Axe week is back: Gophers will play at Wisconsin next Saturday
Benjamin St-Juste #25 and Mariano Sori-Marin #55 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers tackle Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the second quarter of the game at TCF Bank Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Axe Week is back for the University of Minnesota football team.
The Big Ten announced on Sunday its match-ups for Champions Week, which includes Ohio State facing Northwestern for the Big Ten Championship.
The Gophers will head to Camp Randall Stadium and face the Wisconsin Badgers, with kickoff set for 3 p.m.. The two teams were set to meet back on Nov. 28, but the Gophers had to cancel the game due to rising COVID-19 cases within the program. Minnesota also canceled its game against Northwestern the following week. At its peak, the Gophers had 23 players and 26 staff test positive for COVID-19.
"The Minnesota and Wisconsin rivalry is one of the best in sports," said Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck. "This game means a tremendous amount to the student-athletes, coaches and fans of both schools. We are excited to play and extend this rivalry, as Saturday's game will be the 130th meeting. In a year of constant change, we appreciate the Big Ten, both administrations and each conference member institution for preserving this rivalry."
The Badgers also had two games of their own canceled earlier this season after COVID-19 issues.
Minnesota played for the first time in 22 days on Saturday, and got a 24-17 win at Nebraska. Minnesota won that game despite missing 33 players between COVID-19 issues and injuries. The Badgers traveled to Iowa, and lost 28-7 to drop to 2-3 on the season.