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Posted on 10/10/2003 4:30:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
100-year anniversary of the Little Brown Jug
Minnesota has been perfect through the first six games of the season. Making it seven straight without a loss would mark one of the school's biggest wins in recent memory.
In the 100-year anniversary of the Little Brown Jug series, the 17th-ranked Golden Gophers hope to end a 14-game losing streak to No. 20 Michigan when the Big Ten rivals meet Friday night at the Metrodome.
This is arguably the most famous trophy series in college football, but it has been dominated by the Wolverines in recent years.
Minnesota (6-0, 2-0) is trying to win back the Little Brown Jug after losing 14 straight in a series dating back to 1903.
Michigan (4-2, 1-1) has won 31 of the last 33 meetings, including all nine at the Metrodome. The Wolverines' only two losses in the last 35 years came in 1977 and 1986.
If they plan on ending their skid in this series, the Gophers can't afford to start in the same way they did last week. Minnesota failed to manage a single first down for more than 21 minutes and trailed by 14 points, but rallied to beat lowly Northwestern 42-17 on Saturday.
Asad Abdul-Khaliq threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns and Marion Barber III ran for two scores as the nation's third-leading rushing team proved it's not just one-dimensional. Although Minnesota produced 241 yards on the ground, that is 43 yards below its season average.
``I was very pleased with how the game turned out, but I wasn't very happy with how it started,'' Gophers coach Glen Mason said. ``The first quarter was the worst quarter of football from my perspective I've ever been associated with as a coach. The positive was no one panicked, no one started pointing fingers.''
Although the team is off to its best start since opening 7-0 in 1960, Minnesota has benefitted from a relatively easy schedule. That all changes in the next two weeks as the Gophers continue Big Ten play against ranked foes Michigan and Michigan State.
Opening this season with three straight wins, including a 38-0 rout of Notre Dame, had Michigan talking about a possible national championship. Three games later, however, and the Wolverines are in danger of dropping out of the AP Top 25.
A last-ditch comeback fell short Saturday and Michigan lost for the second time in three games, 30-27 at Iowa.
Though quarterback John Navarre threw for a school-record 389 yards and two TDs, Michigan managed just five first downs in the second half. Chris Perry, the nation's second-leading rusher, was limited to 27 yards in the final 30 minutes.
``There's going to be a backlash when you lose and there's going to be doubters,'' defensive tackle Grant Bowman said. ``There's always people second-guessing what you do. But that's what comes along with being at Michigan and we accept that. Bottom line, we haven't gotten the job done.''
Although Navarre fell to 0-6 on the road against ranked teams, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was quick to defend his quarterback.
``John Navarre played extremely well and anybody who thinks he didn't doesn't know anything about the game,'' Carr said. ``The quarterback is always going to take the blame. What's remarkable about John is he deals with it much better than most people can.''
All four of Michigan's victories have come at home. The losses have been at Oregon and Iowa.
This matchup features two of college football's top running backs. Perry is second in the country with 774 rushing yards and Barber averages 6.3 yards per carry while leading the nation with 13 touchdowns.
Updated on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2003 5:53 pm EDT
I'm a partisan Minniesoda native here, now living in Caleeforniya begs for your indulgence.
Help keep FR the best darn conservative forum ( and a darn fine sports hangout too) by Donating to FR and keep the news, views and truth available for all to see without spin and cost to them, if they can't donate themselves for whatever reasons. Thanks!!!
The QB for the Gophers looks like he may be of Heisman quality if he can beat the Wolverines and the Buckeyes and keep the team on top. That would be something to stir up some emotions for a lot of us as he has a Muslim name as I recall.
I'll share a couple other little personal tidbits as soon as I get back from the vet.
Thanks for sharing that info. :-)
Next week is Homecoming with the Theme -- Thanks for the Memories. My daughter's sorority is going to be doing a float with Bud Wilkinson on it! That was the beginning of OU bigtime football. I didn't realize he was from Minnesota!
Just a little picture to remind you of the OU campus -- the new addition to Owen Field is fantastic! Now if I only had a spare $100,000 lying around, I could afford one of the new suites! LOL!!! Until then, we have to settle for regular season tickets.
I was accepted at the U of M and had hoped to eventually go to law school.
Instead, my last dumb act of my youth was suckering up for a cheeseburger, fries and A&W Root Beer float courtesy of a Marine recruiter and joining the Marines straight out of high school. When I think of all the beer bashes I missed, just darn, is all I can say. I did crash a few on leave as I recall tho, vaguely. ;-)
| Chance Mock and Vince Young will try to help Texas do something Chris Simms couldn't: Beat Oklahoma. The 11th-ranked Longhorns look for their first win in four years against the top-ranked Sooners when the teams meet for their annual matchup at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday. Simms, who graduated last season, was intercepted eight times, sacked nine times and did not throw a touchdown pass while losing three straight games to Oklahoma. This season, Texas coach Mack Brown has a pair of quarterbacks to he rotates in and out -- Mock, a strong passer, and the freshman Young, an impressive scrambler. Brown has not announced who will start against the Sooners (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) and has said that both will see action. ``We told both guys, 'We're going to continue to play both of you and we're not going to discuss it during the week,''' Brown said. ``So let's talk about OU instead of getting into a discussion of who should start.'' Mock, who is listed as the Longhorns' No. 1 quarterback on the team's depth chart, has already thrown 11 touchdown passes, including a 51-yarder in a 24-20 win against Kansas State last Saturday. However, Young has guided Texas (4-1, 1-0) to touchdowns on 11 of the 17 drives he has led, including a game-winning march against the Wildcats, highlighted by a 52-yard pass. And his ability to scramble would provide a challenge to a Sooners defense that dominated the immobile Simms. ``Everybody has trouble defending mobile QBs,'' Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. ``Obviously, (Young) is a guy we have to account for. It's a different style of Texas than we're used to seeing.'' The players seem to be impressed with Young as well. ``I don't know if anyone has really tackled him yet,'' Sooners defensive end Dan Cody said. ``It looks like he just kinda fell down.'' Young twisted his right ankle in the third quarter of Saturday's game and had to be helped off the field before returning in the fourth. However, he said that he would be fine for the Shootout. Of course, two quarterbacks might not be enough to stop a tough Oklahoma squad that has outscored opponents 221-75 and scored at least 50 points in each of its last three games -- the first time they have accomplished that feat since 1956. ``They are playing great right now,'' Brown said. ``We'll lose some sleep over the next couple of days to try to figure them out.'' So far, Oklahoma's defense has been as strong as expected, and the offense, led by quarterback Jason White, has been much better than thought. In their 53-7 win over Iowa State last Saturday, the Sooners gained 613 yards, the most ever under Bob Stoops, while holding the Cyclones to 234. The defense forced six sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. ``I think they're the best team in the country,'' Brown said. ``Great defenses are usually better than the offenses they play. They have no weaknesses on defense. Then no one talks about the offense and the offensive line. Their talent is as good as anybody in the country.'' Stoops is understandably pleased with the way his team is playing. ``We're probably peaking at the right moment,'' he said. ``We're getting into the Big 12 schedule and looking forward to next week.'' Texas leads the all-time series 55-37-5.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct 8, 2003 2:22 am EDT |
The Little Brown Jug
Team captain Pug Lund, coach Bernie Bierman and former Gophers quarterback Sig Harris pose with the Litle Brown Jug after the Gophers beat Michigan 34-0 on their way to winning the 1934 national championship. Harris played in the first Little Brown Jug game in 1903, leading the Gophers to a 6-6 tie.
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