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Before the win against Washington, the Badgers had a six-game losing streak during which they were outscored 181-51.

The Badgers take a 4-7 record into their final regular-season game Saturday against Minnesota at what could be a snowy Huntington Bank Stadium. A victory might get Wisconsin a bowl bid, but that is about as likely as it being 60 degrees at game time.

Minnesota is 6-5 on the season but has lost three of its last four games. The Golden Gophers are assured a bowl bid. The Pinstripe Bowl in New York City, the Music City Bowl in Nashville or the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit are the most likely destinations.

The UW-Minnesota 2:30 p.m. (CST) matchup Saturday is the annual game for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, which is both teams’ primary rivalry game.

The Badgers had a 13-game winning streak in the Axe series up until 2017. Then the Golden Gophers hired P.J. Fleck as head coach. Since then, the teams have split eight games, but Minnesota has won three of the past four.

Parker standout will be on Gophers sideline

When the game kicks off Saturday, Gavin Meier will be sporting maroon-and-gold colors on his apparel as he stands on the Gophers’ sideline.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound 18-year-old just finished his senior football season at Janesville Parker High School. He was a unanimous selection as the Big Eight Conference’s Lineman of the Year and a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association first-team all-state selection.

Meier is regarded as the top high school senior recruit from Wisconsin. He is listed as a 3-star recruit by several scouting services.

While he seriously considered the Badgers’ scholarship offer, it took only one visit to the Gophers’ facilities to convince the well-spoken Meier that Minneapolis, not Madison, was where he wanted to play.

Meier announced his decision in March. He will graduate from Parker High at the end of the first semester in late January with a 3.7 grade-point average. He will enroll into the University of Minnesota with 12 college credits already earned through advanced high school courses.

The son of Mathew and Meghan Everhart received 12 scholarship offers before he announced his decision. He said in an interview Sept. 24 that many of those schools—which included Indiana and Auburn—were still contacting him.

Meier made four visits to UW

He lost count of the number of campuses he visited before he made his decision.

Four of those visits were to Madison. Recruits can make as many visits as they want, but schools can only pay for one “official” visit. Meier did not make an official visit to Madison.

Meier made an official visit to Minnesota. It became the only official visit he made to any school, although he had four scheduled.

The other Big Ten Conference schools he made visits to on his own dime were Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers.

Meier said Wisconsin ranked in the top four of the schools that recruited him.

“Maybe a little higher, but let’s keep it in the top four,” he said.

After the visit to Minneapolis, he was sold on Fleck’s program.

“It was team culture,” Meier said. “The way that they do things is different as how everybody else does it. They do the little things right.

“I thought I had a lot in common with the school,” Meier said. “I think they give me the best chance at getting to the next level.”

‘Not the team it use to be’

Meier did not enjoy rejecting Wisconsin.

“I love Wisconsin,” he said. “I won’t shy away from that. I love the school, I love the team, and I love the people.

“But this Wisconsin team is not the team it use to be,” Meier said in late September. “Their O-line used to be the best there was. Times are changing, and there is so much uncertainty, and I don’t like uncertainty.”

That uncertainty evolved around the status of head coach Luke Fickell. The 52-year-old head coach was hired in 2023 and his contract runs through March 2031. He earns $7.8 million a year.

The Badgers are 17-20 under Fickell and the pressure to fire him was immense during the six-game losing streak. UW Athletic Director Chris McIntosh stepped up to support Fickell, who the school would have to pay $25 million in a contractual buyout if it were to fire him.

Since McIntosh said the coach would return for the 2026 season, the Badgers have gone 2-1.

McIntosh’s support gave Badger recruits some certainty. For Meier and others, it came too late and likely would not have made a difference.

“I’m not just committing to the school, I’m committing to the coaches,” Meier said. “I committed myself to Coach Fleck and to my O-line coach (Brian) Callahan.”

Callahan traveled to Middleton to watch Meier and the Vikings play the Cardinals in September.

But McIntosh’s support and announcement have made a difference. Just as schools are still after Meier, the Badgers reportedly have gained two major recruits since their recent success. Brady Bekkenhuis, a four-start linebacker decommitted from Boston College to Wisconsin, and running back Qwantavius “Fat Boy” Wiggins reportedly will de-commit from Florida International and go to Wisconsin.

Coaches are ‘polar opposites’

Meier has no such plans, especially with Fleck at the helm of the Gophers program.

Fleck tells recruits that his aggressive approach will have them either loving or hating him. There are few in-betweens.

“I love the guy,” Meier said. “He really cares for us players. I really like P.J. Fleck. He is a really good coach.”

Meier was asked for a comparison between Fleck and Fickell.

“I have talked to both of them many times,” Meier said in September. “They are like polar-opposite personalities. Wherever Fleck is, Fickell is the opposite. It depends on what you like.

“When I was at Wisconsin, Fickell was just like sitting in the corner watching the team practice,” Meier said. “I saw the offensive coordinator and all the other coaches coaching.

“When I was at Minnesota, Fleck was in the middle of everything,” Meier said. “That meant a lot. I think Fleck truly cares about his players.”

That is why Meier will be wearing maroon-and-gold Saturday on the Gophers’ sideline and not on the Wisconsin side.