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Gophers players celebrate taking Paul Bunyan's Axe
Gophers football players race to Paul Bunyan's Axe to celebrate after a 24-7 win at Wisconsin on Friday to close out the regular season 7-5.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Happy 44th birthday to P.J. Fleck.
The University of Minnesota football team ended its 2024 regular season with a dominating 24-7 win at rival Wisconsin on Black Friday in the annual battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. It’s the Gophers’ fourth win over the Badgers in Fleck’s eight seasons. It's also their third at Camp Randall Stadium.
"I thought we made a statement in the rivalry, winning three out of four here at Camp Randall. The Axe is coming home. That’s a happy locker room right now," Fleck said after the win. "This is a great present, I’ll take it."
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P.J. Fleck after Gophers beat Wisconsin: 'The Axe is coming home'
Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck spoke with reporters after a 24-7 win at Wisconsin on Friday to close out the regular season 7-5.
What it means
The Gophers finish the regular season 7-5, and 5-4 in Big Ten play. They’ll wait until the conclusion of the conference championship games and College Football Playoff seeds a week from Sunday to learn their bowl destination. They also eliminated the Badgers from bowl contention, as they finished 5-7.
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Gophers players react after 24-7 win at Wisconsin, taking Axe
Gophers players Darius Taylor, Justin Walley, Ethan Robinson, Danny Striggow, Daniel Jackson, Max Brosmer and Quinn Carroll react after a 24-7 win at Wisconsin on Friday to take back Paul Bunyan's Axe and finish the season 7-5.
The key play
The Gophers faked a "tush push" on a 3rd-and-1 in the second quarter, and Marcus Major took it 40 yards down the sideline. The drive ended with Max Brosmer hitting Daniel Jackson for a 7-yard touchdown at the pylon and a 14-0 Gophers’ lead.
"We got a bunch of stuff out of that formation, we do. It’s a true check. We’ve got seven or eight different things we can do out of that," Fleck said. "I think it was a great check by Max. Break one tackle and that’s the type of play it is."
Brosmer also hit Jackson from 37 yards out in the first quarter to set up Minnesota’s first touchdown of the day. Brosmer finished the day with 191 passing yards and three total touchdowns. Jackson and Elijah Spencer had a combined 11 catches for 136 yards.
The third quarter dagger
After forcing a 3-and-out to start the second half, the Gophers drove down the field with the help of Darius Taylor. Brosmer then hit Jameson Geers for a 15-yard touchdown and 21-0 lead. Taylor had 34 total touches for 156 yards.
What the players are saying
The importance of the rivalry isn't lost on the players, especially the Minnesota natives. The entire Gophers' team raced to the end zone as the clock hit zero to take Paul Bunyan's Axe. Players took turns chopping each goal post.
"It means the world to me, this is the game you play for at Minnesota. It’s the most important game on the schedule. To go out with a win like that is the most perfect outcome I could think of," defensive back Justin Walley said.
"Growing up watching the Gophers, you see the seniors chop down the goalpost whenever they win. That’s obviously a dream as young kid from Minnesota. To be able to do that was so surreal," offensive lineman Quinn Carroll said. "Before I got to do that, a couple of my brothers stormed the field and they got escorted out."
"To be about to go out there and get the Axe win in our final season, it’s huge," Jackson said.
What’s next
The Gophers wait to learn their bowl game, destination and opponent a week from Sunday.