Wisconsin heads to Big Ten Championship with win over Minnesota

Wisconsin fell behind early, but stuck to its game-plan.

It paid off, and now the No. 14 Badgers are headed to the Big Ten Championship Game following a 34-24 home win over No. 18 Minnesota.

A Wisconsin muffed punt and the strong ground game of senior running back David Cobb allowed the Gophers to jump out to an early 17-3 lead, but the Badgers kept their cool. Riding the rushing attack of Heisman favorite Melvin Gordon and the connection between quarterback Joel Stave and wideout Alex Erickson, the Badgers worked their way back in to the game.

First, Stave looked Erickson’s way and hit the former walk-on for a 70-yard gain. Three plays later, Stave found Gordon out of the backfield on third-and-goal to cut Minnesota’s lead to 17-10.

It looked like Minnesota would increase its lead before halftime on its ensuing possession, but the exchange between quarterback Mitch Leidner and Cobb went awry on a read option, resulting in a fumble at the Wisconsin 30-yard-line with 18 seconds to go in the half.

The usually conservative Badgers offense then went back to the air. Stave hit Erickson (5 catches, 160 yards) on completions of 35 and 14 yards, setting up a successful 38-yard Rafael Gaglianone field goal to decrease the deficit to 17-13 at halftime.

The second half was more of the same for Wisconsin. The Badgers defense tightened up against the Gopher ground game, while Gordon and sophomore Corey Clement went to work. The Badgers took a lead when Clement (7 rushes, 89 yards, 1 TD) took a first down carry 28 yards for a score with 6:20 to go in the third.

As the Wisconsin defense continued to force punts, Wisconsin kept up its hot ground attack early in the fourth. Its first drive in the final frame went like this: Gordon for eight yards, Gordon for 24, Clement for five. Clement for 31. Gordon one-yard score. Wisconsin 27-17 lead.

The Gophers did not go quietly, however. Leidner (95 pass yards, 54 rush yards, two rushing scores) and Cobb (25 rushes for 118 yards and a TD), who set a school single-season rushing record, quickly worked their way down the field. A Leidner two-yard plunge made it 27-24 Wisconsin with 7:32 to go.

But Wisconsin stuck to its money maker: the ground game. Gordon reeled off three nice runs, Stave hit Erickson for 31 yards and Clement added another good run to get the Badgers deep into Minnesota territory. Instead of letting the air out of the ball and taking some time off the clock, Stave (11-of-18, 215 yards, 2 TDs) went to the air and found sophomore Robert Wheelwright for his first catch of the season – a game-sealing 17-yard touchdown with 4:41 left in regulation.

From then on out, except for a Gordon ankle injury that did not appear to be serious, the game came to an uneventful conclusion.

Now, the Badgers (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) head into Saturday’s Big Ten title game against a J.T. Barrett-less Ohio State with a major chance to win the league and play in a major bowl game. As long as Gordon, who went for 151 yards to bring his season total to a Big Ten record 2,260 yards, is healthy, the Badgers could be considered favorites against the Buckeyes next Saturday night in Indianapolis.

For Minnesota (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten), to be in the position to win the Big Ten West division is a major step forward for Jerry Kill’s program. It’s certainly a disappointing ending, especially after jumping out to a nice lead, but Kill’s program is on the rise and should represent the conference well in a bowl game.

For more Wisconsin news, visit BadgerBlitz.com.

For more Minnesota news, GopherIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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