PiPress: Gophers seek missing trophy against Badgers

[BleedGopher]

per Greder:

The Gophers last beat Wisconsin in 2003 — long before selfies on Instagram moved to the forefront of modern photography. If the Gophers (5-6 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (8-3, 5-2) this afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium, they would snap an 11-game losing streak, the longest one-sided stretch in the rivalry’s 124 meetings.

The Gophers have been rankled in rivalry games this season, with two trophies vacating the glass display case at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Minnesota lost the Little Brown Jug to Michigan after a 29-26 loss on Oct. 31 and gave back Floyd of Rosedale to Iowa after a 40-35 loss on Nov. 14.

“I’ve won three of the four, so it’s time to get the fourth,” said Gophers cornerback Eric Murray, a Milwaukee native counting the oft-forgotten Governor’s Victory Bell with Penn State.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/football/3891980-gophers-seek-missing-trophy-against-badgers

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

STrib: Gophers aim to beat Badgers, claim Axe for first time since 2003

This is Minnesota’s best chance to beat Wisconsin in six years, according to the point spread. The Badgers were favored by an average of 19.6 points in their previous six meetings, but this time the Gophers are 2.5-point underdogs.

A win would send the Gophers (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) to a fourth consecutive bowl game, but coach Tracy Claeys knows that accomplishment would matter far less than the rivalry victory itself.

“To me, there is no comparison,” Claeys said. “No disrespect to the bowl, but that’s a side product to this. Because this Axe has been in play for a long time, and we haven’t had it for a while.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...laim-axe-for-first-time-since-2003/356422881/

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

per Phil Miller: Joel Stave, somehow, has swung the Axe game in Badgers' favor

All hail Joel Stave, King of the Axe.

Wait, who?

You might not appreciate the often-beleaguered Wisconsin quarterback, but that’s OK — neither do plenty of Badgers fans. He’s a former walk-on who had the good fortune to understudy Russell Wilson while a redshirt, and the bad fortune to follow the superstar as the starter, and he’s forever being reminded, even in his home stadium, that he doesn’t measure up to that lofty standard.

Even his coach, in an otherwise positive assessment of the senior quarterback’s career this week, added a caveat. “Certainly anyone that’s played that long,” coach Paul Chryst pointed out, “is going to have some moments where it didn’t go exactly how you’d hoped.”

http://www.startribune.com/joel-stave-somehow-has-swung-the-axe-game-in-badgers-favor/355257091/

Go Gophers!!

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

STrib: Gophers aim to beat Badgers, claim Axe for first time since 2003

This is Minnesota’s best chance to beat Wisconsin in six years, according to the point spread. The Badgers were favored by an average of 19.6 points in their previous six meetings, but this time the Gophers are 2.5-point underdogs.

A win would send the Gophers (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) to a fourth consecutive bowl game, but coach Tracy Claeys knows that accomplishment would matter far less than the rivalry victory itself.

“To me, there is no comparison,” Claeys said. “No disrespect to the bowl, but that’s a side product to this. Because this Axe has been in play for a long time, and we haven’t had it for a while.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...laim-axe-for-first-time-since-2003/356422881/

Go Gophers!!

Glad he gets it. This is the most important game we play almost every year, and we have lost that most important game every year since before I started college.