MADISON - Wisconsin looks to bring Paul Bunyan's Axe to the Camp Randall Stadium locker room when it takes on Minnesota this afternoon.

BadgerBlitz.com breaks down its three keys to the game before the Badgers take the field against the Gophers on Saturday, Nov. 26 (2:30 P.M. CT, ESPN).

When: Saturday, Nov. 26

Where: Camp Randall Stadium (capacity 75,822)

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 62-61-8

Series in Lincoln: Wisconsin leads, 35-23-6, in Madison

TV: ESPN (Brian Custer doing play-by-play, Dustin Fox as the analyst and Lauren Sisler as the sideline reporter)

Local Radio: Badger Sports Network (Matt Lepay doing play-by-play, Mike Lucas and Mark Tauscher as analysts, Patrick Herb as the sideline reporter)

Betting line: Wisconsin -3.5

Mo Ibrahim was going to be the focal point for Wisconsin's defense whether or not the Gophers got Tanner Morgan back for the contest. Now with reports that backup Athan Kaliakmanis will start under center, stopping the talented back will be that much more important.

Ibrahim has carried the ball at least 30 times in each of the past five games and nearly willed Minnesota to a win over Iowa this past week with 39 carries for 263 yards and a touchdown. If Wisconsin's front seven, which has been playing well, can limit his production, it'll go a long way to keeping the Axe in Madison.

"He's been a top tier back in college football for a long time," interim head coach Jim Leonhard said. "I'm ready for him to leave, ready for him to move on.

"It's just impressive the physicality, the vision he runs with and he's done it for a long time."

The Badgers left an opportunity on the table a season ago to stamp their ticket to the Big Ten championship with a win over Minnesota in the regular season finale. The reason why wasn't a secret for Wisconsin. The Gophers were the more physical team that day.

If Wisconsin is able to end its regular season with a win, it'll likely be because of an ability to control the line of scrimmage. That was a major reason why UW was able to mount a comeback against Nebraska with a pair of touchdown drives.

With Braelon Allen nursing ankle and shoulder injuries throughout the season and Chez Mellusi providing a boost in his first game back, running backs coach Al Johnson can't be afraid to truly rotate the two. A season ago, after rattling off seven straight wins and rushing for over 100 yards in each of those games, Allen was held to 47 yards without Mellusi or Isaac Guerendo available. Mix in Mellusi a solid amount after the transfer rushed for 92 yards in his return against Nebraska.

"Being able to come out the game and know a guy can hold up your level of play makes it a lot easier," Allen said.

After Wisconsin's appeal of Nick Herbig's targeting call in the third quarter against Nebraska was denied, the Badgers defense will be without its star pass rusher for the first half.

With that, the attention turns to Darryl Peterson, Kaden Johnson and C.J. Goetz to create some pressure off the edge. Goetz has come on as of late with 16 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in the past two games. Peterson cleaned up a pressure from Herbig with a sack against Nebraska and Johnson tallied three tackles against the Cornhuskers.

Whenever the badgers can pin the Gophers in passing situations, the young outside linebackers have to find a way to make the backup uncomfortable and force some poor decisions or sacks.

Lining up against another top 10 defense, much attention will be placed on quarterback Graham Mertz and the offense to hold its own. With poor showings against Iowa and Illinois, its fair to have reservations of what performance the group might put together but with the defense playing lights out in recent weeks limiting the past three teams to under 200 yards of offense, Mertz and company likely won't have to do much.

I like Wisconsin to win the Axe back and end Jim Leonhard's interim tenure on a high note.

Wisconsin 20, Minnesota 13

Wisconsin has been through too much this season to lose the Axe two years in a row. The defense plays its heart out, and Graham Mertz does just enough to win.

Wisconsin 23, Minnesota 17

Wisconsin has some momentum coming into this contest, but I think Minnesota's ground game is too much for the Badgers this afternoon. I don't trust that UW's offense can score enough to keep pace with the Gophers.

Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 14

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