MINNEAPOLIS — After being billed as the game to bring the famous rivalry for Paul Bunyan’s Axe back into relevancy, No. 19 Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) and No. 25 Minnesota (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) didn’t disappoint as the Badgers outlasted the Gophers in a 20-7 win in front of a record-breaking crowd Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

With 53,090 mostly maroon and gold-clad fans in the stands to open the game, the 15-point favorite Badgers seemed far from the same ho-hum offense that annihilated the Hoosiers just one week earlier. Struggling throughout the first quarter to establish any type of offensive pressure, senior running back James White’s first-play, 49-yard run deep into Gopher territory would set up sophomore Jack Russell for a 31-yard field goal.

But that would be all the favors Minnesota’s defense would be doing for the Badgers early on.

Throughout the rest of the quarter, Wisconsin’s potent run game would earn only 16 more yards on the ground, as the Badgers and Gophers traded punts — neither team able to dictate the flow of the game.

Then in the second quarter it seemed that the game might be slipping into Minnesota’s favor when Aaron Hill intercepted a Joel Stave pass on Wisconsin’s first drive of the quarter and took it back 39 yards for a quick pick-six and Minnesota’s first lead of the game.

However, as the quarter wore on, the Wisconsin defense continued to provide the offense with good field position.

Starting on Minnesota’s 49-yard line after senior linebacker Chris Borland recovered a fumble with 5 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the half, a 19-yard James White run and 20-yard pass from Stave to redshirt senior Jacob Pedersen, positioned the Badgers within the Minnesota 10-yard line. Four plays later, White would punch in Wisconsin’s first touchdown from one-yard line to regain the lead.

“The turnovers were huge for us in this game,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “They gave us an opportunity to get some points and get out of drives and grind the clock out.”

One drive later, Wisconsin added to its three-point lead with another field goal from Russell, this time from 20 yards out, with three seconds remaining in the half.

From there on out, the same old story lines that have helped lead Wisconsin to nine victories took over. The defense shut down any good chances for Minnesota, and the offense returned to its methodical, grind-it-out offense as the clock slowly wound down.

“Early on they were moving the ball,” Borland said. “I think maybe that caught a little by surprise, we responded well and adjusted to that. … It was a performance to be proud of.”

To open the second half, a combination of Stave passes and White runs — he would finish the night with a game high 125 rushing yards — led the Badgers 83 yards down the field over seven minutes and five seconds before capping the drive off with a two-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior Jared Abbrederis.

“That was huge,” Abbrederis said. “We talked about it at halftime, and we needed to get something, especially getting the ball right away. That was big to take a lot of time of the clock and take a lot of the momentum away.”

With the score sitting at a comfortable 20-7 for Wisconsin entering the fourth quarter, neither team could manage a successful drive the rest of the way, and the Badgers were able to close out their 10th straight victory in the 123rd matchup between the Wisconsin and Minnesota football teams. The 20-7 win for Wisconsin brings them within one more win — it currently stands at 58-57-8 — of tying the all-time record between the two teams.

After a relatively tame 60 minutes of football, tensions ran high after the game finished, and the postgame celebrations began.

As per tradition, the Wisconsin team immediately rushed to its sideline at the end of the game to hoist Paul Bunyan’s Axe. However, when the team ran to chop down the field goal in front of the Minnesota student section, the Minnesota football team blocked its way and put up a fight as pushing and shoving broke out for a few brief moments.

“[It] could have been handled differently in my opinion,” Andersen said. “It was a great victory for us, and we’re happy to get out of here, get the victory and move on to Penn State next week.”