Wisconsin denies Gophers' bid for Big Ten championship, reclaims Axe with 38-17 victory

Rashod Bateman's eyes shimmered. Tanner Morgan's voice hitched.

But Winston DeLattiboudere looked like he always does: upbeat.

The Gophers had just left the TCF Bank Stadium field Saturday drenched with sweat and melted snow, disheartened from a 38-17 defeat to border rival Wisconsin. This loss didn't just lose them Paul Bunyan's Axe and the bragging rights that go with it. It lost the Gophers a chance at their first Big Ten Championship Game and likely their first Rose Bowl since 1962.

Bateman and Morgan, as sophomores, have two more opportunities to reach that goal and more. DeLattiboudere is done, just a bowl game left a long month from now before the final grain of sand in the timer of his college career falls.

Yet the underclassmen were visibly dejected, guilt heavy on their shoulders. They felt personally responsible for letting a close game — they trailed by three points at halftime — escalate into a blowout loss.

"My job was to go out there and play every snap as hard as I can for them because I just wanted to see them go out with a bang," Bateman said of the seniors. "But we failed at that."

DeLattiboudere, though, was doing exactly what players in this senior class have done their entire careers and especially this extraordinary season: leading.

"I'm overcome with emotion," DeLattiboudere admitted, saying seeing his mom about to cry after the game nearly got to him. "But I feel like the young guys — everybody else in this senior class knows just as well as I know — that they look to us, that they're going to mimic our behavior, our actions. And right now, it's OK to be upset. We're human beings. But we've got to keep our head held high because we've got one more game to play."

They could have had at least two. All the No. 8 Gophers (10-2) had to do was beat No. 12 Wisconsin in front of a sold-out home crowd of 53,756 to keep their goals of a conference title, Rose Bowl or even College Football Playoff appearance still intact.

For about three minutes, the Gophers held those in their grasp. The defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense scored a 51-yard touchdown pass from Morgan to Bateman on the second play to take the early lead.

But that was the last time the Gophers commanded the game. Even when DeLattiboudere forced a fumble that Carter Coughlin recovered, Morgan threw an interception into double coverage on the resulting possession. Wisconsin used that takeback to score its first points, a 26-yard field goal.

From there, it was pretty much an onslaught. While the Gophers statistically achieved their goal of limiting Wisconsin's potent rush and Heisman Trophy running back Jonathan Taylor, it wasn't enough. The Badgers spread their 173 rushing yards between players, and Taylor still scored twice. Quarterback Jack Coan also exceeded expectations, completing 15 of 22 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns while producing several explosive plays, including his longest 70-yard pass.

The Gophers, meanwhile, couldn't find their balance. They allowed a big kickoff return to the 39-yard line that set up a score that put the Badgers up two touchdowns in the third quarter. The Gophers then trekked through an arduous drive, only to turn the ball over on downs just outside the end zone. Wisconsin turned that into a touchdown, too.

Morgan endured five sacks, one where he coughed up the ball at the 18, gifting the Badgers another fourth-quarter score. A third-quarter field goal and consolation 12-yard touchdown catch late in the game were the only other Gophers points.

Morgan finished 20-for-37 for 296 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He set the record for single-season passing yards at 2,975, Bateman took the single-season receiving yards record at 1,170, and Tyler Johnson tied the Gophers' record with 31 receiving touchdowns.

But those records didn't make Wisconsin chopping down the goalposts any easier to witness. Nor did it soothe the ache of disappointment at not playing in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title next weekend.

DeLattiboudere, though, isn't despairing at a missed opportunity. He has faith there will be more. Even if they don't include him.

"They'll be the ones that get it done, without any doubt in my mind," he said of his younger teammates."… And it's hard because I'm not going to be the one to walk into Indy with my teammates. But I know I'll still be on the sideline when that day comes."

And he and the rest of the graduating players will still claim a share of that triumph.

"We have the capability to be whatever we want to be because of those seniors," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "And moving forward, that's what we're going to keep talking about to them. It's because of them."