The battle for the Axe has been a longstanding tradition in Badgers history.
The Wisconsin Badgers have been embroiled in quite a few major matchups throughout their history, both in the regular season and the postseason.
With as many victories as Wisconsin has on its resume, some have just meant more than others, especially ones for the Axe Trophy.
The Badgers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers to end their season annually, as they both look to spoil each other’s season. It’s a national pastime. While the results haven’t been as Wisconsin has hoped, losing three of the last four, it’s still been a major rivalry over the years.
Where does it rank among all rivalries in college football?
The Athletic did a recent ranking of the Top 100 rivalries in college football, and two made the list for Wisconsin. The first one was Wisconsin-Iowa, which barely missed out on the Top 20 at No. 22. Then came Wisconsin-Minnesota, which cracked the Top 10 at No. 10.
“Perhaps no other border feud contains the ecstasy of victory and misery in defeat like Minnesota-Wisconsin. They are codependent Big Ten rivals in every sense of the word. While the Badgers have been more successful the last three decades, the result of this game impacts how every season is remembered for both teams.”
There were three reasons The Athletic listed for the rivalry to qualify at No. 10:
1. Wisconsin and Minnesota have played five more games against one another (134) than any other FBS series. In addition, the Gophers and Badgers have played every year since 1907 and have missed just one season on the gridiron (1906) since their first kickoff.
2. There are few traveling trophies more recognizable than Paul Bunyan’s Axe. The winners take the Axe to each goal post and make chopping motions. They originally played for the “Slab of Bacon,” but it became lost in the 1940s and was discovered in 1994 at a Wisconsin storage facility. The Badgers refuse to hand it to the Gophers despite Minnesota winning it last.
3. The Badgers are 7-0 in meetings in which both teams were ranked. Unranked Wisconsin also upset No. 3 Minnesota in 1961.
The biggest game in rivalry history was over 60 (yes, 60!) years ago, which is telling given how many major Axe Trophy games there have been over the years.
“In the 1962 season finale, No. 3 Wisconsin hosted No. 5 Minnesota with the Big Ten title at stake. With a 9-7 lead, the Gophers intercepted a pass with two minutes left and appeared ready to close out the game. But a roughing the quarterback penalty followed by a personal foul on Minnesota coach Murray Warmath gave the ball back to the Badgers, who scored the winning touchdown a few plays later. Gophers fans chased down the officials and fought with Badgers players on the field after the game.”
The rivalry did not make it as the top one in the Big Ten, as Ohio State-Penn State fell at No. 8, while Ohio State-Michigan was understandably the biggest rivalry in college football.
Other rivalries in the Top 10 include Alabama-Auburn (No. 2), Oklahoma-Texas (No. 3), Army-Navy (No. 4), USC-Notre Dame (No. 5), Nebraska-Oklahoma (No. 6), Miami-Florida State (No. 7), and Florida-Florida State (No. 9)