Ever since COVID-19 began spreading across the globe, people have yearned for a return to the way things used to be. Wisconsin is getting a little taste of the good old days this week, thanks to a 72-year-old trophy.
A football team hit hard by the pandemic is still taking the usual precautions: testing, masking, distancing, isolating. But the Badgers' upcoming mission — beating the Gophers on Saturday and retaining Paul Bunyan's Axe — has shifted their minds to a simpler place.
In a world that has changed dramatically, the zeal to bring home the Axe is exactly the same as it was in 1959, or 1985, or 2019, when Wisconsin recaptured the prize after its one-year stay in Minnesota.
The rituals of Axe Week have given the 18th-ranked Badgers a blessed little slice of life as it was before coronavirus. Amid a tumultuous season of canceled games, infected players and week-to-week uncertainty, it's just what they needed.
"It feels good getting to a game like this," senior defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk said. "This season has been different. Everything has felt different.
"But coming into the stadium (Monday morning), we got our traditional Axe Week things going on in the locker room, and stuff up on the video boards. That kind of makes it feel a little more normal, a little more like last year. Just throwing COVID out the window for a little bit when we're in the stadium."
The rivalry game — assuming it can still be played, with the Gophers working to control their own COVID outbreak — comes at a good time for Wisconsin. The Badgers fell eight spots in the national rankings after last Saturday's 17-7 loss at Northwestern, their first defeat of a truncated season.
Wisconsin opened with a 45-7 dismantling of Illinois on Oct. 23, then canceled its next two games after a coronavirus outbreak. At one point, the Badgers had 27 active cases, with coach Paul Chryst, quarterback Graham Mertz and running back Garrett Groshek among those who tested positive. The Badgers paused team activities on Oct. 28 and did not resume until Nov. 6.
They returned in top form, crushing Michigan 49-11 when they returned to play on Nov. 14. But against Northwestern, the Badgers wilted. They committed five turnovers, including three interceptions by Mertz, and the offense stalled with top receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor unavailable to play.
"There were a bunch of reads where I could have worked through and made the throw, and the receiver was open," said Mertz, who also was sacked three times. "This will be a great week to focus on timing and footwork. That's an easy fix. I'm confident this week will be a lot better."
Mertz, a highly touted redshirt freshman, is expected to start Saturday. Chryst said Monday he was hopeful either Pryor or Davis, and perhaps both, would be ready to play against the Gophers.
In another callback to pre-COVID times, Loudermilk said he anticipates a game similar to last year's 38-17 romp that brought the Axe back to Madison. The Badgers held the Gophers to 76 rushing yards in that victory and hope to neutralize the running game again. The Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim leads the Big Ten in rushing (163.4 yards per game), while the Wisconsin defense ranks No. 1 in the nation in total yards allowed per game (233.3) and is No. 2 against the run (67.3).
"It's going to be a physical game," Loudermilk said. "As a defensive line, our main goal is to stop the run. We're going to have to come out and be as physical as we can, put our foot forward first and deliver the first blows."
As a native Kansan, Loudermilk was not raised on Axe lore. The first time he saw video of a Badgers victory celebration — the team holding the Axe, chopping at the goalpost — he was hooked.
Playing an outsized rivalry game during this unusual, unpredictable season "brings back that feeling of normalcy," he said. Bringing back the Axe, Groshek added, would feel even better.
"It means everything," Groshek said. "This is the game that's always the focus for a Wisconsin season. As long as you're able to win the Axe game and beat Minnesota, then there's a little sense of something to be happy about at the end of the season. That's just the kind of rivalry this is.''
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