Max Brosmer passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Minnesota past archrival Wisconsin 24-7 in the annual battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Friday afternoon, ending the Badgers’ streak of consecutive winning seasons at 22.
Brosmer completed 17 of 26 passes for 191 yards without an interception for the Gophers (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten).
Wisconsin (5-7, 3-6) closed the season with five consecutive defeats and its first losing season since going 5-7 under Barry Alvarez in 2001. It was the longest active streak of winning seasons among Power 4 teams.
The defeat also likely snapped Wisconsin’s streak of 22 consecutive bowl games, as there is almost no chance the Badgers get a bid as a five-win team because of Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Darius Taylor rushed for 143 yards on 32 carries for the Gophers, who had a 374-166 advantage in total yards.
Wisconsin was held to just 36 yards rushing on 24 attempts. Braedyn Locke completed just 15 of 32 passes for 130 yards.
Brosmer’s 1-yard plunge put Minnesota up 7-0 late in the first quarter, capping a nine-play, 89-yard drive. Brosmer completed 4 of 5 passes for 71 yards on the march, including a 21-yard completion on third-and-7 to the 1-yard line.
The Gophers made it 14-0 on their next possession when Brosmer capped the 75-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring pass to Daniel Jackson.
Minnesota pushed the lead to 21-0 with a methodical 11-play drive that consumed the first 6:02 of the third quarter. Brosmer completed all six of his passes on the drive, including a 15-yard touchdown to tight end Jameson Geers.
Wisconsin answered with its first sustained drive, kept alive by a late hit penalty on third-and-15. Locke’s 15-yard pass to Vinny Anthony II made it 21-7 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Badgers drove to the Minnesota 10, but Nathanial Vakos was wide right on a 37-yard field-goal attempt with 12:10 remaining.
Dragin Kesich’s 43-yard field goal put the Gophers up 24-7 with 3:19 left.
–Field Level Media
