Madison Reporter

Riding a seven-game winning streak into its season finale matchup against Minnesota, Wisconsin couldn’t be blamed for having visions of celebrating a Big 10 title.

Those dreams, however, came crushing down on Nov. 27 when the Badgers fell 23-13 to the Gophers on the road.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, not only did Wisconsin lose out on a conference championship game berth but the prestigious Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the accolade awarded to the winner of the Badgers-Gophers matchup.

“Devastated, pissed, confused. All of the above,” Badgers senior safety Colin Wilder tweeted postgame. "Wish I could’ve given my boys more of me.”

In the same tweet, Wilder expressed displeasure toward a call during the game’s infancy.

The Badgers finish their 2021 campaign with an 8-4 overall, 9-3 Big 10 mark, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

What had been a source of strength for Wisconsin cratered under the weight of the Minnesota defense.

The Gophers limited fast-rising freshman running back Braelon Allen to 47 yards on 17 carries, a far cry from his superhero-like efforts against Northwestern and Nebraska, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Had Allen, who was recruited out of Fond Du Lac High School, recorded another 100-yard game, he would’ve surpassed Jonathan Taylor as the Badgers’ true freshman record-holder for consecutive century-mark games.