• Why Michigan (really) Bought The Little Brown Jug in 1903

    During a 2011 press conference, Michigan’s Ryan Van Bergen talked about The Little Brown Jug and joked, “I don’t think you’d want to drink any water out of that.”  True, but even if you wanted to take a drink you’d be hard-pressed to make that happen.  When I did my jug research a couple of years ago it was easy to notice that the top is sealed off: There used to be a cap and some ribbons affixed to the top, but at some point, they were removed (and from the looks of it, torn off).  I asked Jon Falk about it –he’s not sure when exactly that happened.   It’ll take a flathead screwdriver and some pliers to get that top off.  You have to want it. Why Michigan Bought A JugSo obviously at one point, this jug did carry water for the team, but the truth of how and why it ended up on the U-M sideline in 1903 has shifted a bit over the decades.  In the early days of the Jug rivalry, it was widely believed that Michigan brought the jug & water from Ann Arbor, and further, some suggested it was because Yost feared the Gophers would attempt to spike/poison their water.   Of course, years later Tommy Roberts revealed that he simply bought the jug in Minneapolis before…

  • Cold Case Closed: Herron (2011) vs. Harmon (1939)

    Thanks to the new U-M Bentley Game Film vault, we’ll have a chance to see game events previously only experienced through photos, written descriptions, or rarely, first-hand accounts. And maybe we’ll use these videos to learn a few new things, and possibly, clear up a few mysteries or misconceptions. In the 2011 season opener against Western Michigan, U-M’s Brandon Herron took an interception return 94-yards to the house. But was it the longest ever?