The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5,4-4 B1G) will finish off their 2024 regular season on Friday afternoon when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (5-6, 3-5 B1G).
The Gophers after winning four straight have dropped each of their last two games to Rutgers and Penn State. On the other sideline, the Wisconsin Badgers are losers of four straight games after winning three straight in October. The Badgers enter Friday reading a win or their 22-straight seasons of bowl eligibility will be snapped.
Of course, there's more than just bowl eligibility on the line as Paul Bunyan's Axe will also be up for grabs for the 76th time in the history of the rivalry.
Here's everything you need to know for Friday afternoon's matchup.
When, Where, How to Watch:
When: Friday, November 29, 11:00 a.m. CT
Where: Camp Randall Stadium (76,057)
TV: CBS // Tom McCarthy (PXP), Jay Feely (Analyst), Tiffany Blackmon (reporter)
Radio: KFAN | Mike Grimm (Pxp), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter)
SiriusXM: 139 or 196
COACHING MATCHUP
Minnesota - P.J. Fleck (8th year at Minnesota ; 12th overall)
- Career Record: 86-61
- Record at Minnesota: 56-39
- Record against Wisconsin: 3-4
- Career accolades: 2x MAC Coach of the Year (2014, 2016), MAC Champion (2016), Big Ten West champion (2019), Big Ten Coach of the Year (2019)
Wisconsin - Luke Fickell (2nd year at Wisconsin) ; 10th overall)
- Career Record: 76–37
- Record at Wisconsin: 13-13
- Record against Minnesota: 1-0
- Career accolades: Home Depot Coach of the Year (2021), AFCA Coach of the Year Award (2021) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2021) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (2021) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2021) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2021) 3× AAC Coach of the Year (2018, 2020–2021) AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year (2010) 2× Second-team All-Big Ten (1995, 1996)
SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the 134th meeting between the two programs since their first meeting in 1890. Through the first 133 matchups, the series is as tight as possible with Wisconsin holding a 63-8-62 advantage over the Gophers. The Gophers for a long time held the series advantage but a 14-game winning streak from 2004 through 2017, shifted the series in favor of Wisconsin. The Gophers over the P.J. Fleck era have been working to even it back up, doing so in 2022 with a a 23-16 win in Madison before the Badgers reclaimed the lead with a 28-14 win last season.
ODDS
WEATHER
It will be a bitterly cold day in Madison on Friday with a high of 25 and a RealFeel according to Accuweather of 12. There will be sustained winds of around 15 mph throughout the day with no precipitation expected.
PRESS CONFERENCES
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) closes out the 2024 regular season on Friday with a trip to Wisconsin (5-6, 3-5). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on CBS and the Gopher Radio Network. The most played FBS rivalry in college football history at 133 games, featuring a razor-tight advantage in the series for the Badgers at 63-62-8, Friday will be the 11th straight year that the Gophers and Badgers face off in the regular season finale.
2. The all-time series has been played 133 times, but Saturday marks the 76th battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, a full history of which can be found on Page 55 of the Game Notes. First played for in 1948, the all-time series record for the Axe is tilted in Wisconsin's favor at 46-27-3, but the teams have split the six contests since 2018, the first time they've gone 3-3 against one another in a six-game span since 1990-95.
3. The contest with Wisconsin marks just the 17th game in Minnesota history to be played on a Friday and the first since hosting Purdue on Nov. 20, 2020. Minnesota and Wisconsin have never met on a Friday before. The Gophers are 5-10-1 all-time in program history on Fridays, including 4-5-1 in the regular season. Minnesota is 2-2 under P.J. Fleck on Fridays. The Gophers have a .658 winning percentage in their history when playing on days other than Saturday, going 59-30-3. Under Fleck, the team is 12-4 on non-Saturdays. A list of Friday games can be found on Page 12 of the notes.
4. Max Brosmer has been excellent in his lone season in Minnesota, completing 233-of-348 passes for 2,426 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions for a rating of 136.9. He's also scored four rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranks Brosmer 12th among FBS QBs with a passer grade of 86.2 this year, while his overall offensive grade of 86.8 ranks 22nd at the position. He's fifth in the Big Ten in both passing grade and overall grade. Brosmer's completion percentage of 67.0 percent is on pace to be the best in both Minnesota single-season history (min. 100 attempts) and career (300 att.). In addition, Brosmer's TD:INT ratio of 3.00 is third in Minnesota single-season history. Before an interception last week against Penn State, he had gone over five games (and 206 passes) without an interception, the longest streak at Minnesota since Mitch Leidner went five games without a pick over the final three games of 2014 and first two of 2015. More on Brosmer can be found on Pages 4-5 of the Game Notes.
b The 2024 campaign is the eighth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, where his record stands at 56-39. He is fourth in program history in Big Ten wins (33) and is fifth in overall wins and games coached (95). Fleck's .589 win percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 12th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 86-61 (.585).
WHY TO SUBSCRIBE TO GOPHERS NATION
Not a subscriber? That's okay! It's never too late to subscribe to Gophers Nation. Not only will you get access to each week's full visitors list, but you'll also have the following perks to go along with your subscription!
* Access to Inside Gophers Nation, which is our premium message board, where you can talk with fellow Minnesota fans as well as the Gophers Nation staff.
* In-depth analytics -- Gophers Nation and the Rivals Network partnered with PFF, the industry leader in analytics. Every week, Gophers Nation offers PFF grades, snap counts, and more, thanks to this fantastic partnership.
* Dedicated team coverage -- Gophers Nation everry week is ready to provide the latest scoops and coverage on Minnesota Golden Gophers football, basketball, and hockey.
* Complete Recruiting Coverage -- We keep you up to speed on all of Minnesota's efforts on the recruiting trail. Keep up to date with who the Gophers are targeting from the day they're offered to the day they sign their letters of intent.
* All that, plus more, including access to our staff at GophersNation.com and our crew of regional and national experts from Rivals.com.
Sign up now for a subscription to GophersNation and get your first 30 days free!
============================
- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.
- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @RivalsDylanCC
- SUBSCRIBE to Gophers Nation
