(24) WISCONSIN 41, MINNESOTA 34 ------------------------------- MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Freshman Zach Brown helped Wisconsin add to Minnesota's futility.

Brown ran for a career-high 250 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries as the 24th-ranked Badgers posted a 41-34 victory over the lowly Golden Gophers in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday.

It was the fourth straight win over Minnesota for Wisconsin (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten), which retained the Paul Bunyan Axe trophy.

The Golden Gophers (1-11, 0-8) finished the season with 10 straight losses as Minnesota went winless in conference play for the first time since 1988.

With the game tied at 20-20, Brown's 50-yard run set up a 1-yard score from Bill Rentmeester to give Wisconsin a seven-point lead 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Wit the Badgers leading, 34-27, Brown scored his second touchdown of the day on a 4-yard run with 5:11 to play. It was the second straight 100-yard rushing performance for Brown, who had 108 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 37-21 victory over Michigan.

Minnesota had one last possession to tie the game but safety Ben Strickland intercepted Adam Weber to give the Badgers the ball on the Golden Gophers 13-yard line with 56 seconds left.

After the teams traded field goals in the first quarter, Weber hit Eric Decker on the first play of the second half for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Golden Gophers a 10-3 lead.

Joel Monroe kicked a 24-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 10-point lead before Wisconsin's Tyler Donovan cut the deficit to 13-10 on an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:59 left in the first half.

After David Gilreath returned a punt 57 yards to the 18-yard line, Brown scored two plays later on a 16-yard run to give the Badgers the lead, 17-13, with 12:31 left in the third quarter.

Taylor Mehlhaff kicked a 20-yard field goal but Duane Bennett tied the game at 20-20 on a 3-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes left in the third.

Weber finished with 352 yards with three touchdown and two interception on 21-of-37 passing. The redshirt freshman also broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 24.