BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin's upcoming opponent. We look at UW's final opponent of the regular season in the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who the Badgers will travel to play Friday morning in Camp Randall at 11:00 a.m. on CBS.

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: PJ Fleck (86-61 career record, eighth season at Nebraska)

Minnesota All Time Record: 723-539-42 (.554)

2024 Record: 6-5 (4-4 Big Ten)

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 62-63-8

The Gophers will roll out an offense with quite a few new faces compared to last year’s team.

For starters, Sophomore Darius Taylor ascended past Tyler Nubin to become the Gophers’ lead running back.

Taylor’s having a solid season, rushing for 730 yards (4.8 per carry) and nine touchdowns, albeit with some inconsistent play. He has three games this season with over 120 rushing yards, but also five with less than 60.

They’ve shown a willingness to bail on the run when things don’t start well for Taylor, as was evident two weeks ago against Rutgers, when he rushed just 10 times for 28 yards.

It’ll be key for the Badgers’ defensive line to set the tone early. They’re coming off of a week in which they allowed 180 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, so we can expect the Gophers to at least attempt to lean on the run.

Redshirt senior James Thompson appeared in his first game of the season last week after being sidelined with a torn pec. His involvement could end up being crucial, depending on how much he is able to play.

If the Gophers do have issues with the run and end up bailing, it’ll be on quarterback Max Brosmer to try and win his first and last Axe Game.

The transfer from New Hampshire is in his sixth year of college and first in the FBS. He’s done a solid job taking care of the ball this season, completing 67.0 percent of his passes and only throwing five interceptions, but he hasn’t shown much of an ability to put the team on his back and carry them to a win.

Brosmer has also been sacked 24 times this season, which is fourth-highest amongst Big Ten quarterbacks. It’ll be key for Wisconsin’s pass rushers, namely Darryl Peterson and Leon Lowery, to try and repeat their Oregon performance and generate some consistent pressure.

At wideout for the Gophers, senior Daniel Jackson is easily their No. 1 option. His 107 targets this season are almost double the next highest receiver, per Pro Football Focus. He had a successful outing in last year’s Axe Game, finishing with nine receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Ultimately, the biggest factor in this game might be the status of safety Hunter Wohler. He missed his first game since 2022 last week against Nebraska, and the absence of Wisconsin’s best player was all too obvious. The Badgers allowed big plays all game long and seemingly forgot how to tackle. Wohler’s status will be paramount in what could end up being his final game in Madison.

The Badger offense will do their best to repeat their performance from last week against a Minnesota defense that’s become the strength of their team.

Against Nebraska, in their first game since firing offensive coordinator Phil Longo, Wisconsin’s offense had its best performance in weeks.

Quarterback Braedyn Locke had a much-needed bounce back game, finishing with 292 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Receiver Vinny Anthony became Locke’s go-to target and had a career day, catching seven receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown.

Although, things should be much tougher for Locke against a Minnesota defense that’s tied for first in the Big Ten in interceptions with 16 and third in pass deflections with 47.

The biggest reason for their success has been the immediate impact of freshman safety Koi Perich, who’s tied for third in the country with five interceptions. He’s already become one of the most disruptive defensive players in the Big Ten and could shut down an entire portion of the field.

However, in a game that’s likely to be less than 25 degrees, the Badgers are gonna have to lean on the run.

That could be difficult with a running back in Tawee Walker who’s only averaging 65.7 yards over his last four games. When he couldn’t get much going against Nebraska, they gave more opportunities to freshman Darrion Dupree, who finished with 63 yards on just eight rushes.

The biggest challenge for each of the running backs will be linebacker Cody Lindenberg, a senior who leads the team in tackles with 90 and is arguably the heart of the defense.

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