They play for what? Ranking college football’s 13 most ridiculous rivalry trophies

Imagine walking up to a non-college football fan and telling them that your favorite team or program is about to play for the Jeweled Shillelagh. Or the Keg of Nails. Or the Bronze Boot. For people not in the sphere of college football, this sounds like something that's completely made up or like you may have mercury poisoning and are not aware of that fact.

But for college football fans, the absurd rivalry trophies littered throughout the country and this sport are accepted and beloved. Granted, once you engrain yourself in this world, the absurd tends to become commonplace. If you take a step back, however, and remove the lens that makes fall Saturdays a religious experience, the rampant absurdity best embodied by these rivalry trophies is impossible to ignore.

Not every college football rivalry trophy is created equal on the scale of ridiculousness, however. Whether it's what the actual trophy is, the story behind it, or a combination of several things, these 13 trophies are set apart in the upper echelon of absurdity that makes this sport so beautifully weird. Forget the dozens of Victory Bells, this is what the true sickos love about college football.

Honorable Mentions: Little Brown Jug (Michigan-Minnesota), Golden Egg (Ole Miss-Mississippi State), Old Oaken Bucket (Purdue-Indiana), Platypus Trophy (Oregon-Oregon State)

13. Bronze Boot (Colorado State vs. Wyoming)

All-time series record: Colorado leads 60-51-5

While many of the college football rivalry trophies have tremendous stories behind them, it's always going to be difficult to top the Bronze Boot that the Colorado State Rams and Wyoming Cowboys have vied for for more than 50 years now. That's especially true with the way that each program treats the trophy as a result of that.

What's so special about a size 8 boot that's been encased in bronze? It was the boot of former Colorado State ROTC professor, Capt. Dan J. Romero that he wore while serving the United States military for two years during The Vietnam War. Upon his return, the universities that each have a proud ROTC tradition bronzed the boot and have played for it on the gridiron every year since 1968.

That ROTC tradition is still carried on with how the boot is handled and even before each game. The past year's winning school deployed their ROTC units to stand guard around the Bronze Boot during the game before the new winning team is handed it to parade around for their fans. Meanwhile, the game ball for every Colorado State-Wyoming contest is run 66 miles to the Colorado-Wyoming border where it's handed to that year's home team ROTC.

It's a truly unbelievably rich tradition that gives us a ridiculous trophy but one with a ton of heart behind it.

12. $5 Bits of Broken Chair (Minnesota vs. Nebraska)

All-time series record: Minnesota leads 37-25-2

Welcome to Twitter's rivalry trophy. No, that's not something tongue-in-cheek because college football fans on social media love it. They do, but the $5 Bits of Broken Chair was quite literally created because of some rivalry trash talk between the Goldy Gopher mascot and Faux Pelini, a Bo Pelini Nebraska parody account, back in 2014.

Goldy Gopher asked Faux Pelini about a friendly wager being coy about getting a conference win. In response, the Nebraska-based account replied, "OK how about if we win you give me $5, if you win I get to smash a wooden chair over your back." Goldy then replied that they should turn the "$5 or bits of broken chair" into a trophy. After some crowdsourcing on Twitter and Reddit, an actual trophy was born, won for the first time by Minnesota in 2014.

It wasn't the smoothest start for the trophy as, after just two meetings for the $5 Bits of Broken Chair, Nebraska's administration seemed to try and push it under the rug. However, it returned with a new trophy in 2017 with a similar design and has been in play ever since. And we'll have you know, it actually helps do some good beyond being ridiculous, as both Nebraska and Minnesota use the trophy to help raise money with local fundraisers.

11. The Bronze Stalk (Ball State vs. Northern Illinois)

All-time series record: Tied 25-25-2

Of course, we have to show some MACtion love when we're talking about ridiculous rivalry trophies in college football. And there's no other place to go than Muncie, IN and Dekalb, IL for the Ball State-Northern Illinois rivalry.

These two foes first met back in 1941 in a game that ended in a 6-6 tie (talk about fireworks!) but the trophy that's now played for between MAC opponents, the Bronze Stalk Trophy, was first introduced in 2008. This isn't to say that it's some incredible feat of design with great history behind it. It's relatively new and, more importantly, it is quite literally a bronze statue of corn.

