The Minnesota Golden Gophers will take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday in the Battle for Paul Bunyan's axe at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. As the Gophers put the finishing touches on their game plan for this week, here are 10 Badgers that Minnesota and Minnesota fans will need to keep a close eye on, on Friday afternoon.

Locke took over in the Badgers' third game of the season against Alabama after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending injury. Locke has had some bright spots but has struggled when it has come to turnovers, completing 56.4% of his passes for 1,806 yards and 12 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.

Walker is the Badgers' top offensive weapon this season with 185 touches for 851 yards and 10 touchdowns. Notably, Walker this season has only gone over 100 yards twice, doing so against Rutgers and Northwestern. Since a 126-yard performance against Northwestern, the senior tailback has 72 carries for 263 yards and one touchdown.

Pauling leads Wisconsin in receptions with 42 but is only averaging 9.7 yards per reception, totaling 407 yards. He also has found the back of the endzone three times this season.

Anthony leads the Badgers in receiving yards with 633 and is averaging 18.1 yards per reception on 35 catches. Like Pauling, he's gotten into the endzone three times in 2024. Pauling is coming off his best game of the season against Nebraska, catching seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.

The Badgers' top defender, Wohler has 63 tackles this season including one tackle for loss. He also leads the Badgers with six pass deflections.

Alliegro is a dynamic linebacker for Wisconsin who is among their defensive leaders with 58 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a team-high three sacks.

Puis doesn't have a ton of tackles this season, just 16 in 11 games but he does have three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. This isn't a defense for Wisconsin that creates a ton of chaos so those who do are worth signaling out.

One of the more underrated safeties in the country, Zachman has been a lynchpin of the Badgers' defense this season. The senior safety has just 53 tackles this season including three tackles for loss. He also has recorded four pass deflections and two interceptions this season while not allowing a touchdown on 32 targets.

One of PFF's highest-graded defenders on Pro Football Focus. This season, he has 48 tackles including two tackles for loss, one interception, and five pass deflections. Pro Football Focus has Fourqurean responsible for just one touchdown on 40 targets this season.

One of the best punters in the nation, Bertrams is averaging 45.6 yards per punt this season.

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