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MINNEAPOLIS -- Alex Hornibrook threw for three touchdowns, Jonathan Taylor ran for 149 yards and a touchdown and No. 5 Wisconsin held Minnesota to 133 yards in a 31-0 win on Saturday. Troy Fumagalli, Kyle Penniston and Danny Davis caught touchdown passes for the Badgers (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten), who finished the Big Ten regular-season undefeated for the first time since going 5-0 in 1912. They will face Ohio State in next week's Big Ten championship game.
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Hornibrook completed 15 of 19 passes for 151 yards.
Wisconsin, which entered the game with the nation's No. 2 defense in terms of yards and points allowed, smothered the Gophers, who had just 46 yards at halftime and didn't have a first down until 41 seconds remained in the first half.
The Badgers, who shut out an opponent for the first time since Sept. 26, 2015, against Hawaii, retained possession of Paul Bunyan's Axe. Wisconsin won the trophy in the long-standing rivalry for the 14th consecutive year, the longest streak for either team.
It was the first shutout by either team in the rivalry since Wisconsin won 24-0 in 1982.
Minnesota's Demry Croft was 3-of-9 passing for 40 yards. Rodney Smith had 16 carries for 82 yards for the Gophers (5-7, 2-7), who saw their bowl hopes all but fade away in coach P.J. Fleck's first season. Emmit Carpenter missed two field-goal attempts as Minnesota was shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 1950.
As the game ended, the Gophers could still earn the final bowl bid based on Academic Progress Rate, but needed losses from Vanderbilt and Temple.
Minnesota's defense stuffed the run and forced punts on the Badgers' first two possessions before Hornibrook started to find his receivers.
Hornibrook led a 12-play, 73-yard drive in the first quarter. He completed 6 of 7 passes for 62 yards and the touchdown to Fumagalli, a finalist for the John Mackey Award given to the top tight end in the country.
Penniston's first touchdown of the season came with 50 seconds left in the first half to give Wisconsin a 17-0 edge. Penniston became the 19th player for the Badgers to score a touchdown this season.
Taylor, a Heisman Trophy candidate as a freshman, topped 100 yards for the fourth straight game with a 53-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Saturday marked the 127th meeting between Wisconsin and Minnesota, the most played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Badgers have won 21 of the past 23 meetings to take the series lead 60-59-8. ... Wisconsin suffered a few injuries in the game. TE Zander Neuville (right leg), RB Bradrick Shaw (left leg) and LB Noah Burks (left left) all left and didn't return. ... The Gophers were without leading receiver Tyler Johnson, who has a broken hand. WR Rashad Still was not in uniform as coach P.J. Fleck made changes to his receiving corps before the game. ... Minnesota junior WR Will Reger hauled in his first reception of his college career in the second half.
