Minnesota vs. Wisconsin: Fun statistics on Melvin Gordon, Badgers

Satuday afternoon is a winner-take-all scenario in the Big Ten West division, as the No. 18 Minnesota Golden Gophers head to Madison to take on the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers. Not only will the victor receive Paul Bunyan's Axe and bragging rights until next year, but most importantly, the winner of this game will face the Ohio State Buckeyes next Saturday in Indianapolis in the Big Ten title game.

Gametime's at 2:30 p.m. CT and can be seen the Big Ten Network, but until opening kickoff, here's some fun stats about junior running back Melvin Gordon and the Badgers you can throw out while you're tailgating with your friends. Show them your advanced Badgers knowledge while drinking your Spotted Cow or Bloody Mary and owning that brat in your hand.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin rivalry

• Wisconsin's won the last 10 match-ups dating back to 2004 and but Minnesota actually owns the series lead 59-56-8.
• Saturday will mark the 124th the Badgers play in the longest-running rivalry in college football; however, the Badgers and Gophers meet for only the fourth time where both teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Wisconsin's 4-0 in those meetings, with the last time being in 2005 -- we all remember what happened in that game.

Melvin Gordon

• With one positive yard, Gordon will own the school record and Big Ten's single-season record for rushing yards. He and Ron Dayne are both tied for the mark at 2,109 yards.
• Gordon has 10 100-yard rushing games on the season. If he goes over the century mark Saturday, he will tie Brent Moss for the most 100-yard rushing games in a single season. Moss had 11 in that famed Rose Bowl year of 1993.
• Before this season, the highest average per carry in a single game for a Badger was Ken Starch in 1974 (14.9 yards per carry -- 10 carry minimum). Gordon gained 19.5 and 16.3 yards per carry against Bowling Green and Nebraska, respectively, earlier this season.
• Gordon rushed for over 200-yards five times this season, tying him with Dayne for the school record for most 200-yard rushing games in a single season. If he goes over 200 yards again in a single game this season, he'll own that record.
• The school record for consecutive 200 yard-plus games is three, by both Billy Marek and Dayne (the latter did it twice). Gordon ran for 205, 408 and 200 yards in the past three games -- again, if he goes over that mark again Saturday, he'll break that record for as well.
• Gordon needs 239 yards to pass Anthony Davis for 3rd all-time in Wisconsin history in career rushing yards.
• If he maintains his pace (8.3 yards per carry in 2014), Gordon will shatter his own school record for a single-season average set last season with 7.81 yards per carry (minimum 100 attempts).
• Gordon's gained an amazing 813 yards in the past three games. The record for a three-game stretch? Of course, Ron Dayne -- with 874 yards in 1996. The record for a four-game stretch: 987 yards by Dayne in the same season.

Other Badgers stats

• Andy Ludwig's offense already broke the school record for rushing yards in a single season through 11 games. They've gained 3,778 yards so far, which is 89 yards more than the record set last season, when Gordon, James White and company rushed for 3,689 yards.
• Tanner McEvoy has rushed for 560 yards on 59 carries so far this season. That's the most for a quarterback in school history. Also of note, his 9.5 yards per carry would be the highest yards per carry average in school history; however, per UW's records, the record is with 100 rushes minimum -- he'd need to maintain that average for 41 more carries to officially hold that mark.
• Dave Aranda's defense is ranked in the top five of the FBS in these categories: No. 2 in total defense (259.3 yards per game), No. 5 in rushing defense (97.1), No. 3 in passing defense (162.2) and No. 3 in scoring defense (16.1 points per game).
• The Badgers have limited opposing offenses to six plays or fewer on drives an astounding 70.1 percent of the time. That's second best in the FBS, trailing only Ole Miss (71.0 percent).
• Wisconsin's forced their adversaries to punt 56.7 percent of the their possessions -- best in the FBS.
• Aranda's 3-4 defense also boasts four players in the top 20 in the Big Ten conference in tackles for loss. Those four: linebackers Vince Biegel (second --14.5 TFLs), Derek Landisch (tied for third -- 13.5 TFLs), Joe Schobert (tied for 17th -- 9.5 TFLs) and Marcus Trotter (tied for 19th -- 9.0 TFLs)