To be sure, both Illinois and Indiana where the two universities hail from are known for growing maize. So in that capacity, it does make some sense with how it ultimately ties the two programs and their geography together. At the same time, though, it's still just bronze corn stalks sitting on a platform. That absolutely epitomizes the ridiculousness that we're talking about when it comes to the trophies we have in this sport.

For more Rivalry Week content, check out FanSided's Ultimate Guide to College Football Rivalries, an in-depth and interactive look at the deep traditions, rich history, iconic venues and memorable moments of college football's biggest rivalries.

10. Old Brass Spittoon (Indiana vs. Michigan State)

All-time series record: Michigan State leads 50-19-2

Much more history is behind the Old Brass Spittoon than some of the other rivalry trophies that we've already discussed, at least in terms of how long it's been around. While Indiana and Michigan State met for the first time all the way back in 1922, the rivalry really didn't take shape until the 1950s and the trophy was introduced in 1950 proper — meaning only five meetings between the two programs were played without the Old Brass Spittoon on the line.

But why a spittoon? Isn't that kind of gross? Maybe! The story of how it came to be is actually quite awesome, though!

At that point in 1950, the Spartans were trying to motivate the team to avoid a letdown game (those have been around forever, apparently) against Indiana. That's when then-Michigan State junior class president Gene McDermott decided to get something to help motivate Sparty. He found himself in an antique shop in Lansing where the spittoon was sitting with a note inside about its history. It was used at a trading post by Indiana and Michigan residents passing through. Perfect — and McDermott thought so too.

For the cost of just $25 (which, to be fair, was quite a lot at the time), the Old Brass Spittoon was born and made official after the Indiana Student Senate accepted it following a letter from McDermott. And the trophy has been in play ever since.

9. Fremont Cannon (Nevada vs. UNLV)

All-time series record: Nevada leads 29-20

If the only thing that gets you jazzed about college football rivalry trophies is the sheer size of them, then, boy, do I have the trophy for you: the Fremont Cannon. Tipping the scales at a whopping 545 pounds, Nevada and UNLV play for the replica howitzer cannon in the Battle of Nevada.

Funny enough, the trophy was conceived before the first meeting between these in-state rivals but was not yet completed before that first matchup in 1969 was played. However, the Fremont Cannon, which is a replica of the cannon that John C. Fremont used in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the 1840s and left behind in the snowy conditions (hence the trophy's name), was donated after costing $10,000 to build.

Perhaps the coolest part of the Fremont Cannon is what happens when the trophy changes hands. Rather than just etching names like so many trophies and rivalries do, the winning team gets to paint the cannon their school colors for the year until the next meeting. The history is written in the paint layers, which is just incredible to consider.

Having said that, never let the ridiculousness of a traveling 545-pound trophy being awarded to a winning college football team escape us.

8. Jeweled Shillelagh (Notre Dame vs. USC)

All-time series record: Notre Dame leads 49-37-5

Considering the fact that the trophy for the historic and heated Notre Dame-USC rivalry is, in fact, a shillelagh, it shouldn't shock you in the slightest that the traditional Irish club was donated to the rivalry by Notre Dame in 1952. Initially, the club was brought to the table in 1952 as a way to commemorate the start of the rivalry when the two programs first played in 1926, donated by the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Los Angeles — that sounds like a club you might have to hide from USC fans if we're being honest.

And honestly, when you look at the trophy itself, it's pretty incredible to see what it has become as the years and decades of rivalry matchups have piled up between these two.

The Jeweled Shillelagh's jewels, even though the trophy wasn't introduced until 1952, go back to the start of the rivalry in 1926. Each jewel represents the winning team of a given meeting. For a USC Trojans victory, the handle gets a ruby added to it. For Notre Dame Fighting Irish wins, it's an emerald that's put on. But perhaps the funniest additions are the five Trojan head/shamrocks combos that adorn the handle to commemorate the five ties that were played to before overtime was introduced in 1996.

