MADISON - Offensive coordinator Bobby Engram met with the media Tuesday as the Badgers prepare to host Minnesota in the Axe Game. In his last weekly press conference of the regular season, Engram touched on Minnesota's stout defense, how he's adopted the rivalry, and more.

Below, BadgerBlitz.com breaks down the key takeaways.

The Gophers boast a powerful defense that is only getting better as the season wears on. During their three-game loosing streak, they bottomed out by allowing 45 to Penn State. However, over their last four games, they're averaging under seven points-per-game allowed on defense.

"I just think they're really sound. They're coached really well, they know their responsibilities, they're physical, and they play hard," Engram said. "On the back end, those guys challenge. They do a good job of challenging when the ball is in the air. So we gotta do the same, play with the same physicality and intensity. But they've had a great year. It'll be a great challenge for our offense."

The back end of the Gopher defense is particularly gifted. They're led by their senior defensive back Tyler Nubin from St. Charles, Illinois. The ball-hawking safety lines up in the box and as a free safety, but he's a problem no matter where he is.

He's someone you have to account for "especially when he's blitzing, when he's around the box. But he's a talented guy," Engram affirmed. "Really impressed with the way he plays on tape, smart player, catches the ball, tackles well, very physical, overall a good player. You'll probably see him on Sundays at some point."

Nubin leads the Minnesota defense in interceptions with four, and he can wrap up and tackle as well, leading the Gophers in solo tackles with 37. Graham Mertz will need to exercise extreme caution when throwing anywhere near him.

Mertz's season has taken a turn for the worse here late in his third year as a starter. Interceptions have started to come back to haunt him, and he's looked out of sync with his pass catchers at times. He made enough clutch throws to beat Nebraska, but his production and efficiency hasn't been great in recent weeks. How can he try to get himself back into rhythm?

"It's just sticking to the fundamentals on playing the position, reading progressions and doing your job. We all talk to him all the time like, 'your job is to help move the ball. To get first downs, to score points.' And a lot of factors go into that. So as long as he's doing his job on every play, he gives us the best chance. And we practice well, he practices hard, and we try take everything we do in practice and apply it to the game. But the other team, the scheme, the weather, all of that plays a factor. But he doesn't lose his confidence, and I was really proud of him last week just the way he battled and was able to come back and win."

Mertz always battles, Engram is right about that. His fighting spirit was a massive help in keeping Wisconsin in the game against Nebraska, down multiple scores late. How he plays in the Axe game, the biggest game for the program all year, will go a long way towards determining his legacy for the 2022 season.

Chez Mellusi just played his first snaps since the Northwestern game, and they were crucial snaps to say the least. He led the Badgers in carries with 21, and put up 98 yards on the ground. Part of his heavy workload was due to Braelon Allen exiting the game, but he was no slouch on the ground and nearly scored the go-ahead touchdown himself with just under a minute left.

"I didn't anticipate (his heavy workload) personally. You go in with a pitch count in your head, and communicating with Al (Johnson), talking about how he feels, and he felt great, he just kept working. And boy did we need him, he came back at the right time...He was working hard, worked himself, tried to stay in shape, and it helped us in a big way on Saturday."

Mellusi's return couldn't come at a better time. Wisconsin needed to run the ball late in the game, but they were missing Allen's workhorse presence. Mellusi became that workhorse, and he ran downhill.

"Guys feel that intensity, you know?" Engram said. "He was hungry to be back out there, not just running hard but feeling the presence in the huddle on on the sideline. And he's a guy that loves to compete...it jumps off the tape and it jumps off the TV. And I'm happy for him because he battled, going through injury is always a difficult thing, but the way he battled and worked and stayed with this team, he got rewarded for it on Saturday."

Mellusi ran with a purpose in Lincoln, which he's made a habit out of doing in his nearly two-year career as a Badger. It's encouraging going into the Gopher game with all three top running backs healthy, which wasn't the case last season and turned out to be a big part of Wisconsin's downfall in that game.

This will be Engram's first Axe Game, but he's no stranger to rivalry games in college football. When he played at Penn State, he experienced some of the tradition, lore, respect and hatred that goes into some of the Big Ten's fiercest rivalries.

"It's game week, so you start hearing more, you start learning more about the stories and the tradition of this game. It's the oldest college football rivalry, right? That's a pretty big deal...Any time you play your rival in the last week of the regular season, that's what college football is about though, man. I'm excited, they got a really good football team, we're playing well and finding our way. I'm excited about this game for the challenge for our football team."

While the Yale-Princeton rivalry is technically the oldest in college football, dating back to 1873, Wisconsin and Minnesota's 132 meetings are the most by two FBS teams. That gives them a strong claim to the title of oldest. According to Keeanu Benton, last season's Minnesota loss was playing while the Badgers lifted weights on Monday. This game is everything to both programs.

Next season will be the second year on Engram's contract, in which he's lined up to receive a raise of about $100,000. With the turmoil and emotional strife within the program, it was worth checking on Engram's mindset as to honoring that contract.

"If they'll have me back I definitely want to be back," Engram confirmed. "I haven't thought much about that, about the future to be honest with you. I think it's lightened up a little bit, but truly, this team, this staff, our program has been week-to-week. And the focus has been let's get ready to go win this week. Because it's been a lot, not just Paul. We've had some unfortunate, very tragic circumstances, and 100% of my focus has been, take care of these young men. My son is one of them. He had two teammates on the Virginia team that he played high school ball with. You know, I talked to their their dads, so this thing is real. It's touched us all on a couple different levels, so my focus right now is helping us get prepared to win this game against a good Minnesota football team."

This program has been through a lot, and Engram made sure to stress that that's what's on the front of his mind. As of now, especially if Jim Leonhard gets the job, it's looking like Engram will return to Madison for year two.

Despite playing a far-from-clean game offensively, Wisconsin had the ball with great field position and a chance to go win the game. That's exactly what they did.

"It's about the staff and how we wanna approach it," Engram said of what's being communicated on the final drive. "We're talking on the headsets, we had 3:11 left, and then we had at least two if not three timeouts. So that's a little different two minute drill than most...We knew we were running the ball well, and I was just trying to find that balance between running and mixing the pass and understanding that we needed to go get the score."

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