When your team hasn't won a conference championship in 47 years, it's hard convincing people to take your bold predictions seriously.

The Gophers insist none of this surprises them. They just overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to stun 91,000 fans at Nebraska. The 28-24 victory set up their biggest game, arguably, since 1967, the last time they claimed at least a share of the Big Ten title.

On Saturday, it's No. 22 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Wisconsin, at Camp Randall Stadium. The winner gets the Big Ten West title and a date with Ohio State in the conference title game in Indianapolis.

How improbable are these stakes for the Gophers? Consider that they were picked to finish fifth in the West — behind Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern — in Cleveland.com's annual poll of Big Ten writers.

Of course, the players can say they saw this coming. Last December, during the Big Ten title game between Ohio State and Michigan State, Gophers safety Cedric Thompson tweeted, "I promise you the Minnesota Golden Gophers will be in this game next year. I promise!"

In July, at Big Ten Media Days, running back David Cobb said, "When we say we want to be 12-0, we mean it. That's not a joke."

And after the Buckeyes beat the Gophers nine days ago, De'Vondre Campbell made this guarantee: "We'll see them again in three weeks."

Few outside the program could take those words seriously because nothing in recent Gophers history suggested they could back it up. They haven't finished higher than third in the Big Ten standings since 1967, when they shared the title with Indiana and Purdue.

A case could be made that this is their biggest game since the Michigan meltdown in 2003. The Gophers were 6-0 and likely could have moved into the top 10 with a win, but they blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead and never recovered.

Actually, the winner-take-all stakes make this one bigger. The Gophers are 0-10 against Wisconsin since 2003 and haven't won in Madison since 1994. Imagine how they'd feel if they finally reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe on their way to Indianapolis.

The Gophers (8-3, 5-2) could do it if they continue minimizing errors against the Badgers (9-2, 6-1).

Minnesota had zero turnovers and two penalties for 17 yards in its 51-14 rout of Iowa. Coach Jerry Kill said the 31-24 loss to Ohio State might have been different if the Gophers hadn't had two turnovers and seven penalties for 54 yards.

At Nebraska, they finished with zero turnovers again — and one penalty for 15 yards. That helps explain how they completed the comeback after losing Cobb to a hamstring injury early in the third quarter.

"It's really a compliment to the offensive players," Kill said. "We didn't have any false starts, and we were playing in front of 91,000 people. And when it's third down and whatever, you can't hear anything."

The Gophers' first win at Nebraska since 1960 ended their 20-game losing streak against Top 25 teams on the road. Their last one of those came in 2000, when Glen Mason's squad defeated then-No. 6 Ohio State in 2000.

Kill did a little dancing with his players in the locker room again.

"[Saturday] was a great moment, I think, for our state, our fans, our players, coaches," Kill said. "Nationally — I mean, you can't put a price on the free advertisement our university received and our state. Usually, all they want to do is talk about the cold weather."

Kill knows the next challenge is steep, too. The Badgers rank second in the nation in total defense (259.3 yards per game). And Melvin Gordon's 191.7 rushing yards per game would be the Big Ten's highest number since at least 1985.

Kill joked that he might petition the Big Ten to use 13 players on defense to help stop Gordon, who has 2,109 rushing yards, tying Ron Dayne's single-season conference record.

"We'll have to find a way to run the ball, to help shorten the game," Kill said. "We can't turn it over, and we'll have to play field position."

It's a simple formula. But the Gophers just used it to stun Nebraska and keep their Big Ten title dreams alive.

Joe Christensen jchristensen@startribune.com