MADISON, Wis. — Paul Bunyan's Axe will spend another year in Minnesota. A pair of redshirt freshmen, Athan Kaliakmanis and Le'Meke Brockington, made sure of that.
Kaliakmanis connected with Brockington for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter, providing the decisive points in the Minnesota Gophers' 23-16 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, giving Minnesota possession of the axe trophy for the second consecutive year for the first time since 1993 and '94.
Matthew Trickett's third field goal of the day, a 27-yarder with 7:58 to play, tied the score 16-16.
Justin Walley intercepted a Graham Mertz pass and returned it 28 yards to the Badgers 35 with 2:48 left, but Wisconsin had one more chance.
The Badgers got the ball back with 1:48 left after Trickett's 48-yard field-goal attempt hit an upright. Wisconsin reached the Gophers' 5, but a holding call and three false start penalties moved the Badgers back to the 30 with 16 seconds left. Mertz's fourth-down pass from the 25 fell incomplete, setting off the Gophers' mad dash to get the Axe.
Kaliakmanis completed 19 of 29 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns as the Gophers finished the regular season with an 8-4 record and a 5-4 Big Ten mark. Running back Mohamed Ibrahim rushed 27 times for 70 yards, his 19-game streak of 100-yard rushing games ending.
On the winning drive, which started at the Minnesota 29, Kaliakmanis found Daniel Jackson for a 16-yard gain to the Wisconsin 44. Two plays later, Brockington made an inside move, hauled in Kaliakmanis' pass and split the defense for the decisive TD.
Mertz went 16-for-27 passing for 170 yards for Wisconsin (6-6, 4-5), which fell to 4-3 under interim coach Jim Leonhard.
Wisconsin won the coin toss, chose to receive and drove 53 yards over 11 plays for a 3-0 lead on Nate Van Zelst's 40-yard field goal with 9:39 left in the first quarter.
The Gophers responded by marching 81 yards on 10 plays for a 7-3 lead on Kaliakmanis' 6-yard touchdown pass to Jackson on third-and-goal. Key on the drive were Kaliakmanis completions of 14 and 17 yards to Brevyn-Spann Ford, Kaliakmanis' 23-yard scramble to the Wisconsin 39 on third-and-5, and Bryce Williams' 11-yard run to the Badgers 10.
Minnesota's defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense took over at its 26 after a punt. The Gophers stayed aggressive, with Kaliakmanis throwing deep to Dylan Wright for a 42-yard gain to the Wisconsin 32. The Gophers reached the Badgers 11 and faced fourth-and-1 on the first play of the second quarter. Linebacker Jordan Turner stuffed Kaliakmanis for no gain on a quarterback sneak. Gophers coach P.J. Fleck challenged spot, but a video review upheld the call.
The Badgers cut the lead to 7-6 on Van Zelst's 43-yard field goal. Mertz connected with Keontez Lewis for a 25-yard gain to the Minnesota 32 on third-and-8, but the Gophers defense limited the damage by stuffing Mellusi for a 1-yard gain on third-and-2 from the 25.
The Gophers got the ball with 4:40 left in the second quarter and drove 75 yards in 13 plays to take a 10-6 lead on Trickett's 25-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The drive started with Kaliakmanis being sacked for an 8-yard loss, but Ibrahim's 14-yard run on third-and-1 from the 16 moved the chains. Kaliakmanis had an 11-yard run on third-and-3 from the 37, then hit a wide-open Jackson for 26 yards to the Wisconsin 26. After an 11-yard Ibrahim run, the drive stalled at the 7.
Minnesota started at its 19 on the first possession of the third quarter, and Kaliakmanis came out throwing. He hit Spann-Ford for 11 yards on the first play, took a roughing-the-passer hit from linebacker C.J. Goetz, then found Spann-Ford for a 20-yard gain during which the tight end hurdled a Badgers defender. The Gophers reached the Badgers 27 and faced fourth-and-2. Fleck opted to try a 45-yard field goal, but the Gophers were called for a false start, backing it up to a 50-yard attempt. Trickett's kick hit the crossbar and bounced in for a 13-6 Minnesota lead with 10:59 left in the third quarter.
Wisconsin answered with 36-yard field goal by Van Zelst to cut Minnesota's lead to 13-9 with 7:58 left in the third quarter. On the nine-play, 57-yard drive, Mertz connected with Chimere Dike for 14 yards and Dean Engram for 24 but overthrew two open receivers in the red zone.
The Badgers defense forced a three-and-out, setting up the offense at the Wisconsin 46. After a chop block personal foul, the Badgers faced first-and-25 but still converted it, getting a 14-yard gain from Guerendo, an 8-yard pass to Dike and a 6-yard pass to Guerendo. Mertz then found wide-open fullback Jackson Acker for a 24-yard gain. Two plays later, Dike, with help from a Mertz block, swept in from the 9 for a 16-13 lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
The Gophers gained one first down on their next possession, but two sacks of Kaliakmanis forced Minnesota to punt from its 24. Wisconsin took over at its 31 with 12:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Gophers got the ball back with 11:01 to play and drove 69 yards to tie the score 16-16 on Trickett's 27-yard field goal. Completions of 14 yards to Wright and 19 to Spann-Ford, plus a roughing-the-passer penalty on Badgers linebacker Maema Njongmeta, moved the ball to the Wisconsin 45. Kaliakmanis then found Jackson, who made a spectacular sideline catch for a 34-yard gain to the 12. The drive stalled at the 9 when Ibrahim was thrown for a 4-yard loss on third down.
