For the first time since 2003, and the first time on the road since 1994, the Golden Gophers have reclaimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe from rival Wisconsin. The seven-win Badgers were favored by 10.5 points, but apparently, no one told the Gophers. The youngest team in FBS jumped out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back.<\/p>\n
Quarterback Tanner Morgan<\/a><\/strong> completed nine of 16 pass attempts for 124 yards and, more importantly, no interceptions.<\/p>\n The defense feasted on mistakes by Badger quarterback Alex Hornibrook<\/a><\/strong>, who threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. In all, the Gophers scored 17 points off of turnovers.<\/p>\n Mohamed Ibrahim<\/a><\/strong> just gets better each week. He carried the ball 26 times for 121 yards and found the end zone again. Bryce Williams<\/a><\/strong> added two more rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. I would never have guessed that the team would be able to run the ball this effectively without Rodney Smith<\/a><\/strong> OR Shannon Brooks<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n It was not surprising to see a report Sunday morning from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune<\/em> that interim defensive coordinator Joe Rossi<\/strong> has had the “interim” removed from his title. Jacob Huff<\/a><\/strong> had 10 total tackles, six solo, and his brother Julian had one of the three interceptions. Gary Moore<\/a><\/strong> had a strip sack of Hornibrook, and Thomas Barber<\/a><\/strong> recovered the fumble. I could go on and on.<\/p>\n Oh, and they did most of this without linebacker Blake Cashman<\/a><\/strong>, arguably their best player on defense. More on that later.<\/p>\n Emmit Carpenter<\/a><\/strong> made three of four field goal attempts and all four PATs. Demetrius Douglas<\/strong><\/a> returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown.<\/p>\n The targeting foul on Cashman. I thought it was a borderline call, and when you’re talking about a penalty that removes a player from the game, it should have to be more obvious than “borderline”.<\/p>\n Paul Bunyan’s Axe is back!<\/p>\nSome help from the Badgers<\/h2>\n
The defense played its best game of the year.<\/h2>\n
Special teams<\/h2>\n
What Went Wrong<\/h2>\n
In Summary…<\/h2>\n