the season. Statistical Leaders Rushing: Melvin Gordon – 30 Carries, 200 Yards (6.5 avg, 88 long), 2 Touchdowns Passing: Joel Stave – 7 Completions/14 Attempts for 139 Yards Receiving: Melvin Gordon – 4 Receptions, 64 Yards (34 long) Defense: Michael Caputo - 11 Tackles, .5 TFL, 1 Forced fumble, 1 Fumble recovery, 1 Pass breakup #22 Minnesota The Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe would decide the Big Ten's Western division representative to the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game. The last time the rivalry determined a Big Ten Conference champion was in 1962 when #3 Wisconsin defeated #5 Minnesota for a berth to the 1963 Rose Bowl. Wisconsin would trail in this game 17–3 about halfway through the second quarter but 24 unanswered points by the Badgers put Wisconsin up 27–17 early in the fourth quarter. The Gophers would score a few minutes later to pull within three points but Wisconsin would answer on their ensuing drive and pull out a 34–24 come from behind victory. The victory gave Wisconsin the Big Ten West Division title and a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State. On Melvin Gordon's first carry of the game, he broke a tie with Ron Dayne for the Big Ten Conference and team single season rushing record. Gordon finished the game with 151 yards rushing and 2,260 yards on the season. Gordon now ranks fourth in FBS history for single season rushing yards behind only Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders (2,628 in 1988), UCF's Kevin Smith (2,567 in 2007) and USC's Marcus Allen (2,342 in 1981). Gordon needs to rush for a total of 369 yards in the final two games to break Barry Sanders' single season FBS rushing record. Statistical Leaders Rushing: Melvin Gordon – 29 Carries, 151 Yards (5.2 avg, 24 long), 1 Touchdown Passing: Joel Stave – 11 Completions/18 Attempts for 215 Yards, 2 Touchdowns Receiving: Alex Erickson – 5 Receptions, 160 Yards Defense: Michael Caputo - 12 Tackles, 1 Forced fumble, 1 Fumble recovery Big Ten Conference Championship Wisconsin lost the 2014 Big Ten Championship to Ohio State 59–0 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the first time since 1997 that the Badgers were shutout and the worst loss since 1979 when Ohio State defeated the Badgers 59–0. Statistical Leaders Rushing: Melvin Gordon – 26 carries, 76 yards (2.9 average, 13 longest) Passing: Joel Stave – 17