For two of the programs with among the richest traditions in college football, it's fitting that they have such a unique trophy — and even more so for the sport that it's a freakin' shillelagh.

7. Keg of Nails (Cincinnati vs. Louisville)

All-time series record: Cincinnati leads 30-23-1

Nothing says college football like. .. a keg of nails? Maybe not, but the Keg of Nails proper is a different story. Not only has the decades-old rivalry between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Louisville Cardinals been tightly contested throughout its history but it's also an entirely unique addition to the landscape of rivalry trophies.

The funniest part is that there aren't actually nails in the Keg of Nails and, according to some, there may never have been. Even with the trophy first being introduced in 1929, it seems it was always just the keg. Instead, the rivalry trophy is a replica of the kegs that were used to ship nails, which was created as a nod to the winning team in this rivalry game being "tough as nails".

One of the wildest stories regarding the trophy is that they no longer use the original. No, it wasn't destroyed — Louisville, at some point, lost the original trophy during a construction project at one point, forcing a replacement to be made.

Unfortunately, conference realignment from before the 2023 and 2024 seasons has made Cincinnati vs. Louisville no longer an annual matchup, having played only three times since 2012 after playing every year from 1966-2013. But when they do play again, we can't wait for the Keg of Nails' glorious, triumphant return. And as Louisville currently holds the trophy after winning the 2022 Fenway Bowl, let's hope they meet soon so the Cardinals don't lose it again.

6. Stanford Axe (Cal vs. Stanford)

All-time series record: Stanford leads 66-53-11

The band has been on the field, the games have been highly competitive for more than 125 years but playing for the Stanford Axe in the geographical rivalry between the Cal Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinals is what really matters.

Cal and Stanford first met on the gridiron back in 1892 and the Stanford Axe made its debut the next year. It was not the trophy for the game at that time, though. Instead, it was used by Stanford yell leaders to used to decapitate a proverbial scarecrow dressed in Cal colors. In 1899 at a baseball game between the programs, Cal students stole the axe from Stanford students and held onto it for 31 years when Stanford stole it back in a true heist that included tear gas, blinding guards with camera flashes, and quite a scene.

It was after those two incidents that the Stanford Axe became the official trophy for the Big Game in 1933. Attempted thefts didn't stop, of course, but they were largely quelled. My personal favorite part that makes it ridiculous is that the once full-sized axe was broken at some point and then mounted as the trophy on a plaque.

One last note of absurdity, though — The Play in 1982 and the controversy about the band being on the field is felt on the Stanford Axe trophy. Because Stanford believes that at least one of the five laterals on the winning touchdown was illegal, when the Cardinal have the axe, it reads "Stanford 20-19", which is changed to "California 25-20" when the Golden Bears are in possession. Talk about pettiness!

5. The Iron Skillet (SMU vs. TCU)

All-time series record: TCU leads 53-43-7

Out of the frying pan and into The Iron Skillet. There's just something that will always be objectively funny about two Texas rivals playing for a trophy that, for all intents and purposes, could be purchased at your local Cracker Barrel or maybe even Walmart. Yet, when the SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs clash, it gets heated over that damn Iron Skillet.

There are conflicting origin stories for why the Iron Skillet became the trophy for this rivalry starting in 1946, 31 years after the first meeting of the two programs in 1915. Naturally, those origins depend on which side of the rivalry you ask.

Regardless of how it came about, though, we can all love and appreciate that two proud college football programs play for a piece of cookware.

4. Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa vs. Minnesota)

All-time series record: Minnesota leads 63-53-2

The first of now 118 meetings between Iowa and Minnesota happened back in 1891 but the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy didn't get its start until the mid-1930s. After the 1934 game when Iowa star Ozzie Simmons, one of the few black players of the era, was controversially treated with late hits and dogpiles that left him injured, tensions were high for the 1935 matchup with threats sent to then-Minnesota head coach Bernie Bierman and a promise from Iowa Governor Clyde Herring that the team wouldn't stand for the same treatment that year.

