Did Badgers coach try to bury the Axe?

A postgame skirmish last year between the Gophers and Badgers following Wisconsin's 20-7 victory at TCF Bank Stadium has led to a new policy for the coveted traveling trophy for which the teams play.

Paul Bunyan's Axe, which normally sits on the sideline during the game, will be out of sight for most of Saturday's showdown in Madison when the teams meet with the Big Ten West title on the line.

Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen said during his Monday news conference that the Axe will be "out there at the coin toss … and then the Axe will disappear and it will show up in the locker room of the winner."

Wisconsin later released a statement from Andersen on Monday evening that said the Axe will be brought to the field late in the game. Instead of being displayed all game long on the sideline, "it will be presented in the end zone, closest to the winning team's locker room," the statement read.

The idea, Andersen said, is to prevent another postgame confrontation between the teams. Last year, Badgers players rushed to get the Axe, and Gophers players stood in front of their goalpost to prevent Wisconsin players from "chopping" it down. Though the players dispersed without a major incident, it was enough to concern Andersen.

"The Axe, in my opinion, running across the sidelines, it's not a good tactic. It's not healthy for college football, and you're asking for trouble," Andersen said. "Last year, it was this close to going south in a lot of different directions."

The Gophers didn't have media availability on Monday. Coach Jerry Kill's weekly news conference is Tuesday. Last year, Kill said, "The administrations know we need to handle it in a different way on both sides."

Andersen, who took over the Badgers program in 2013 after coming over from Utah State, said his players last year behaved "far from perfect" and added that he hopes the new protocol will protect players on both sides.

"The world changes. College football changes. … You've got to be smart," he said. "No one is going to protect those kids when they're out on the field [after the game]. The coaches are gone. The security is gone. There's nobody out there, and all the sudden we're asking 200 kids to run around the football field and not put themselves in harm's way."