How well do you know your Big Ten trophies? Unless you're a real college football nerd, the answer is probably "not well." Even a longtime Big Ten fanatic might tell you that a lot of the conference's "prizes" are silly, at best.
But if you consider that many of these traveling trophies date to the early 1900s, perhaps it's understandable why bashing heads for a brass spittoon might have seemed like a good idea at the time.
Here's a quick quiz to see where you stand on your knowledge of Big Ten trophies. Note that the Big Ten's biggest rivals, Ohio State and Michigan, compete in "The Game," but play for no trophy. (Some would say they play for blood.)
And consider for a moment that Wisconsin and Minnesota once battled for a trophy named "The Slab of Bacon." Regrettably, it went missing in 1943 and was replaced by another trophy. Perhaps Bucky or Goldy made off with the bacon?
Match the trophy with the Big Ten football rivalry:
(1) Heartland Trophy
(2) Paul Bunyan Trophy
(3) The Old Brass Spittoon
(4) Floyd of Rosedale
(5) The Land Grant Trophy
(6) The Little Brown Jug
(7) Paul Bunyan's Axe
(8) The Illibuck
(9) The Purdue Cannon
(10) The Governor's Victory Bell
(11) The Old Oaken Bucket
a. Illinois vs. Ohio State
b. Penn State vs. Minnesota
c. Penn State vs. Michigan State
d. Purdue vs. Illinois
e. Indiana vs. Purdue
f. Iowa vs. Wisconsin
g. Michigan vs. Minnesota
h. Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
i. Michigan vs. Michigan State
j. Iowa vs. Minnesota
k. Indiana vs. Michigan State
Answers
(1) f (2) i (3) k (4) j (5) c (6) g (7) h (8) a (9) d (10) b (11) e
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.







RSS Feeds