Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Adam Weber picked Minnesota over Wisconsin. David Gilreath ran an end around the Gophers to play for the Badgers. Kim Royston transferred from one school to the other.

And that's just a sampling of swaps. There's no shortage of frosty feelings between the programs and coaches that have played the most times in the history of Division I football.

When Minnesota and Wisconsin meet in Madison for the 118th time Saturday for Paul Bunyan's Axe, the teams have swapped roles, too.

Even with two straight losses, Minnesota (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten) is the feel-good story in the conference after last year's disastrous 1-11 campaign.

"Who would've gave us a quarter if we would've said we'd be 7-3 at this point after last season?" Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said. "My deal with the players is, 'Guys, feel good about what you've accomplished."'

The Badgers (5-5, 2-5) are fighting for bowl eligibility with FCS school Cal Poly remaining on the schedule.

"Whenever you get a Minnesota game, you've got to throw away the records," Wisconsin senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas said.

Well, maybe just throw out Wisconsin's mark. After all, these Badgers were a chic pick to be a BCS team before losing four straight in the conference.

Who knows? If Weber, now a redshirt sophomore, had committed to Wisconsin instead, maybe the Badgers would still be in a national title hunt.

"We wanted him as bad as anything," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema admits.

But Weber -- who idolized Brett Favre, no less -- said at the time he wasn't sold when then-coach Barry Alvarez decided to hand over the program to Bielema, his handpicked successor.

Weber certainly has fit in as one of former coach Glen Mason's recruits in Brewster's spread offense, throwing for 2,256 yards and 11 TDs.

Meanwhile, Bielema won't play the "what if" game with Weber.

"I don't think as a head coach you can ever kind of go down that road," Bielema said. "You can't think about what you don't have or didn't have. I have the utmost respect for Weber, and I know we were very close."

Minnesota has ruled out receiver Eric Decker, who leads the Big Ten with 74 receptions before being slowed by an ankle injury. Wisconsin's defense, though, thinks it's just a ploy and are preparing like he'll be in the lineup.

Regardless, it sure would be nice for the Gophers to have another playmaker, someone like Gilreath, from New Hope, Minn. Instead, the sophomore receiver backed out on his verbal commitment to Minnesota to go to Wisconsin.

When the Badgers flattened Indiana last week 55-20, Gilreath ran for a team-high 168 yards and gained 235 all-purpose yards.

He also caught two TD passes in a win against Illinois and is establishing himself as the Badgers' most versatile threat after Travis Beckum's season-ending injury.

"People say I'm a little bit too little to be a running back," Gilreath said. "I'm just trying to get the ball in my hands."

Bielema and Brewster also have a tepid relationship.

"We have to recruit our border states -- Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois -- as hard as anybody because those kids a lot of times represent everything that we want here. So that's not going to change," Bielema said. "You lose more friendships or cause more hard feelings during recruiting than any game day. And that's probably true with every team across the entire country."

Brewster, meanwhile, made a special point this week of praising Royston, the defensive back who transferred to Minnesota from Wisconsin but won't be eligible until 2009.

Minnesota hopes it is defending the Axe by then after losing four straight in the series and 11 of the last 13.

Weather may be a factor. Snow showers are forecast with temperatures in the mid-30s. That could bode well for Wisconsin's ground game, but Minnesota will have to get used to the elements soon with its new outdoor stadium opening next season.

"Everybody in Minnesota, this is the game they want," Gophers linebacker Simoni Lawrence said. "People tell me you can lose every game in the season, but if you win this game, everybody's happy."

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)