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UW Retains Axe
AP
Wisconsin running back John Clay (32) scores on a two-yard touchdown run runs against Minnesota cornerback Marcus Sherels (24) during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's move to a new stadium failed to shift the momentum in the longest-running rivalry in major college football. Wisconsin ran away with Paul Bunyan's Axe once again.
John Clay rushed for three touchdowns and gained 159 of his 184 yards in the second half, helping the Badgers hang on for a 31-28 win over the Gophers on Saturday.
"It's Wisconsin. That's what they do," said Minnesota safety Kim Royston, a transfer from the Badgers.
Early season success by quarterback Scott Tolzien has given Wisconsin (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) better balance than usual, but Clay's continued success pounding the ball off tackle and falling forward for extra yards wore down Minnesota in the second half.
"I took it and ran with it," Clay said. "I was getting a little winded, but my teammates were like, 'We need you. We're counting on you.' So that was extra motivation to lower my shoulders and get positive yards."
The Gophers (3-2, 2-1) were devastated afterward, and coach Tim Brewster was choked up in the locker room after another close loss to the team from across the state line. The Gophers were frustrated, too, by getting to the 8-yard line and later the 1 and settling for field goals both times in the first half.
They also failed to turn a third-quarter fumble recovery by Nate Triplett at the Wisconsin 44 into any points, when Adam Weber's third-down pass to the flat bounced off DeLeon Eskridge and was intercepted by a diving defensive tackle Patrick Butrym.
Clay carried six times for 53 yards on the next drive to fuel a nine-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Badgers the lead for good, 17-13. Wisconsin finished with 295 yards rushing.
"It's kind of like watching a heavyweight boxing match," Badgers coach Bret Bielema said. "The guys who are trying to tackle him in the third and fourth quarter aren't doing it the same way they were doing it in the first half. He has an effect on the game and just wears you down."
The Badgers used another long touchdown march to take a 24-13 lead, but as they moved in position for another score, Marcus Sherels picked up a fumble for Minnesota and ran 88 yards for a touchdown with 6:50 left.
Tolzien rumbled 47 yards on a designed rollout to set up Clay's third score, but the Gophers answered again by going 80 yards in three plays to cut the lead to three. They forced a punt that Keanon Cooper blocked, but it had enough on it to keep going, bounce and roll all the way to the Minnesota 5.
The Gophers had 1:43 remaining, but no timeouts. Weber lost a fumble at the 24 with 30 seconds left, killing the last-chance drive.
"You pour your heart and soul into the deal and you come up short," Brewster said. "It's hard to find the right words. Sometimes less words is better. Sometimes no words is better."
Eric Decker had 140 yards and a touchdown to become Minnesota's all-time leading receiver, but he drew more coverage after halftime and Weber had trouble finding time to pass. Nine penalties, totaling 75 yards, hurt the home team, too.
"This offense can do it. We just have to show it," Weber said.
Tolzien, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, completed 16 of 26 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Clay and the linemen did most of the work, but he had a handful of clutch completions. The Badgers converted eight of 13 third downs.
"I did the things I needed to do to win, but at the same time, there are a lot of things I can clean up," Tolzien said. "Two turnovers, I missed some throws, and I missed some of my reads too."
It was Wisconsin's first road game, a suddenly tough ticket for Badgers backers to get now that the Gophers play at sold-out TCF Bank Stadium after 27 seasons downtown in the Metrodome. There, rivalry games were at least half-filled by visiting fans.
At the new stadium, though plenty of red was mixed in among the maroon and gold, Minnesota actually had a true home-field advantage. Goldy Gopher did his part: The furry mascot taunted the few thousand Wisconsin fans before the start of the fourth quarter by putting on a purple Brett Favre jersey.
The Badgers had all the fun in the end, though, as the players paraded the Axe around the stadium and pretended to chop down the goalpost in traditional fashion. The Gophers seniors will never know what that feels like.
"Four years, four chances, but I've never had it," Sherels said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
