Paul Bunyan's Axe is returning to Minneapolis.

On Friday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers used a dominant defensive effort to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers to reclaim the axe. The loss for Wisconsin also likely ends a 22-year bowl streak as well as 22 straight seasons with a winning record.

In the win, the Gophers defense allowed just 166 total yards of offense to Wisconsin. The Badgers only were able to garner a mere 36 yards of total offense on 24 carries in the game.

Wisconsin quarterback Bradeyn Locke was kept quiet throughout the afternoon as well with just 130 passing yards while completing 15-of-32 passing attempts.

Offensively, the Gophers had 374 yards en route to their seventh win of the season, with a near 50-50 split between the run and the pass. On the ground, Darius Taylor ran for 143 yards on 32 carries, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. The Gophers finished the game as a team with 183 rushing yards. Quarterback Max Brosmer was great in the win, completing 17-of-26 passing attempts for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

After two quick three-and-outs on their first two drives, the Gophers opened the scoring near the end of the first quarter on Friday with Max Brosmer punching it in from the goal line to finish off a nine-play, 89-yard drive.

One drive later, after forcing Wisconsin's fourth of seven straight punts to start the game, the Gophers would put themselves up two scores as Daniel Jackson found the endzone on a short 7-yard touchdown pass from Max Brosmer.

In the first half, the Gophers outgained Wisconsin 202 to 43 in the yardage department as the Badgers averaged just 1.6 yards per play.

Coming out of the break, the Gophers' defense picked up where they left off in the first half forcing another Wisconsin punt. The offense would then effectively put the game out of reach with an 11-play, 83-yard scoring drive that Jameson Geers found the endzone for the second straight week on a 15-yard touchdown reception.

Wisconsin's offense would get on the board five minutes later with an 11-play, 65-yard drive of their own but it would be the only time the Badgers would find themselves putting up points on the scoreboard.

Badgers kicker Nathaniel Vakos would notably miss a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter which took the wind out of Wisconsin's sails as they were on the verge of a potential second straight scoring drive and the opportunity to make it an 11-point game.

In the closing minutes of the game, Dragan Kesich who snapped a streak of 11-made field goals in the third quarter, would nail a 43-yard attempt to put an exclamation mark on the win for the Gophers.

With the win, the Golden Gophers' 2024 regular season has come to a close with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-4 record in conference play. P.J. Fleck and his program will now await their bowl destination.

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