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University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 29
Huntington Bank Stadium
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Wisconsin
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
Photo by: Dane Kuhn
Game 12: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
11/26/2025 11:14:00 AM | Football
THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time:Â Nov. 29, 2025 / 2:30Â p.m.
Site:Â Minneapolis
Stadium:Â Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface:Â FieldTurf
Capacity:Â 50,805
Series Overall:Â Series tied 63-63-8
Streak Overall:Â Minnesota won 1
Series in MN:Â Minnesota leads 38-27-2
Streak Overall:Â Minnesota lost 1
First Meeting:Â Minnesota won 63-0 in Minneapolis (11/15/1890)
Last Meeting:Â Minnesota won 24-7 in Madison (11/29/2024)
Television: FS1 // Noah Reed (PXP), Robert Smith (Analyst)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 132 or 197; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) closes out the 2025 regular season Saturday with a visit from Wisconsin (4-7, 2-6) to Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff for Paul Bunyan's Axe is set for 2:30 p.m. on FS1 and the Gopher Radio Network. The most played FBS rivalry in college football history at 134 games, featuring an all-time series tied at 63-63-8, Saturday will be the 12th straight year that the Gophers and Badgers face off in the regular season finale.
2. The all-time series has been played 134 times, but Saturday marks the 77th battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, a full history of which can be found on Page 63. First played for in 1948, the all-time series record for the Axe is tilted in Wisconsin's favor at 46-28-3, but Minnesota has won three of the last four since 2021 and four of the last seven since 2018.
3. The Golden Gophers enter the contest with a 6-5 record overall. In five of the past six seasons, Minnesota has had that record or better at the 11-game mark. Minnesota was also 6-5 each of the last two years, plus 7-4 marks in 2021 and 2022 and 10-1 record in 2019. The team is looking to tally its sixth seven-win season under P.J. Fleck. A sixth such season would join Fleck with Bernie Bierman (7) and Henry L. Williams (6) as the only coaches to reach that number. The Gophers also head into the game with a 4-4 record in Big Ten play. Like its overall mark, the team has been .500 or better through eight conference games in five of the past six seasons.
4. Minnesota has been one of the best teams in the country at getting after the quarterback this season, posting 34 sacks in 11 games. The rate of 3.09 sacks per game leads the Big Ten and is tied for fifth in the country. The total of 34 sacks is tied for fifth most in the Minnesota record book (records dating to 1984). The Golden Gophers have three games this year with 7+ sacks.That's tied with six other teams for the most in a season in the FBS going back to 2005. No team has had four such games in a season. In addition, Minnesota is averaging 7.18 tackles for loss this season, tying for eighth nationally and ranking second in the Big Ten. Anthony Smith has been the top disruptor for the Gophers, leading the team in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (10.5). His 10.5 sacks and 0.96 sacks per game both lead the Big Ten and rank sixth nationally. No Minnesota player has led the conference in sacks since Karon Riley had 13.0 in 2000, and Smith's total is already the best for a Gopher in a season since Willie VanDeSteeg had 10.5 in 2008. Smith's 13.5 TFLs this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten this year and tied for 15th in the country. His 1.23 TFLs per game are also tied for the Big Ten lead and are good for 14th nationally. Smith's 93 TFL yards are second in the conference and fith in the FBS. More on Smith and the sack totals can be found on Pages 8-9 of the notes.
5. The 2025 campaign is the ninth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten. Fleck's record stands at 64-44, putting him tied for fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (38) and fifth in games coached (108). Fleck's overall win percentage of .593 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 13th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 94-66 (.588).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Date/Time:Â Nov. 29, 2025 / 2:30Â p.m.
Site:Â Minneapolis
Stadium:Â Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface:Â FieldTurf
Capacity:Â 50,805
Series Overall:Â Series tied 63-63-8
Streak Overall:Â Minnesota won 1
Series in MN:Â Minnesota leads 38-27-2
Streak Overall:Â Minnesota lost 1
First Meeting:Â Minnesota won 63-0 in Minneapolis (11/15/1890)
Last Meeting:Â Minnesota won 24-7 in Madison (11/29/2024)
Television: FS1 // Noah Reed (PXP), Robert Smith (Analyst)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: 132 or 197; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) closes out the 2025 regular season Saturday with a visit from Wisconsin (4-7, 2-6) to Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff for Paul Bunyan's Axe is set for 2:30 p.m. on FS1 and the Gopher Radio Network. The most played FBS rivalry in college football history at 134 games, featuring an all-time series tied at 63-63-8, Saturday will be the 12th straight year that the Gophers and Badgers face off in the regular season finale.
2. The all-time series has been played 134 times, but Saturday marks the 77th battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, a full history of which can be found on Page 63. First played for in 1948, the all-time series record for the Axe is tilted in Wisconsin's favor at 46-28-3, but Minnesota has won three of the last four since 2021 and four of the last seven since 2018.
3. The Golden Gophers enter the contest with a 6-5 record overall. In five of the past six seasons, Minnesota has had that record or better at the 11-game mark. Minnesota was also 6-5 each of the last two years, plus 7-4 marks in 2021 and 2022 and 10-1 record in 2019. The team is looking to tally its sixth seven-win season under P.J. Fleck. A sixth such season would join Fleck with Bernie Bierman (7) and Henry L. Williams (6) as the only coaches to reach that number. The Gophers also head into the game with a 4-4 record in Big Ten play. Like its overall mark, the team has been .500 or better through eight conference games in five of the past six seasons.
4. Minnesota has been one of the best teams in the country at getting after the quarterback this season, posting 34 sacks in 11 games. The rate of 3.09 sacks per game leads the Big Ten and is tied for fifth in the country. The total of 34 sacks is tied for fifth most in the Minnesota record book (records dating to 1984). The Golden Gophers have three games this year with 7+ sacks.That's tied with six other teams for the most in a season in the FBS going back to 2005. No team has had four such games in a season. In addition, Minnesota is averaging 7.18 tackles for loss this season, tying for eighth nationally and ranking second in the Big Ten. Anthony Smith has been the top disruptor for the Gophers, leading the team in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (10.5). His 10.5 sacks and 0.96 sacks per game both lead the Big Ten and rank sixth nationally. No Minnesota player has led the conference in sacks since Karon Riley had 13.0 in 2000, and Smith's total is already the best for a Gopher in a season since Willie VanDeSteeg had 10.5 in 2008. Smith's 13.5 TFLs this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten this year and tied for 15th in the country. His 1.23 TFLs per game are also tied for the Big Ten lead and are good for 14th nationally. Smith's 93 TFL yards are second in the conference and fith in the FBS. More on Smith and the sack totals can be found on Pages 8-9 of the notes.
5. The 2025 campaign is the ninth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten. Fleck's record stands at 64-44, putting him tied for fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (38) and fifth in games coached (108). Fleck's overall win percentage of .593 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 13th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 94-66 (.588).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Highlights: Gophers 17, Wisconsin 7
Saturday, November 29
Sights & Sounds: Gophers-Badgers
Saturday, November 29
Game Trailer: Gophers-Badgers
Friday, November 28
Thanksgiving Turkey Drive
Friday, November 28