Wisconsin vs Minnesota Football Rivalry

Last Modified Nov 30, 2024 15:07 GMT
Minnesota v Wisconsin
Minnesota v Wisconsin. Source: Getty Images

The Minnesota-Wisconsin football rivalry is one of the oldest college football rivalries, dating back to 1890. The rivalry is played between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers, which is considered the most played in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The two teams have now faced off against each other 133 times, as of 2024. In addition to this, the rivalry between the two sides is also the longest continuously played rivalry in Division I FBS. Minnesota and Wisconsin have made a record of an uninterrupted streak of 117 games.

The intense rivalry is also known as the Border Battle. Meanwhile, the two teams also play to win the Paul Bunyan's Axe which is awarded to the winner of the game. This is a tradition that began in 1948. They earlier used to fight for Slab of Bacon, which was in action until the 1943 game.

Wisconsin vs Minnesota Football Rivalry History

Being one of the oldest rivals in the history of college football, Wisconsin and Minnesota played each other for the first time on November 15, 1890. The match ended in favor of Minnesota with a score of 63-0 on Minnesota's campus, in Minneapolis. Later, the two teams became conference rivals when the Western Conference (later the Big Ten Conference) was introduced in 1896.

The rivalry game has not been played anywhere else than Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin. Except for 1906, when the college football rivalry games were called off by President Theodore Roosevelt following safety concerns, the two teams have played each other every single year.

The games of the 2014 and 2019 seasons also concluded in the outcome of the Big Ten West champion when Wisconsin managed to bag the win with a score of 34–24 and move to the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game. Wisconsin again came past Minnesota 38–17 in 2019 to reach the 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game against Ohio State.

Some of the notable stats between the rivalry include Wisconsin winning 14 consecutive games against Minnesota from 2004 to 2017 until the Gophers defeated the Badgers in their 2018 face-off.

Wisconsin vs Minnesota Football Rivalry Head-to-Head Stats

Minnesota and Wisconsin have met each other 133 times as of 2024, and Wisconsin leads their head-to-head record with 63–62–8. They also lead the trophy series with 46–27–3.

StatWisconsin Minnesota
First Meeting November 15, 1890 Minnesota, 63–0
Total Meetings 133
All-Time Wins 63 62
Largest victory Minnesota, 63–0 (1890)
Longest Win Streak Wisconsin, 14 (2004–2017)
Paul Bunyan's Axe 4627

