This Saturday, September 28th, the Minnesota Golden Gophers head east to The Big House to play the Michigan Wolverines in the oldest trophy game in college football: The Battle for the Little Brown Jug.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Series History: Michigan leads the series 77-25-3
Series Began: 1892 in Minneapolis, Minn. – Minnesota won 14-6
Recent History: Michigan has dominated this series since 1943 and currently have a four-game win streak
Winningest Coach in the Series: Bo Schembechler won 19 games from 1969-1989
Largest Victory: Michigan owns this record, a 58-0 win in 2011
Rivalry Trophy: The Little Brown Jug
FROM PARANOIA TO RIVALRY
The year was 1903 when third-year head coach Fielding Yost took his Michigan Wolverines to Minneapolis to play the undefeated Golden Gophers in what many dubbed “The Championship of the West.” By the time the game rolled around, the Wolverines had won 29 straight games and Yost’s “Point per Minute” squad was bound to face one of its toughest tests, as they had beaten their previous seven opponents by a combined score of 437-0.
The Gophers wouldn’t be intimidated though, as they entered having won 10 straight games by a margin of 506-6 and hadn’t lost a game since playing Michigan in November of 1902. With a Western Conference title on the line and a seemingly impossible-to-stop foe coming to town, it was must see football for the 20,000-30,000 fans that attended the game.
Realizing the size of the crowd, Yost became paranoid that someone in the stands would taint the Wolverines’ water supply, so he instructed student manager Tommy Roberts to go into the city and buy a jug. Tommy ended up buying a five gallon Red Wing pottery jug for 30 cents and promptly delivered it to the field.
But there would be no water supply shenanigans.
Instead, Yost was treated to a 0-0 tie at halftime and a 6-0 lead until two minutes left in the game. It was at that point when the Gophers finally prevailed and carried the ball across the goal line tying the game 6-6. Seeing their Gophers score against the seemingly impenetrable Wolverines squad – and seeing the storm clouds rolling in towards the field – the 20,000 Gopher fans rushed the field in pandemonium, forcing the game to end in a tie.
With the fans and players rushing to and from the field, it is no surprise that Michigan’s water jug got left behind. Or maybe it was stolen amongst all the confusion? Or maybe still it was simply left behind, not worthy enough to be brought back to Ann Arbor? The truth has been lost to time.
What we do know is that Minnesota custodian Oscar Munson found the jug and brought it to athletics director L.J. Cooke who decided to paint it brown and inscribe “Michigan Jug, Captured by Oscar October 31, 1903.” They also put the score of the game on the jug, intentionally putting the Minnesota “6” in much larger writing.
The physicality of the 1903 game delayed a rematch until 1909. It was then that Cooke told Minnesota captain John McGovern “You tell that Michigan captain they can have their jug back if they beat us.” The Wolverines accepted the bet and beat the Gophers and took the jug with them.
For a complete history on The Little Brown Jug, click here.
NOTABLE GAMES
2003 – #20 Michigan vs #17 Minnesota
The 100th anniversary of the Jug saw two good teams battle it out for the inside track to the Big Ten title. Minnesota was playing in front of a sold out Metrodome crowd and had a 28-7 lead before Michigan stormed back in the 4th quarter and won 38-35. Minnesota fans still remember the sting of that game.
2014
The Gophers came into The Big House and dealt Michigan a 30-14 blow in the 2014 edition of the rivalry. Michigan coach Brady Hoke endured widespread criticism for keeping his QB Shane Morris in the game when he appeared to have a concussion. It was the beginning of the end for Hoke, who had Michigan at 1-3, the first time in their 135 year history they had three losses by the end of September.
2024 MATCHUP
Date: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
Site: Michigan Stadium – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Time: 12:00pm ET
TV: FOX
FOOTBALL SCHEDULES
Little Brown Jug Michigan-Minnesota & Land Of Lincoln Northwestern-Illinois are My co-favorite Trophy games in Big Ten.
I liked it better when it was named the Tomahawk trophy