next season and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, but the Tar

MADISON, Wis. -- A rivalry game isnt much of a rivalry if one team keeps winning.Maybe this is the year that Minnesota finally breaks through against Wisconsin.For the Gophers, a dozen years is long enough to be without possession of Paul Bunyans Axe , the trophy that goes to the victor of the annual grudge match. Minnesota missed a chance to spoil fifth-ranked Wisconsins designs on going to the Big Ten title game when the Badgers won the West with Nebraskas loss at Iowa on Friday.I know its important to the people of the state. Its important to our kids, but the only way to get it back is to win the football game, Gophers coach Tracy Claeys said. And that sounds kind of crazy but everybody wants it back.Minnesota last beat Wisconsin on Nov. 8, 2003, a 37-34 victory in Minneapolis. That was also the last season that the Gophers finished with more than eight wins, when they finished 10-3. The last time that the Gophers won in Madison was Oct. 22, 1994, a 17-14 decision.Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst has his team well-trained in not offering bulletin-board material. For a small group of fifth-year seniors that had two coaching changes in their careers, this regular-season finale Satuday represents a chance to leave a memorable final impression at Camp Randall Stadium.All that turnover ... and how we stayed tight and stayed close as a group helped the Badgers power through a gantlet of a schedule, senior running back Dare Ogunbowale said.Wisconsin (9-2, 6-2, No. 6 CFP) is bowl-eligible for the 15th straight season, the longest active streak in the league.Minnesota (8-3, 5-3) is guaranteed to have a winning Big Ten record for the second time in three years. The last time that happened was 1968-1969. The last time that Minnesota won six conference games was 1973.A win over Wisconsin could do much more for the Gophers collective psyche.I think that this one gives us much more hope, just knowing how long its been since the axe has been here, said fifth-year senior quarterback Mitch Leidner, who was 9 years-old when Minnesota last had the axe.Other things to watch and notes ahead of Saturdays game:THE STAKESWisconsin won the West when Iowa thumped No. 17 Nebraska 40-10 on Friday. The Badgers still have an outside shot at the playoffs -- provided they win out.Everybodys just bringing energy, making sure they are sharpening their tools and getting ready for Saturday, senior cornerback Sojourn Shelton said this week.RUN IT OUTWisconsin leads the FBS with an average time of possession of 35:24, not surprising for an offense averaging 249 yards on the ground over the last four games. By playing keep-away, the Badgers set the tone while also keeping its tough defense fresh.HOLDING THEIR GROUNDThe Gophers were gashed by Wisconsins vaunted running game last year, like so many times over the last two decades, while allowing 257 yards in a 31-21 loss. Minnesotas defensive line was diluted at the end of last season because of injuries, but this time the group is at full strength.The Gophers limited Northwesterns Justin Jackson , the Big Tens third-leading rusher, to 90 yards last week and are third in the conference with an average of 116.6 yards per game allowed.CASHING INThe Gophers are just as deep at linebacker, with freshmen Carter Coughlin, Kamal Martin, Thomas Barber and Blake Cashman all getting playing time. Cashman, a walk-on who redshirted last year, has been the biggest revelation.Cashman had 10 tackles last week against Northwestern and a sack, earning him the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award. Rallis and his teammates have playfully nicknamed him Pretty Boy for his propensity to carefully apply facial cream and hair gel during the cleanup process in the locker room after practices or games.BALL HAWKSAs if their defense didnt cause enough problems, the Badgers have been winning the turnover margin lately with seven interceptions the last two weeks. Safety Leo Musso has three picks in that span. The front seven might be the engine, but the secondary has played well, too, taking advantage of mistakes that opponents make under pressure.---AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Luke Meredith in Iowa City, Iowa contributed to this story.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAPRichard Urena Blue Jays Jersey . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. 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Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina is extending the contract of Hall of Fame womens basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell and giving new deals or extensions to six other Tar Heels head coaches.The school says Hatchells two-year extension runs through the 2019-20 season.Thursdays announcement comes as UNC faces five NCAA charges tied to its long-running academic fraud scandal. One accuses an academic counselor working with womens basketball players of providing improper assistance on assignments, though no coaches are charged.Womens lacrosse coach Jenny Levy received a one-year extension through the 2018-19 season. UNC says it has agreed in principle on three-year contracts through 2019 with five others: mens lacrosse coach Joe Breschi, womens soccer coach Anson Dorrance, mens tennis coach Sam Paul, field hockey coach Karen Shelton and mens soccer coach Carlos Somoano.Hatchells future at UNC had been in question with her contract set to expire in 2018. The 64-year-old coach is entering her 31st season in Chapel Hill, ranking third all-time with 975 career wins to go with eight Atlantic Coast Conferencee championships and an NCAA title in 1994.ddddddddddddShe missed the 2013-14 season while receiving treatment for leukemia. She returned the next season and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, but the Tar Heels ended last year at 14-18 with six scholarship players on a roster depleted by injuries and transfers amid the NCAA case.Levy and Breschi won NCAA championships on Memorial Day weekend, making the Tar Heels the first in 22 years and the second ever to sweep the mens and womens lacrosse titles in the same year. Levy is in her 22nd season as the only coach in program history and also won the 2013 NCAA title, while Breschi is in his ninth season.Dorrance is in his 38th season and has won 22 national championships, while Shelton is in her 36th season and has won six NCAA titles.Somoano won the NCAA championship in his first season as head coach in 2011.Paul, in his 24th season, led the program to its first No. 1 ranking last year and the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. ' ' '