The annual Gophers-Badgers football game is major college football's longest-running rivalry, but it's not always meaningful.

Too often the University of Minnesota is playing to qualify for a low-level bowl game or to somehow salvage the season with a wait-'til-next year moral victory.

Not today.

The Gophers meet the University of Wisconsin in Madison at 2:30 p.m. with a major prize on the line: A Big Ten West Division championship and a chance to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis next Saturday. The winner of that game will play in a major New Year's Day bowl game, a long and elusive goal for the Gophers.

But beyond the bowl puzzle, the two teams are also playing for the right to take home Paul Bunyan's Axe.

The Axe, reflective of its symbolic importance, is oversized. The iconic trophy is awarded to the annual gridiron winner. Wisconsin, which is usually nationally ranked, has swung it for 10 consecutive years.

But don't count out Minnesota this year. Coach Jerry Kill, now in his fourth season as head coach, has a gritty roster of players hungry to amend for what Wisconsin fans like to call the "decade of dominance."

Kill, as even many of those who aren't football fans know now, has epilepsy. His inspiring and very public fight to manage his health challenge, in which he has been backed by University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and other U leaders, has set an example for the public and players alike. And apparently coaches have noticed, too. An ESPN poll of 128 of Kill's peers ranked him third on a list of coaches respondents would want their own sons to play for.

That's a high honor. And beyond his exemplary character, Kill can coach, too. In a separate poll ranking underrated coaches, he polled fifth. Any underestimations of his ability probably won't last long, because for a second season running, the Gophers will win at least eight games. It appears that finally the football program is on the right footing, after a steep decline on the field — and in the stands — in recent years.

In a state starved for a winner, Kill and his players are giving Minnesota something to cheer for again, and interest in the team is growing. If the Gophers win another meaningful November football game and bring the Axe back from Madison, those cheers will be louder still.