College football border battle between Gophers and Badgers gets new life
The annual football game between rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin will be played this season after all, Big Ten officials announced Sunday.
The game initially was scheduled for Nov. 28 but was called off because of COVID-19 cases within the Gophers program. It's now scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
It will be the 130th meeting between the teams, which is the longest-running uninterrupted series in Football Bowl Subdivision history, and is the most-played rivalry in FBS history. Wisconsin and Minnesota have played every year since 1907.
“The Minnesota and Wisconsin rivalry is one of the best in sports,” said Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck. “This game means a tremendous amount to the student-athletes, coaches and fans of both schools.”
Wisconsin leads the all-time series 61-60-8, and the teams have traded road wins in the last two matchups. The Gophers won 37-15 in 2018 at Wisconsin and the Badgers prevailed 38-17 in Minneapolis last season.
Minnesota’s 2018 win was its first in the series since 2003 and first in Madison since 1994. The winner of the game takes home Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
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