Wisconsin vs Minnesota Rivalry Winner Year-by-Year

No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1November 15, 1890Minneapolis, MNMinnesota63–0
2October 24, 1891Minneapolis, MNMinnesota26–12
3October 29, 1892Madison, WIMinnesota32–4
4November 16, 1893Minneapolis, MNMinnesota40–0
5November 17, 1894Madison, WIWisconsin6–0
6November 16, 1895Minneapolis, MNMinnesota14–10
7November 21, 1896Madison, WIWisconsin6–0
8October 30, 1897Minneapolis, MNWisconsin39–0
9October 29, 1898Madison, WIWisconsin29–0
10November 18, 1899Minneapolis, MNWisconsin19–0
11November 3, 1900Minneapolis, MNMinnesota6–5
12November 16, 1901Madison, WIWisconsin18–0
13November 15, 1902Minneapolis, MNMinnesota11–0
14November 26, 1903Madison, WIMinnesota17–0
15November 12, 1904Minneapolis, MNMinnesota28–0
16November 4, 1905Minneapolis, MNWisconsin16–12
17November 23, 1907Madison, WITie17–17
18November 7, 1908Minneapolis, MNWisconsin5–0
19November 13, 1909Madison, WIMinnesota34–6
20November 12, 1910Minneapolis, MNMinnesota28–0
21November 18, 1911Madison, WITie6–6
22November 16, 1912Minneapolis, MNWisconsin14–0
23November 1, 1913Madison, WIMinnesota21–3
24November 14, 1914Minneapolis, MNMinnesota14–3
25November 20, 1915Madison, WIMinnesota20–3
26November 18, 1916Minneapolis, MNMinnesota54–0
27November 3, 1917Madison, WIWisconsin10–7
28November 16, 1918Minneapolis, MNMinnesota6–0
29November 1, 1919Madison, WIMinnesota19–7
30November 6, 1920Minneapolis, MNWisconsin3–0
31October 29, 1921Madison, WIWisconsin35–0
32November 4, 1922Minneapolis, MNWisconsin14–0
33October 27, 1923Madison, WITie0–0
34October 18, 1924Madison, WITie7–7
35October 31, 1925Minneapolis, MNTie12–12
36October 30, 1926Madison, WIMinnesota16–10
37October 29, 1927Minneapolis, MNMinnesota13–7
38November 24, 1928Madison, WIMinnesota6–0
39November 23, 1929Minneapolis, MNMinnesota13–12
40November 22, 1930Madison, WIWisconsin14–0
41October 31, 1931Minneapolis, MNMinnesota14–0
42November 12, 1932Madison, WIWisconsin20–13
43November 25, 1933Minneapolis, MNMinnesota6–3
44November 24, 1934Madison, WIMinnesota34–0
45November 23, 1935Minneapolis, MNMinnesota33–7
46November 21, 1936Madison, WI#2 Minnesota24–0
47November 20, 1937Minneapolis, MN#7 Minnesota13–6
48November 19, 1938Madison, WIMinnesota21–0
49November 25, 1939Minneapolis, MNMinnesota23–6
50November 23, 1940Madison, WI#1 Minnesota22–13
51November 22, 1941Minneapolis, MN#1 Minnesota41–6
52November 21, 1942Madison, WI#7 Wisconsin20–6
53November 20, 1943Minneapolis, MNMinnesota25–13
54November 25, 1944Madison, WIMinnesota28–26
55November 24, 1945Minneapolis, MNWisconsin26–12
56November 23, 1946Madison, WIMinnesota6–0
57November 22, 1947Minneapolis, MNMinnesota21–0
58November 20, 1948Madison, WI#15 Minnesota16–0
59November 19, 1949Minneapolis, MN#8 Minnesota14–6
60November 25, 1950Madison, WIWisconsin14–0
61November 24, 1951Minneapolis, MN#8 Wisconsin30–6
62November 22, 1952Madison, WITie21–21
63November 21, 1953Minneapolis, MNTie21–21
64November 20, 1954Madison, WI#17 Wisconsin27–0
65November 19, 1955Minneapolis, MNMinnesota21–6
66November 24, 1956Madison, WITie13–13
67November 23, 1957Minneapolis, MN#18 Wisconsin14–6
68November 22, 1958Madison, WIWisconsin27–12
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
69November 21, 1959Minneapolis, MN#9 Wisconsin11–7
70November 19, 1960Madison, WI#4 Minnesota26–7
71November 25, 1961Minneapolis, MNWisconsin23–21
72November 24, 1962Madison, WI#3 Wisconsin14–9
73November 28, 1963Minneapolis, MNMinnesota14–0
74November 21, 1964Madison, WIWisconsin14–7
75November 20, 1965Minneapolis, MNMinnesota42–7
76November 19, 1966Madison, WIWisconsin7–6
77November 25, 1967Minneapolis, MNMinnesota21–14
78November 23, 1968Madison, WIMinnesota23–15
79November 22, 1969Minneapolis, MNMinnesota35–10
80November 21, 1970Madison, WIWisconsin39–14
81November 20, 1971Minneapolis, MNMinnesota23–21
82November 25, 1972Madison, WIMinnesota14–6
83November 24, 1973Minneapolis, MNMinnesota19–17
84November 23, 1974Madison, WIWisconsin49–14
85November 22, 1975Minneapolis, MNMinnesota24–3
86November 20, 1976Madison, WIWisconsin26–17
87November 19, 1977Minneapolis, MNMinnesota13–7
88November 25, 1978Madison, WIWisconsin48–10
89November 17, 1979Minneapolis, MNWisconsin42–37
90November 22, 1980Madison, WIWisconsin25–7
91November 21, 1981Minneapolis, MNWisconsin26–21
92November 20, 1982Madison, WIWisconsin24–0
93October 15, 1983Minneapolis, MNWisconsin56–17
94October 13, 1984Madison, WIMinnesota17–14
95November 9, 1985Minneapolis, MNMinnesota27–18
96November 8, 1986Madison, WIMinnesota27–20
97November 14, 1987Minneapolis, MNMinnesota22–19
98November 12, 1988Madison, WIWisconsin14–7
99November 4, 1989Minneapolis, MNMinnesota24–22
100November 3, 1990Madison, WIMinnesota21–3
101November 16, 1991Minneapolis, MNWisconsin19–16
102November 14, 1992Madison, WIWisconsin34–6
103October 23, 1993Minneapolis, MNMinnesota28–21
104October 22, 1994Madison, WIMinnesota17–14
105November 11, 1995Minneapolis, MNWisconsin34–27
106November 9, 1996Madison, WIWisconsin45–28
107October 25, 1997Minneapolis, MNWisconsin22–21
108November 7, 1998Madison, WI#8 Wisconsin26–7
109October 9, 1999Minneapolis, MN#20 Wisconsin20–17
110November 4, 2000Madison, WIWisconsin41–20
111November 24, 2001Minneapolis, MNMinnesota42–31
112November 23, 2002Madison, WIWisconsin49–31
113November 8, 2003Minneapolis, MN#24 Minnesota37–34
114November 6, 2004Madison, WI#5 Wisconsin38–14
115October 15, 2005Minneapolis, MN#23 Wisconsin38–34
116October 14, 2006Madison, WI#25 Wisconsin48–12
117November 17, 2007Minneapolis, MNWisconsin41–34
118November 15, 2008Madison, WIWisconsin35–32
119October 3, 2009Minneapolis, MNWisconsin31–28
120October 9, 2010Madison, WI#19 Wisconsin41–23
121November 23, 2011Minneapolis, MN#16 Wisconsin42–13
122October 20, 2012Madison, WIWisconsin38–13
123November 23, 2013Minneapolis, MN#17 Wisconsin20–7
124November 29, 2014Madison, WI#14 Wisconsin34–24
125November 28, 2015Minneapolis, MNWisconsin31–21
126November 26, 2016Madison, WI#5 Wisconsin31–17
127November 25, 2017Minneapolis, MN#5 Wisconsin31–0
128November 24, 2018Madison, WIMinnesota37–15
129November 30, 2019Minneapolis, MN#12 Wisconsin38–17
130December 19, 2020Madison, WIWisconsin20–17OT
131November 27, 2021Minneapolis, MNMinnesota23–13
132November 26, 2022Madison, WIMinnesota23–16
133November 25, 2023Minneapolis, MNWisconsin28–14

FAQ's on Wisconsin vs Minnesota Football Rivalry

  1. A. In their 133 meetings so far, Wisconsin leads their head-to-head record with 63-8-62. 


  1. A. Wisconsin is Minnesota’s biggest rival. 


  1. A. Minnesota and Wisconsin play for Paul Bunyan's Axe trophy. 


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