MINNEAPOLIS — Too often a similar scene played out against the University of Wisconsin football team’s defense Saturday evening at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan took a snap, faked a handoff and made a quick throw to an open receiver. The Gophers senior didn’t put up gaudy statistics and he certainly wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t allow the Badgers’ pass rush — arguably the strength of the unit in the games it played the best — to affect him much.
UW fell 23-13 to the Gophers to lose Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the second time in four seasons, give Minnesota its first home win in college football’s most-played rivalry since 2003 and lose its chance to represent the Big Ten West Division in the conference championship game next weekend.