Axe men: Gophers end slide

Demetrius Douglas returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown, Minnesota’s defense held up on the road and the Golden Gophers ran away from Wisconsin for a 37-15 victory Saturday in Madison, Wis.

Minnesota’s victory snapped a 14-game losing streak in the rivalry and allowed the Gophers to reclaim Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 121 yards and a 10-yard touchdown on 26 carries for Minnesota (6-6, 3-6 Big Ten), which became bowl-eligible for the first time under second-year coach P.J. Fleck.

The Gophers took a page from the Badgers playbook by pounding away on the ground in the second half.

Bryce Williams ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both after turnovers by Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook.

A memorable night for Minnesota was made sweeter by beating the Badgers (7-5, 5-4) on the road to take back the Axe for the first time since 2003. The Gophers won in Madison for the first time since 1994.

Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, the nation’s leading rusher, had 120 yards on 19 carries. Purdue 28, Indiana 21: David Blough threw three touchdown passes — two of them to Rondale Moore, who tied a school record with his seventh 100-yard receiving game — to lead the visiting Boilermakers (6-6, 5-4) past the rival Hoosiers (5-7, 2-7). By claiming the Old Oaken Bucket for the second straight year, Purdue also became bowl-eligible in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12.

Penn State 38, Maryland 3: Trace McSorley passed for 230 yards, rushed for 64 and had a hand in three touchdowns to help the host Nittany Lions (9-3, 6-3) rout the Terrapins (5-7, 3-6).

McSorley threw a 34-yard bullet through freezing rain to KJ Hamler on the game’s first play, sprinted downfield to throw a block that opened Miles Sanders’ 35-yard run on the next play, then skipped into the end zone from 3 yards out to cap the quick opening drive.

Michigan State 14, Rutgers 10: Cody White scored on a 22-yard end-around with 3:57 to play, and the host Spartans (7-5, 5-4) handed the Scarlet Knights (1-11, 0-9) their 11th straight loss. Michigan State snapped a two-game losing streak and scored its first touchdown since Nov. 3.