Michigan Football: Power Ranking the Top 3 Little Brown Jug Games Since 2000

The Michigan Wolverines take on the lowly Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend.

Michigan is favored by almost three touchdowns at 19.5 point favorites, but the massive line doesn't fool anybody.

Michigan was a 25-point favorite in a 1986 affair with Minnesota but ended up on the wrong side of a 20-17 score.

Nevertheless, I'm not calling an upset this weekend because of the "blowout-ish" nature of recent Michigan-Minnesota games.

But I will count down the top three Little Brown Jug games of the past decade.

So without further to do, let's get started!

3. 2004, Michigan 27, Minnesota 24

In the 2004 battle for the Little Brown Jug, 13th ranked Minnesota came into the Big House to face 14th ranked Michigan.

Minnesota sported a duo of stellar running backs in Laurence Maroney and Marian Barber III.

Michigan's offense featured true freshman quarterback Chad Henne, true freshman running back Mike Hart and senior wide receiver Braylon Edwards.

Michigan rushed out to a 10-0 lead towards the end of the first quarter, but Laurence Maroney took the first play from scrimmage after Michigan's kickoff and scored on an 80-yard touchdown run.

Michigan looked to be in trouble in the fourth quarter as Minnesota took the lead, outscoring Michigan 17-10 over the second and third quarters, to take a 24-17 lead on the Wolverines.

But slowly and surely, Michigan chipped away at the lead.

Garrett Rivas made his second field goal of the game, trimming the deficit to four.

With just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Chad Henne hit his wide-open tight end, Tyler Ecker who broke two tackles and rumbled 32 yards for the go ahead score.

Minnesota was unable to get anywhere on the last drive of the game, and the Wolverines held on for a 27-24 win.

Mike Hart had a then career high of 160 yards and a touchdown.

2. 2005, Minnesota 23, Michigan 20

In 2005, 21st ranked Michigan hosted Minnesota for the second straight year.

With memories of the previous season still fresh in most of the Golden Gophers minds, this game proved to be a little bit different than most Michigan fans predicted.

Michigan only converted on 3-of-14 third -own conversions.

The Wolverine defense gave up 264 yards rushing to Minnesota, 61 of those yards came on the final offensive drive for Minnesota that set up the game-winning field goal.

Michigan only had 249 yards of total offense.

As the two teams went to the half, Michigan led 13-10.

Michigan's lead was short-lived, however, as the two teams finished the third quarter tied at 20.

The usually reliable Michigan place kicker, Garrett Rivas, had two chances to break the tie but missed a 42-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter and missed a 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

The biggest play came on a designed hand-off with little time left in the game.

Gary Russell came into the game "to run the clock out."

But on 3rd-and-10, Russell didn't stop running.

Once he busted through the line of scrimmage, nobody tackled him til he reached the Michigan 13-yard line—a gain of 61 yards.

That set the stage for Minnesota kicker Jason Giannini to come onto the field and kick the game-winning field goal with one second left.

Michigan could not run the kick back for a touchdown, and the game ended with Minnesota knocking off Michigan for the first time in 16 years, only the Gophers second win against the Wolverines since 1968.

1. 2003 Michigan 38, Minnesota 35

The 19th ranked Michigan Wolverines came into the Metrodome in 2003 to face the 13th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The stage was set for a great game.

But for the first three quarters, Michigan just didn't come to play.

In all, Michigan was gashed for 424 rushing yards, and Minnesota completely dominated Michigan, building up a 28-7 lead after three quarters.

But the fourth quarter was a different story all together.

Michigan's Chris Perry caught a 10-yard screen pass from John Navarre, Jacob Stewart had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown, Braylon Edwards hauled in a 52-yard touchdown and Chris Perry found the end zone again with a 10-yard rushing touchdown.

Michigan had scored 28 points in a quarter, but the Wolverines weren't done.

A 33-yard field goal by Garrett Rivas with 48 seconds left sealed the deal, and Michigan walked out with the largest comeback victory in Michigan history.

The Rundown

I don't expect this weekend's game to be anywhere close to as exciting as any of the aforementioned games.

But Michigan and Minnesota play for more than just the Little Brown Jug.

They are bitter rivals, and now, they are in the same division of the Big Ten—the Legends Division.

This means they will most likely play every year (barring some unforeseen circumstances).

If Michigan pours it on this weekend against Minnesota, don't expect the Gophers to hold back the next time they get a good team against a weaker Michigan team.

At any rate, I'll take the spread for this week's game, I'm gonna say Michigan wins 38-9, with Denard Robinson rushing for three more touchdowns, but throwing another couple interceptions along the way.

That Michigan defense grows by leaps and bounds each week, so here's hoping they can keep that up and keep Minnesota out of the end zone again.

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