MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The fifth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers didn't have to rely on their stingy defense for a change. Anthony Davis ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback John Stocco threw for a career-high 297 yards and a touchdown, in the unbeaten Badgers' 38-14 rout of archrival Minnesota on Saturday.<br>
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Stocco also ran for two touchdowns as the Badgers, 9-0 for the third time in school history, moved into a first-place tie with idle Michigan atop the Big Ten at 6-0.<br>
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They celebrated by rushing to the Golden Gophers' sideline to retrieve Paul Bunyan's Axe, the trophy that goes to the winner in Division I's most-played rivalry.<br>
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Wisconsin, which was averaging 21 points a game, had that by the end of the first quarter and scored on its first five possessions to take a 31-0 lead.<br>
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Davis scored on two 1-yard runs and set up Stocco's 1-yard keeper with a 21-yard scamper before he was shoved out of bounds just shy of the pylon by safety John Pawielski. Stocco also threw a 17-yard scoring strike to Jonathan Orr, and Mike Allen kicked a 41-yard field goal.<br>
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The Gophers (6-4, 3-4), who lost for the fourth time in five games, finally got going when Bryan Cupito led an 80-yard drive that he capped with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ernie Wheelwright that made it 31-7.<br>
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By halftime, Stocco, a sophomore and first-year starter, had completed 14 of 18 passes for 241 yards, 30 more than his career high of 211 at Purdue last month. He finished 19-of-26.<br>
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Wisconsin outgained Minnesota 205 yards to 31 in the first quarter, never giving the Gophers the chance to spring their 1-2 running punch of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney. Maroney finished with 57 yards on eight carries and Barber had 34 yards on seven runs.<br>
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The Gophers entered the game as the Big Ten's top-scoring offense (33.3) and owner of the league's best rushing offense, averaging 266 yards.<br>
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The Badgers countered with the nation's toughest scoring defense (8.5) and the second-best total defense nationally, yielding fewer than 240 yards a game.<br>
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Defensive end Erasmus James returned from a high ankle sprain and played on passing downs only. His presence was felt immediately when he deflected Cupito's pass on his first snap and forced a hurry on his third.
