Wisconsin opens as slight underdogs against Minnesota

The Wisconsin Badgers are down to their final game of the season, taking on the Minnesota Gophers in the battle for the Axe Trophy. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. on FS1.

Wisconsin has shown some real life over the last month, going 2-1 with two wins over ranked opponents. They opened up November with a thrilling 13-10 win over the No. 23 Washington Huskies, using a strong defensive performance to pull off a big upset and snap a six-game losing streak.

Then, they fought hard for a half against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers before getting outscored 21-0 in the second half and losing 31-7 as they ran out of gas on the road.

Last weekend, Wisconsin had its most impressive win in the Luke Fickell era, beating the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini 27-10 in a dominant performance at home. They sacked Luke Altmyer five times and didn’t allow much to happen in the run game, while getting some more success on offense en route to their best showing in months.

Now, the Badgers are looking to finish the season strong and get to 5-7 when many, myself included, saw this team heading to a 2-10 path. Ahead of them is the Minnesota Gophers, who stand at 6-5 with back-to-back losses to the Oregon Ducks and Northwestern Wildcats.

Heading into the week, the Badgers are seen as only 1.5-point underdogs, which means they would actually be slightly favored on a neutral field. The over/under is set at 37.5 points.

Can they pull off the upset and finish the season on a high note? Or will they be without the Axe for another year?