(All this week we’re taking a look back at the last 10 years of wins in this rivalry, reminding everyone of the decade of domination by the Badgers)
Things have begun to get precarious in the Badgers 10-game win streak, as Wisconsin won by just a touchdown in the 2007 game. However, that was just a tease to the craziness that would take place in 2008.
Let’s get in to the fifth game of the streak, and let’s get ready to get completely weird.
Final Score: Wisconsin 35, Gophs 32
This was perhaps one of the most evenly matched contests of the series, as Wisconsin came in 5-5 and the Gophs came in with the better 7-4 record.
However, it was the Badgers who would pull off the big win and it would start quickly. After kicking off, the Badgers forced running back Adam Webber to a 12-yard loss and fumble at his own 10-yard line. UW punched it in two plays later and it was quickly 7-0 Wisconsin.
All that seemed to do was wake up the Gophs from their annual slumber in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Following no more scoring in the first quarter, the Gophs ripped off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.
Wisconsin answered back with 10 points in the third quarter to make it 21-17, only to see the Gophs hit a field goal to make it 24-17. UW would tie it up with a drive that went 7 plays, 75 yards in 3:16 of game time.
That’s when it got really strange, and that’s when Wisconsin was able to take it to the Gophs. On the ensuing kickoff, Badger defensive back Antonio Fenelus punched the ball loose and it rolled out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Wisconsin took a 26-24 lead, but it wasn’t done in the safety department. Just two minutes later the Badger defense forced Goph QB Adam Weber to stay in the end zone and was sacked for the second safety in nearly as many possessions.
It was a game-changing sequence, as the Badgers went up by more than a field goal for the first time since the opening 7-0 lead.
A late John Clay touchdown run would make it 35-24 Badgers, and the Gophs would try as they are want to do, but fail to get any closer than the 35-32 final score.
It was bit of poetic justice that Minnesota native Isaac Anderson hauled in career highs with six catches for 114 yards for Wisconsin in the win. Without his big effort this game could’ve looked a lot different.
If ever there was a game that epitomized a team effort, it was this game. It also showed that to continue streaks, sometimes you need luck on your side and Wisconsin made plenty of its own luck in winning for the fifth straight year.
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