclamation point on Leonhard’s resume when applying for the head coach position. He has taken a struggling 2-3 team to bowl eligible with room to spare (extending what is now a 20 year bowl streak), navigated a team through tragedy, and clearly has the locker room bought-in on him.
According to the same sources, Wisconsin also evaluated Kansas head coach Lance Leipold - who received a contract extension at Kansas just a few days ago - and Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. Leipold has Kansas bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008, previously rebuilt a floundering Buffalo program, and built a dynasty at division three Wisconsin-Whitewater winning six national championships. Aranda spent three seasons with the Badgers as defensive coordinator before taking the same position at LSU and ultimately becoming Baylor’s head coach.
Topping-off the six pack & Axe Week Extra: Minnesota ruining tradition is their tradition
Earlier this week, I highlighted Minnesota nearly ruining the tradition of chopping down the goalposts with Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Although cooler heads prevailed in that situation, Minnesota previously ruined a different trophy tradition in college football’s most-played rivalry.
Before Paul Bunyan’s Axe, Wisconsin and Minnesota played for a different rivalry trophy from 1930 to 1943: the Slab of Bacon. A piece of black walnut wood fashioned to be hung so that a “W” or “M” appears upright depending on the trophy’s orientation, the Slab of Bacon was the first rivalry trophy awarded to the victor of matchups between the Badgers and Gophers. The trophy was lost after Minnesota’s victory over the Badgers in 1943 after the Gophers refused to accept the trophy. Minnesota’s head coach, George Hauser, said the trophy should not be exchanged until after the end of World War II.
The trophy went missing until a Wisconsin athletic department intern found it in a storage closet in 1994. Seemingly, the Badgers may have known the trophy’s location earlier because Barry Alvarez said about the trophy in 1992, “we took home the bacon and kept it,” referring to the winning team having “brought home the bacon.”
My prediction for today: The Badgers bring home the bacon because Jimmy cooks. Get this man some bacon to cook (and the head coaching position).
On, Wisconsin.
Bring home that bacon