Michigan vs Minnesota is one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football. The series dates all the way back to 1892. This rivalry has an extra special meaning to it because the winner of the game gets "The Little Brown Jug".
As the story goes, legendary Michigan football head coach Fielding Yost left behind a water jug when the two teams first played in 1903. Minnesota athletic director LJ Cooke was given the jug by a custodian and presented Coach Yoast with the idea of playing for the jug in future games. Michigan agreed and took the jug back when the two teams played once again in 1909.
Ever since, the jug has become a staple in this rivalry. The jug is so popular that one of the iconic bars in Ann Arbor is named after it. The Minnesota game also holds a special place in my heart because the first-ever Michigan game at The Big House that I attended was against the Golden Gophers. This series has been dominated by Michigan, but that doesn't mean there haven't been some great games along the way. Let's take a look at the numbers, a last-second goal-line stand for Michigan, and what the future looks like between these two teams.
All-time record: Michigan leads 78-25-3
Most recent meeting: Michigan won 27-24 in 2024
First meeting: Minnesota won 14-6 in 1892
Largest margin of victory: Michigan 58-0 in 2011, Minnesota 40-0 in 1935
Favorite game from the series: Michigan won 29-26 in 2015
The 2015 edition of the battle for the Little Brown Jug was a game that I will never forget. It was Halloween night, and I can remember watching the game at a friend's apartment before going out for the night.
It was going to be a fun night regardless, but my mood was going to be significantly shifted one way or another depending on the outcome of the game. Little did I know, it was going to come down to the very last second of the game. Michigan came into the game 5-2 and ranked 15th in the country, while Minnesota came in 4-3 and unranked. Michigan started fast and jumped out to a 14-3 lead after Jake Rudock connected with Jehu Chesson to put the second touchdown of the night on the board.
However, Minnesota bounced back and took a 16-14 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Down 23-21, Jake Rudock scrambled out of the pocket and took a brutal hit that knocked him out of the remainder of the game. Wilton Speight took over down two. Speight led the Wolverines down the field for a touchdown and converted the two-point conversion. Michigan led 29-26 with 4:57 on the clock. Minnesota would need to drive down the field and kick a field goal to tie or score a touchdown to win. They converted a 3rd and 17 and a 4th and 5 on back-to-back possessions, and all Michigan fans started to get a bad feeling in their gut that it might not be our night. With 20 seconds remaining, Minnesota completed a hitch and go that was initially ruled a touchdown but was reversed and placed at the one-yard line after the review. The next sequence most likely haunts Minnesota fans to this day.
Once the ball was spotted after the review, the clock began to run. It seemed that the coaching staff and players were unaware of this because they let the clock run all the way down to seven seconds before snapping the ball. Once snapped, they ran a throwback screen that took the clock all the way down to two seconds. All of this was done while still having a timeout they could have used. This set up a second and goal from the one-yard line with the game on the line. Minnesota ran a quarterback sneak, and the Wolverine defense stuffed them and sprinted over to grab the Little Brown Jug and bring it back to Ann Arbor!
Future outlook
Michigan football and Minnesota will next play in 2026, when the Wolverines will travel to Minnesota. Michigan has a record of 44-4 in the last 48 games against the Gophers. Safe to say that the jug is much more comfortable in Michigan than it is in Minnesota.
Minnesota recently gave PJ Fleck a contract extension through 2030. I think Fleck is doing a great job as the Minnesota coach and pulling as much out of the program as he can. They are 58-39 under Fleck overall but are three games under .500 in Big Ten play. They will always be a tough, scrappy team as long as he is leading them, but I do not see them acquiring enough top-end talent to make a serious run at a Big Ten title. No matter the records, this rivalry game will always be special because of the Little Brown Jug.