Under that special dome

We play at Minnesota this weekend, in one of the greatest atmospheres in all of college football (according to a "publication" – I use that word loosely – that Kevin and I encountered a few years ago when we were in Minneapolis for a wedding). How one of the greatest atmospheres can be attained IN A DOME I don't know, but I digress.

Last year, the Gophers finally broke through and beat the maize and blue for the first time in 100 years (well, 18 years, really) and got a glimpse of what the Little Brown Jug, the nation's oldest football trophy, actually looks like. As Kevin said recently, they (the Minnesota players) stormed across the field to get that effer (the jug) like they just won the freakin' national championship! Since winning back the jug last year, they've had it in a glass display case for all Minnesotans to see which is in stark contrast to where we kept it – in some old equipment case somewhere in the bowels of Schembechler Hall. What can I say, when you've had it forever, there's really no excitement in getting your photo taken with it at fan day. So, needless to say, they've enjoyed their time with it but, as our good friend Schneids (who is the PR guy for "M" football) out it, if we win it back Saturday, they won't even have had it a full year (last year's game was Oct. 8).

The Minnesota cornbread is just a bit annoying, mostly because they always think they're better than they are and they think playing in a dome is such an advantage. But, really, how can you argue with these numbers ..

… this is the 95th meeting, with Michigan leading the all-time series 67-24-3 …

... the Wolverines have a 30-12-2 record against the Gophers in Minneapolis and a 10-0 record against them in the Metrodome …

… Michigan has won 24 of the last 27 games and 33 of the last 36 contests in the "Little Brown Jug" series …

… um, yeah, so …

I am cautiously optimistic about Saturday but we've been known to have a rough time in Big 10 road openers and in night games. At any rate, it would be nice to get the jug back where it belongs!

In related college football news, did you see this? After "M" removed ND from any and all relevant college football conversations with a 47-21 spanking, Charlie Weis (at left) HAD to come up with some way to keep ND "in the news" and get the media to feel bad for his poor (and overrated) Irish. This is crap and he's an ass – for this and for so many other things. I wish MSU could have held on to that damn game because the ONLY team worth a damn left on ND's schedule is USC. So, if they keep winning (beating powerhouses like the service academies and North Carolina), God help us all!

By the way, do you notice any similarities between good ole' Charlie and the creature in the photo below?