Wisconsin Badgers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Nov 12, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 12, 2011

Montee Ball rolled over Minnesota and into the Big Ten record book, scoring three touchdowns in Wisconsin’s 42-13 win at TCF Bank Stadium.

Wisconsin (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) picked up its eighth straight win over the Golden Gophers and claimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the 55th time in the teams’ 121 all-time meeting. It’s the oldest rivalry in college football.

Minnesota (2-8, 1-5 Big Ten), which has lost five of its last six games, still leads the all-time series with the Badgers, 58-55-8.

Ball broke the conference’s single-season touchdown record, slipping one tackler before striding into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for his third score of the game.

That touchdown gave the Badgers running back 27 on the year, snapping the old mark of 26 touchdowns shared by Ki-Jana Carter (1994), Anthony Thompson (1988) and Pete Johnson (1975). He finished with 167 yards on the ground.

Badgers quarterback Russell Wilson also had a record-breaking day. He completed 16 straight passes to snap Darrell Bevell’s school record (15) for consecutive completions and set a new school mark with 25 touchdown passes on the year, breaking John Stocco’s total (21 -2005) after passing for four touchdowns and 177 yards in the win.

Minnesota quarterback MarQueis Gray struggled to find his groove under center. He completed only 6 of 14 passes for 51 yards while adding 75 yards on the ground.

The Golden Gophers got their first score on a fake field goal in the second quarter, with kicker Jordan Wettstein taking the ball five yards to the end zone. Wettstein, however, failed to convert on the extra point.

Minnesota opened the second half with an explosive kick-return touchdown from Duane Bennett, who found room down the sideline before turning the play into a track meet, blasting past the Badgers for a 95-yard score.

Wisconsin junior center Peter Konz left the game on a cart after suffering a lower leg injury early into the fourth quarter. Leading receiver Jared Abbrederis was also hurt, injuring his shoulder in the third quarter. He did not return.