MINNEAPOLIS — P.J. Fleck celebrated his 45th birthday by crowd-surfing through the Minnesota locker room as players tossed him the air, finishing his ninth regular season with the program in jubilant fashion.

The second-longest tenured coach in the Big Ten, Fleck has helped infuse the Gophers with some welcomed stability, a model of consistency that now includes partying with Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Drake Lindsey threw a touchdown pass to Jameson Geers for the only second-half score in snow-globe conditions, and John Nestor had two interceptions and a fumble recovery for Minnesota in a 17-7 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday to keep possession of the axe and overtake the all-time series lead at 64-63-8.

“That’s Gopher football,” Fleck said, “from the weather to the style we played with.”

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