MINNEAPOLIS -- John Clay ran for career-high 184 yards and three touchdowns to power the Wisconsin Badgers in a 31-28 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first Big Ten game at the Gophers' new TCF Bank Stadium.

Quarterback Scott Tolzien also had a solid game for the Badgers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten), as he threw for 159 yards and a score, in addition to rushing for 65 more yards on five carries. Garrett Graham was his main target, as the tight end pulled in seven receptions for 68 yards to give Wisconsin its second 5-0 start under head coach Bret Bielema.

Adam Weber completed 16-of-30 tosses for 271 yards and a score for Minnesota (3-2, 1-1). , which suffered its second home loss in a row. Eric Decker was again Weber's favorite outlet, as the wideout finished wth eight catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. With his effort, Decker surpassed Ron Johnson as Minnesota's career leader in receiving yards.

The Badgers opened the game's scoring with a Clay two-yard touchdown run on their first possession of the first quarter. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive.

The Gophers responded with 10 points in the final three minutes of the opening quarter. Eric Ellestad first booted a 28-yard field goal and that was followed by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Weber to Decker.

Wisconsin knotted the game behind a Philip Welch 39-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

With just over two minutes left before the break, Ellestad hit a 20-yard field goal to complete a 12-play, 76-yard drive and give Minnesota a 13-10 edge at the intermission.

The Badgers regained the lead late in the third quarter when Clay plunged one yard for a score to finish off a nine-play, 70-yard drive.

A five-yard touchdown pass from Tolzien to Lance Kendricks early in the fourth quarter extended Wisconsin's lead to 24-13.

The Badgers were on the verge of putting the game away until Minnesota's defense came up big and returned a Zach Brown fumble 88 yards for a score. The two-point conversion attempt was successful and the Gopher trailed 24-21 with just under seven minutes to play.

Clay though, would put the finishing touches on a terrific performance with a one-yard touchdown run with three minutes to go.

Duane Bennett responded for Minnesota less than a minute later with a one-yard touchdown run, but the Gophers would get no closer in the 31-28 loss.

Wisconsin rushed for 295 yards in the win, while holding Minnesota to a mere 57 yards on the ground.

The win is the Badgers' sixth consecutive in the annual battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Minnesota, however, still holds a 59-52-8 lead in the head- to-head series.