Game Balls: Which Gophers shined in 17-7 win over Wisconsin?
The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated rival Wisconsin for the second-straight season on Saturday afternoon at Huntington Bank Stadium, 17-7. The Gophers’ offense only had 218 yards of total offense, but did enough to win the game while the Minnesota defense shut down the Wisconsin rushing attack and forced three turnovers. Below, we hand out game balls to the best individual performances in the Gophers’ seventh victory of the season.
CB John Nestor
The Golden Gophers’ 2025 transfer portal class wasn’t full of hits, but they struck gold with Nestor. The Iowa transfer capped off his first regular season with the program with his best game of the season, totaling nine tackles, including seven solo and two tackles for loss, while also recording three turnovers with one fumble recovery and two interceptions. His five interceptions this season are tied for the fourth most in program history with a handful of other Gophers.
LB Maverick Baranowski
Another Gopher that was flying around the field defensively, Baranowski had seven tackles, one quarterback hit, and also tipped a pass that resulted in John Nestor’s first interception of the day. He was also a key part in Minnesota’s ability to slow down the Wisconsin rushing attack, keeping the Badgers to just 28 carries for 86 yards and 3.1 yards per carry.
RB Darius Taylor
Taylor had one of his best days of the season in what has otherwise been likely a frustrating season for the talented junior. Taylor totaled 100 yards in the win on the ground on 19 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He also had four receptions for 11 yards. In Taylor’s Gophers career, Minnesota is now 10-2 when he rushes for over 100 yards.
P Tom Weston
The transfer punter hasn’t had the smoothest of seasons but he was terrific on Saturday with three punts landing inside Wisconsin’s 20-yard line. He also had a long of 48 yards in poor weather conditions. A few of his punts came within Badgers’ territory so his average of 35.6 yards doesn’t tell the whole story but Weston was a huge reason for Minnesota’s defensive success and the win as a whole.
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