Pre-Snap Read: Can Wisconsin finish strong against Minnesota?

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-6, 2-6) on Saturday afternoon in Camp Randall Stadium, looking to hold on to Paul Bunyan's Axe for another season and cap off their regular season with a win over their arch rivals.

BadgerBlitz.com will be there to take in all of the action at 2:30 p.m. today, and our three keys to the game for the Badgers are included below.

Minnesota's defense has a couple of very talented players - but for one reason or another they haven't been able to string together many consistent performances. It could be that their interim defensive coordinator has simplified things enough to where the Gophers will be able to break their trend of allowing a lot of points on the road this year (they're averaging 45 points allowed away from TCF Bank Stadium) but to do that the Gophers will need to contain Jonathan Taylor, who will be licking his lips while waiting to try and make some big plays against a Minnesota run defense that's allowing 5.8 yards per carry in conference place. If the Badgers can get some big plays from Taylor and their other running backs, it will set their offense up for success.

Pre-snap penalties and defensive penalties for pass interference and holding have held the Badgers back at times throughout this season - last week alone they had 13 total penalties for 125 total yards. The Badgers know that's unacceptable if you want to win football games, so one key for them this week will be to cut down on those mistakes. You can't afford to give up free yards in a tough rivalry game - and we'll see if the Badgers can learn a lesson this week they've been trying to nail down during this entire season.

Minnesota's offense is a younger group, and they will be playing with a true freshman quarterback in either Tanner Morgan or Zack Annexstad - and both players have contributed to the Gophers' -9 turnover margin this season. Meanwhile, the Badgers are +1 on turnovers this season - not fantastic, but not bad either. The Badgers will need their defense to step up and create some opportunities for their offense to get extra possessions this weekend - it will come in handy if their offense takes a little while to establish itself against a Minnesota defense that is talented but inconsistent.

JOHN VELDHUIS: WISCONSIN 35, MINNESOTA 21

I feel like this is game with a lot of different potential outcomes. Both Wisconsin and Minnesota have been inconsistent in a few different ways this year - but at the end of the day I think the Badgers have enough gas left in the tank to finish out their regular season on high note.

JON MCNAMARA: WISCONSIN 28, MINNESOTA 13

Wisconsin rides the momentum from last week's victory over Purdue to keep the Axe in Madison. I think this game will be close heading into the fourth quarter before the Badgers pull away.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.