Headed to Athens! #WarfortheOar pic.twitter.com/Vpox1R1f
— Okefenokee Oar (@OkefenokeeOar) October 30, 2011
More than 60 major college football trophies are out there, just itchin’ to be broken down on a criterion-by-criterion basis and judged. Break out the metaphorical Aveeno. They need itch no more.
Below is a countdown of the Top 48 rivalry trophy game trophies, ranked in a three-part system of these factors: originality, tradition and Sheer Awesomness. See here for more details, but bottom line is that number at the far right is the total score (L-R: scores are for originality, tradition and Sheer Awesomeness)
46.
| Governor’s Cup | Kentucky-Louisville | 1994 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
By far looks the most awesome of the three rivalry series governor’s cups nationwide. But such an unoriginal premise….
(Year in italics marks first year awarded was given)
45.
| Victory Cannon | Central Michigan-Western Michigan | 2011 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
Already was a trophy w/ “victory” in its name out there. And others involving a cannon.
(PS – The scoring above works like this: originality 2
+ tradition 3
+ Sheer Awesomeness 2 = Total Score of 7 [of maximum of 15] )
44.
| Legends Trophy | Notre Dame-Stanford | 1989 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
Leave the beautiful, symbolic hybrids of Irish crystal and California redwood to the art museums.
43.
| Platypus Trophy | Oregon-Oregon State | 1959 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Not a game trophy; goes to alumni associations instead.
42.
| Apple Cup | Washington-Washington State | 1962 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
Conceptually, this is just such low-hanging fruit, state of Washington.
41.
| Jefferson-Eppes | Florida State-Virginia | 1996 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Elegant, yes. Awesome? No.
40. and 39. (PS: Sorry, I’m an irrational maniac with these tandem groupings. I know.)
| Governor’s Cup | Georgia-Georgia Tech | 1995 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Governor’s Cup | Kansas-Kansas State | 1969 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Sigh. Yet another Governor’s Cup. Someone needs to legislate a limit here.
38.
| Bronze Stalk | Ball State-Northern Illinois | 2008 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
Sorry, but I’m not playing even an ounce harder for the propsect of winning a giant corn and neither should you.
37.
| Old Wagon Wheel | BYU-Utah State | 1948 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
These Westerners probably had no idea they stole the wagon trophy motif from Ohio. So they get a little slack in the Originality department.
36.
| Paul Bunyan | Michigan-Michigan State | 1953 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
A man’s man artifact, but the idea was obvioiusly cribbed from Wisconsin-Minnesota, and the Bunyan myth has no direct tie to either program.
35.
| FOY-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy | Alabama-Auburn | 1948 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
As a symbol of good sportsmanship, meant to whitewash the Dixie-scorching vitriol that defines this titanic rivalry. Former Auburn athletic director David Housel has “Beat Bama” engraved on his wedding ring.
34.
| Milk Can | Boise State-Fresno State | 2006 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Done more for the sake of local dairy producers than for the students themselves.
33.
| Ram-Falcon | Air Force-Colorado State | 1980 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
Air Force’s mascot is the falcon; Colorado State’s the ram. So carve a falcon fighting a ram on top of a block of wood. There are worse ideas.
32.
| Don Shula Award | Florida Atlantic-Florida International | 2002 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Why Don Shula’s immaculate and iconic mane of hair isn’t showcased somewhere, somehow, on this trophy I will never understand. What wasted opportunity.
31.
| Silver Spade | UTEP-New Mexico State | 1955 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Love the spade, but can’t dig a more recent add-on that was called “The SONIC® ® America’s Drive-In® Battle of I-10 Trophy.”
30.
| Okefenokee Oar | Florida-Georgia | 2009 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
Anonymously donated 10-foot oar cut from old swamp tree. Soooo close to being an actual surfboard.
29.
| Heroes Trophy | Nebraska-Iowa | 2011 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
Great concept in shining a light on local heroes.
28.
| Territorial Cup | Arizona-Arizona State | 1899 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
Oldest awarded trophy in college football.
27.
| O’Rourke-McFadden | Boston College-Clemson | 2008 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Accompanying leather helmets cooler than the grump-face trophy itself.
26.
| Chancellor’s Spurs | Texas Tech-Texas | 1996 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Simply no limit on the athletic Texan’s appetite for cowboy-inspired paraphernalia.
25.
| Bedlam Bell | Oklahoma-Oklahoma State | 1966 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
Better when the actual bell clapper was the traveling trophy.
Go here for the Top 24 trophies.
