So what the heck is this Little Brown Jug thing anyway?
The nation's oldest "trophy" will be up for grabs for the 81st time and there's a good deal of history behind this wooden chalice.
The story begins in 1903, ironically on Halloweeen, when and undefeated, unscored-upon Michigan team, riding a 28-game winning streak, led by coach Fielding Yost, went on the road to Minnesota for its first game away from Ann Arbor.
Yost was concerned, since it was the team's first road game of the season, whether the host Golden Gophers would provide his team with fresh water during the game, so Yost sent team manager Tommy Roberts to buy a large jug.
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| WARREN ZINN/Daily Racing around Spartan Stadium last week, noseguard Rob Renes and the Michigan defense stuffed Michigan State. |
Moments later, Minnesota scored and the Minneapolis faithful turned completely riotous, storming the field and forcing officials to call the game a 6-6 tie.
Yost and his Wolverines were harrassed by the mob and forced from the field. In their hurry to catch a train to Chicago, Yost forgot the jug on the sidelines. It was later retrieved by Minnesota custodian Oscar Munson, who proclaimed with his thick Scandanavian accent, "Jost left his yug."
Yost later asked Minnesota to return the jug, to which the Gophers' athletic director L.J. Cooke replied that if Michigan wanted the jug back, it would have to come back to Minnesota and win it. The teams did not play again until 1909, when Michigan went westward and won, 15-6, and the Gophers unwillingly returned the jug.
The dispute spawned the first of what are now 57 "trophy games" across the nation. The Paul Bunyan Trophy, which Michigan and Michigan State play for every year since the spartans entered the Big Ten in 1952, is another one of these games.
Fifty-seven seems to be the number of the moment since it also represents the number of times since that Halloween afternoon in 1903 that Michigan has taken the Little (Actually, it's not so little. Its capacity is five gallons) Brown Jug back from Minnesota.
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| WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan's running attack, led by tailback Chris Howard, is much better statistically than Minnesota's rushing defense. Howard could have a big day. |
Alright, so don't expect 20,000 Minnesota fans to make the trek east and storm the field once the Gophers hit paydirt. But what is of particular note is the more recent history of the series.
Michigan has turned this grudge match into more of a lopsided affair, winning the last 10 over the Gophers, 18 of the last 19, and 27 of the last 29.
But here's the kicker. Those two losses in the last 29 have come at the most inopportune times for Michigan. That is if there's a time that not inopportune for a loss.
In 1977, the top-ranked, 6-0 Wolverines, following a 56-0 shellacking of Wisconsin, went up to Minneapolis and were promptly smoked by the unranked Gophers, 16-0.
Nine years later, this time ranked No. 2 in the country, Michigan's hopes of another perfect season were dashed by Minnesota when the Gophers came into Ann Arbor and beat the Wolverines, 20-17, when Chip Lohmiller kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired.
"I remember 1986," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who was an assistant for Michigan at the time. "We were 9-0 with Minnesota coming to town and we got beat.
"We just have to make sure we don't come out ill-prepared."
This year's version of the Gophers comes in with a bonus that was completely not their doing, but still one that they will gladly take. Michigan is coming off is most emotional victory of the season and is ripe for a surprise. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has addressed this problem, but is still quite wary of the possibility of an upset.
"That is something we talked about on Sunday," Carr said. "One of the things this team has exhibited is an attitude to stay focused week in and week out. Thus far we have done that, but as the season goes along, the distractions become greater."
10-31-97
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