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Border Battle more than just another game BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS the rivalry with Minnesota, and I didn't make a big deal out of it at first. W That all changed in a hurry. In my second year, we got a big win against the Gophers in the Metrodome. In fact, it was more of a relief than a big win because it snapped a 23-game road losing streak for the program. I remember that game because our guys didn't beat themselves; they were starting to play like we wanted them to, even though we didn't have much of an offense. But we got a 50-yard kickoff return from freshman Lee DeRa- mus late in the game and that set up the field goal which gave us a 19-16 lead. We still had to make a play on defense to seal the win. On a fourth-and-goal from the 11-yard line, the Gophers threw a pass to their tight end Patt Evans in the end zone. But our safety, Melvin Tucker, blew him up and jarred the ball loose. That was my first Big Ten win. The following year, I hired Jim Hueber, who had not only coached at Minnesota the previ- ous eight years but he was re- sponsible for recruiting Evans out of Philadelphia. Huebs sold me on making it a special game because that's what 12 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 10, 2011 Had we won that game, we would have wound up as the only team in the country without a defeat — we had a tie with Ohio State — and we probably would have been voted national champs. Florida State, Notre Dame, Ne- braska, West Virginia and Ohio State all had one loss. Auburn was unbeaten but on probation. In the end, Florida State was crowned as the champion. Our win over Minnesota in 1999 was memorable because I was in a hospital room at the hen I first started coaching here, I didn't know anything about they had done with the Gophers. So he became our official his- torian on the rivalry and Paul Bunyan's Axe. In 1993, we lost our only game of the season at Minnesota. We got behind right away and we ended up throwing more than we wanted to. We had a bunch of turnovers, including five picks. When I first started coaching here, I didn't know anything about the rivalry with Minne- sota, and I didn't make a big deal out of it at first. That all changed in a hurry. Mayo Clinic in Rochester because of complications with my knee. I watched the game with Cindy on a 22-inch television. We were down three times to the Gophers before rallying and winning the game in overtime on a Vitaly Pi- setsky field goal. Ten minutes after the game, they took my blood pressure and it was off the charts. In 2005, I got another adrena- line rush for a different reason: a punt block. That was ridiculous. It was like that Hail Mary at Michigan State this season. Jonathan Casillas blocked the punt and Ben Strickland recov- ered the ball in the end zone. That was just one of the many highlights in the Minnesota-Wis- consin series; one that the players will see running on a continuous loop on the screens in our locker room this week. They're going to see the history of the program; they're going to see some great players, like Ron Dayne and Joe Thomas, running around the field with the Axe and celebrating victory. I've always felt that it was important that each of our play- ers realized that they are a part of history when they play in a Minnesota-Wisconsin game. The Axe is the symbol of suc- cess. It's not just another game; it's a big deal.