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BADGER BREAKDOWN: WISCONSIN VS. MINNESOTA
Mike Lucas of UWBadgers.com and the voice of the Badgers, Matt Lepay, offer their pregame analysis on No. 16 Wisconsin's matchup against Minnesota on Saturday in Minneapolis.
"It's pretty intense,'' Alexander said of his first impression of the ancient rivalry. "And it's im- portant because of the pride in the Midwest and what both states feel about football.'' UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst remem-
bered attending games between the Gophers and the Badgers with his late father George Chryst, a former UW assistant and letterwinner. Paul Chryst also got a taste of the rivalry as a former Badger player. "It just always seems that something weird happens in a lot of these games,'' Chryst said. Like the Miracle in the Metrodome. On Oct. 15, 2005, the Badgers pulled off the improbable when Jonathan Casillas blocked a Justin Kucek punt with 38 seconds left and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Ben Strick- land.
Wisconsin escaped with a 38-34 victory. Strickland, now a UW grad assistant, has re- visited those memories with the current players.
24 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 10, 2011 "I've learned a whole lot of stuff about the ri-
valry over the last year,'' said tailback James White, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "It really doesn't matter what the stats say, it's a border battle. "They (the Gophers) are going to come out pumped up no matter what their record is.'' That may have been instilled in White by his position coach, Thomas Hammock, who has ex- perienced the rivalry from both sides -- as a UW graduate assistant and full- time Gopher assistant. "You obviously get a sense
» James White
of how important the game is,'' said Hammock, a star tailback at Northern Illinois, who was forced to give up the sport because of a heart con- dition. "They really stressed the history lessons here during
was big against the Gophers in
last year's match- up in Madison, rushing for 118
yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Together, he and John Clay ac- counted for 229 yards and five rushing scores.