Things got ugly with barbs being traded between politicians but it was another, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson settled it by saying that he'd bet a "prize hog" from his state if Iowa bet one from their state on the game. It was accepted and, after Minnesota won (a cleaner game, it should be said), a pig named Floyd from Rosedale Farms in Fort Dodge, IA was presented to Governor Olson.

Instead of a live hog in years to come, though, the trophy was created thereafter as it was supposed to be a statue of the original Floyd of Rosedale. But it all started with a live animal bet!

Make no mistake, it's still objectively ridiculous that Iowa and Minnesota play for a pig trophy that has a name that doesn't mention the fact that it's a pig at all. That said, the history behind it only adds more to the tradition and the rivalry.

3. Illibuck (Illinois vs. Ohio State)

All-time series record: Ohio State leads 68-30-4

Much like Floyd of Rosedale, the Illibuck Trophy that is awarded to the winner of the Illinois-Ohio State game whenever it's played began because of a live animal. However, it gets a slight edge in ridiculousness because it, frankly, makes even less sense as to why a turtle was used to represent a rivalry between the Fighting Illini and Buckeyes, neither of which are turtles.

When you dig into the concept of Illibuck, it began in 1925 when a live turtle was used in hopes that it would be a representation of the long life of the rivalry since turtles have extremely long lives. That proved to not be so true, however. The original live turtle died in April 1926, one year after it was first introduced to the rivalry. That then gave us the wooden Illibuck trophy that we see nowadays.

Having said that, the Illibuck we see today is not the same. Because it has no mount and is literally just a turtle with dates and scores carved on the back, there have been 10 of these trophies to commemorate the 103 total meetings between these two rivalries.

What I still can't get past though is the turtle. This isn't a prize hog — it's a turtle, which has nothing to do with either of these programs directly. But hey, if we're talking about ridiculous trophies, that certainly applies here.

2. The Bones (Memphis vs. UAB)

All-time series record: UAB leads 10-7

It's safe to say that Memphis and UAB don't have as much tradition as many of the others in college football. It's also safe to say that not much is topping the "Battle for the Bones" trophy, better known as just "The Bones".

If you're looking at the image above and thinking that looks like a bronze rack of ribs that the winner of the "Battle for the Bones" gets, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's exactly what's on the line here and to say it's pitch-perfect would be an understatement. Both Memphis, TN and Birmingham, AL have rich histories in barbecue and, like many other regions in the United States, claim their iteration of BBQ is the best. So it's fitting that the two football programs play for a representation of that.

This is certainly among the newer and less historical rivalries on this list but the trophy is simply instantly iconic. It began when the two football programs first became Division I programs back in 1997 with "The Bones" themselves being introduced in 2006. The trophy itself weighs a whopping 100 pounds, which begs the question of how big was the bronze pig they slaughtered to make this trophy?

1. Paul Bunyan's Axe (Minnesota vs. Wisconsin)

All-time series record: Wisconsin leads 63-62-8

Paul Bunya's Axe is admittedly just a phenomenal concept. A tall tale legend and folk hero whose roots are sometimes traced to Wisconsin and Minnesota according to legend, he was known for great lumberjacking feats. So why not have the great feat of beating your rival in a football game be an homage to Bunyan with his axe? It just makes sense in college football.

Perhaps my favorite fact about Paul Bunyan's Axe, though, is that it wasn't actually the original trophy for the Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry. Though the first meeting between the flagship universities of the bordering states happened in 1890 — which also happens to still hold the record for the largest margin of victory, a 63-0 rout in favor of the Golden Gophers — the first trophy was actually the "Slab of Bacon" that was introduced in 1930.

It was a brief run for the Slab of Bacon, though. In 1943, Minnesota stormed the field after the victory and the Wisconsin student tabbed with getting the trophy to the Gophers representative claimed they couldn't find their partner in the crowd and, in addition to then Minnesota coach George Hauser wanting to pause the tradition until after the Second World War, the trophy was "lost". Naturally, it turned up 51 years later in a storage closet at Camp Randall Stadium.

But we now have the axe and, thankfully, are better for it. It's patently absurd but there's just nothing that quite screams Big Ten football like a group of Minnesotans or Wisconsinites pantomiming chopping down the goalposts with an axe named after a mythical figure.