[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]In the 114th meeting of the most storied rivalry in college football, the No. 4 Badgers (9-0, 6-0) reclaimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe with a 38-14 thrashing of the Minnesota Gophers (6-4, 3-4) before a record crowd of 83,069 at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.

“It was important for us to get the axe back,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “That’s a symbol of history in college football. We think it’s important, and I don’t like an empty trophy case.”

The win gives Wisconsin a perfect home record for the first time since 1998, and just the second time since 1962. For the 24 graduating seniors on this season’s roster, the win provided a storybook moment in their final game at Camp Randall.

“It was definitely an emotional day,” senior tailback Anthony Davis said. “It didn’t really hit me until after the game that I won’t be playing there anymore. For all of us, though, we knew coming into the game that this was our last time taking the field together so we knew we wanted to make it special from the first whistle to the last whistle. That’s what we did.”

The Badgers came out firing, scoring on their first five possessions. The offensive explosion was the program’s most productive stretch since Wisconsin scored on six consecutive possessions in a 59-0 win over Indiana in 1999.

“We know what kind of offense we are, what we’re capable of doing, and we wanted to come out here and do it,” Davis said.

On the opening possession, the Badgers marched 80 yards in nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead. After a 19-yard run from wide-out Brandon Williams, Davis broke a 21-yard run down to the one-yard line to set up a touchdown run for quarterback John Stocco.

After a quick stop from the defense, Wisconsin staged another scoring drive. Three passes from Stocco to Williams moved the Badgers into the red zone, and Stocco found Jonathan Orr in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass to give the Badgers a 14-0 lead with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.

“He made another unbelievable catch,” Stocco said of Orr’s play in the end zone. “With all those guys, I know I can do that with them; just throw it up there, and they’ll go make plays for us.”

Wisconsin’s next possession opened with a 42-yard bomb from Stocco to Williams, which put the Badgers on the Minnesota 22-yard line. A pair of runs from Davis set up a first-and-goal from the five, and Davis finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers ahead 21-0 with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

After averaging 21.1 points per game through the first eight weeks of the season, the Badgers scored 21 points in the first quarter Saturday. In a phenomenal opening frame, Wisconsin posted a 205-31 advantage in total offense and controlled time of possession 11:30 to 3:30.

It was more of the same in the second quarter, as the Badgers opened the quarter with another scoring drive. Faced with a third down and 10, Stocco connected with Owen Daniels for 23 yards to move into Minnesota territory.

Two plays later, Stocco hit tight end Jason Pociask for a 27-yard strike to move inside the red zone. Davis did the rest, running nine yards down to the one-yard line and finishing off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers up 28-0 with 12:44 to go in the second quarter.

Wisconsin continued its offensive fireworks on its next possession, as Stocco and Co. marched 66 yards in 11 plays to set up a 41-yard field goal for placekicker Mike Allen, who converted to the give the Badgers their largest lead of the day at 31-0.

After giving up 31 unanswered points midway through the second quarter, Minnesota finally responded. Gopher quarterback Bryan Cupito got things started with a 14-yard strike to wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright. Following a pair of runs from tailback Laurence Maroney, Cupito launched a 46-yard bomb to wide-out Paris Hamilton to put the Gophers on the UW 10-yard line. Two plays later, Cupito hooked up with Wheelwright in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown that cut the Wisconsin lead to 31-7 with 4:07 remaining in the first half.

The Badgers countered on the next play from scrimmage, as Stocco aired out a 43-yard pass to Orr to put Wisconsin on the Minnesota 26. An eight-yard pass from Stocco to wide-out Darrin Charles set up a 38-yard field-goal attempt for Allen, but the senior missed the kick wide left, and the Badgers entered the half with a 31-7 lead.

In a remarkable first-half performance, Stocco eclipsed his career high (211 yards) with 241 yards, connecting on 14-18 pass attempts. The gunslinger from Richfield, Minn., finished with 297 yards, scoring two touchdowns on the ground and one through the air while completing 19-26 passes.

“I’ve never seen him play like that before,” Davis said. “I think it shows you what he’s capable of doing.”

After falling behind by 24 points in the first half, the Gophers charged out of the gates in the third quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, Cupito connected with Wheelwright for 28 yards to move into Wisconsin territory.

Six plays later, Cupito hooked up with Jared Ellerson for a 26-yard touchdown, but the play was called back for holding. On the very next play, Maroney broke a 31-yard touchdown run to cut the Wisconsin lead to 31-14.

Wisconsin answered on the ensuing possession, as Stocco used his legs as well as his arm to lead a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Facing a third down and 11, Stocco took off on a 16-yard run to pick up the first down. On the next play, the sophomore signal-caller connected with tight end Tony Paciotti for 27 yards to move into Minnesota territory.

Wisconsin moved inside the five-yard line with a number of runs from Davis, and fullback Matt Bernstein to set up a third-and-goal from the two-yard line. Stocco faked the hand-off to Davis, who dove into the pile at the goal line and drew the Minnesota defense, leaving two yards of open field in front of Stocco. After a perfectly executed bootleg, Stocco strolled into the end zone to give the Badgers a 38-14 lead.

“I was a little shocked at first; we hadn’t ran that play in a while, but I figured it’d be good,” Stocco said of the bootleg call. “I came off the fake, and there was just nobody. It was awesome, great call.”

On the ensuing Minnesota possession, tailback Marion Barber III fumbled after a hit from senior cornerback Scott Starks. Linebacker Dontez Sanders recovered the fumble, giving the ball to Wisconsin on the Minnesota 40-yard line.

Following the turnover Allen came out for a 47-yard field-goal attempt, but his kick sailed wide left and the third quarter came to an end with the Badgers leading 38-14.

In the fourth quarter, Minnesota moved into Wisconsin territory twice, but each time the UW defense forced a turnover on downs. After the second turnover on downs, the Badgers ran out the clock with a drive that lasted 7:39 to close out the victory.

As time expired, all that remained was the race to the axe. Showing off his blazing speed, Starks out-ran his teammates and was the first to grab the trophy.

“I knew it was going to be a race, and I think it was a lineman in front of me at first,” Starks said. “I knew I could get past him, so I’m going to go up and grab it. It’s like my track days.”

For the seniors, there could be no better way to leave Camp Randall for the final time than to do so holding Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

“Any time you lose the axe, you really take that personally,” Davis said. “Getting it back was personal. That was one of our goals as a senior class, and we did it.”