The Best Case, Worst Case, and Most Likely Scenario For Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

Five weeks ago, when the 2025 Wisconsin Badgers season appeared dead and buried, The Axe Game shimmered weakly in the distance as a relative afterthought.

Fast forward to the present, and Badgers/Gophers feels like the biggest moment of Wisconsin’s once lost season–a handsome capper to a Fickell redemption arc that nobody saw coming.

Let’s plunge into what the game might look like.

Best Case

While I’ve been a relative optimist all year, which isn’t saying much, I’m seeing far too many “Bucky is going to crush the Gophers” takes.

It’s possible that the Badgers control the lines of scrimmage and ride a spirited recent spell of good vibes (and a ferocious front seven) to a solid win on the road.

But I don’t see a realistic scenario where Bucky truly rolls Goldy here.

Prediction: Wisconsin 23-13.

Worst Case

I’m deeply hopeful that this one doesn’t come to pass after how good the last few weeks have felt, but we’re talking about the worst case, so I need to plunge forward.

Here, the defense finds the sledding tougher against a very motivated Gophers’ offense playing in a stadium where they haven’t lost all season.

Making it worse, Carter Smith and his gang are unable to generate much consistent push (or points).

PJ takes The Axe for a second straight season (and 4th out of 5), and the Badgers end a campaign that started to show some real promise with a sick thud.

Prediction: Minnesota 24-10.

Most Likely Case

Cards on the table, this version of The Axe Game is a true coin flip for me.

I love the fact that the Badgers have been riding a solid wave the last few games, especially on Defense. That means something.

But Drake Lindsey is a good quarterback, and Minnesota is no pushover at home. Wisconsin will have to play every bit as well as it did vs Illinois to pull this out.

After a lot of back and forth, I’ll take Bucky grabbing The Axe back in a brutal cage match, adding another layer of hope for the program as it wraps with a 5-7* record that seemed impossible back in October.

Prediction: Wisconsin 20-17.

*With a slim academic-aided bowl game still technically possible, but unlikely.