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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Gophers Ready to Battle for the Axe
10/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
The annual matchup between the Minnesota and Wisconsin football teams has always produced a heated game regardless of the record that each team brings in.
Historically, the longest rivalry in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision has been known to be one of the most competitive collegiate games of the season, so much so that in 1906 the Gophers-Badgers game was cancelled by President Theodore Roosevelt in response to injuries and deaths that were occurring on the football field.
More recently, the rivalry has been amplified by a string of close games as the Badgers have come home with Paul Bunyan's Axe each of the last three seasons, winning each of the last two games by just a three-point margin.
"That's why it's a rivalry because we have good games," junior running back DeLeon Eskridge. "Lately, they've been getting the better end of the stick and this year we're trying to change that and just finish."
The Gophers are looking to use the added drama that surrounds the battle for the Axe in having a solid week of preparation that they hope translates to the field on Saturday.
"Obviously this game means a little more because of the significance of the rivalry," senior quarterback Adam Weber said. "We can use that as motivation and as fuel to get us going this week, stay focused, and put together a good game."
-Story and video by Athletic Communications Assistant Keith Beise
