Keeping the Old Brass Spittoon is the Mission for Indiana this Week

www.nicantaya.com

Written By Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)

The Old Brass Spittoon currently belongs to the Indiana Hoosiers for the first time since Terry Hoeppner coached IU to a 46-21 win over the Spartans in 2006. Last season, Indiana recaptured the trophy when they beat Michigan State at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington by a score of 24-21 in overtime. Michigan State leads Indiana in the all-time series with 45 wins, only 16 losses, and two ties. Although IU-MSU isn’t heralded as a classic college football rivalry, which both teams now in the same division, things could heat up if the Hoosiers can do more of what they did last year. The trophy, the Old Brass Spittoon, wasn’t introduced to the series until 1950.

Motivation was the core value surrounding the conception of the Old Brass Spittoon. Michigan State had a strong team during the 1950 season. They had just beaten Notre Dame 36-33 the week before they were slated to play Indiana. Indiana did not have a particularly strong team, as they would eventually finish the season tied with Purdue for last place in the Big Ten. The match against Indiana was a classic “trap” game, as Michigan State had just come off a huge victory, and they have a big game against Minnesota the following week.

Michigan State’s junior class president at the time was seeking some additional means for motivation to avoid a letdown against the Hoosiers. The class president, Gene McDermott, and class secretary, Virginia O’Brien searched for ideas. They didn’t have to look very far as they drew inspiration from their own in-state rival, the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan and Minnesota have been playing for the Little Brown Jug since 1903. Gene and Virginia stumbled upon a brass spittoon at an antique shop in Lansing, Michigan. The spittoon was allegedly used as a trading post in East Lansing where residents of Indiana would frequent. They purchased the relic, which is said to be dated back to the early 1800s, for just $25. Gene McDermott then sent a telegram to the Indiana Student Senate in Bloomington, formally requesting that the winner of IU-MSU games from now on would seize control of the trophy until the next meeting. The Hoosiers replied firmly, “We the students of Indiana University hereby accept your challenge.” The Old Brass Spittoon was born.

In the first fight for the spittoon, Michigan State’s sought-after motivation worked perfectly as they steamrolled the Hoosiers 35-0. The Spartans boasted a very talented and formidable football team back in the 1950s. Three years after the Old Brass Spittoon came to fruition, Michigan State joined the Big Ten. During their first year as a member of the conference in 1953, the Spartans shared the conference title and defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Indiana had to wait 17 years after the introduction of the spittoon before they enjoyed MSU’s level of success. In 1967, the Hoosiers beat the Spartans in East Lansing and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl. The win over Michigan State in 1967 marked the first of three straight Old Brass Spittoon victories for the Hoosiers. This is the only time Indiana has beaten Michigan State twice in a row. Which brings us to another golden opportunity for Tom Allen and the Hoosiers this Saturday. Indiana has a chance to win back-to-back spittoon trophies for the second time in school history.

With Michigan State entering the game ranked in the top-25, and the Hoosiers in desperate need of a conference win, this should be one of the more heated Old Brass Spittoon games of recent memory. Last year’s win for the Hoosiers was monumental for the defense, Tom Allen, and the program. Oddly enough, MSU was ranked 17th at the time Indiana defeated them. However, Michigan State ended up limping to a 3-9 record overall while only winning one conference game. This time things are different. A win in East Lansing for IU would be more than validating. Michigan State has proved themselves to be a good football team, and perhaps one of the better teams in the Big Ten as a whole.

The Spartans are coming off two impressive road wins against Minnesota and Michigan. Head coach Tom Allen spoke at length about the opportunity to win a second straight Old Brass Spittoon: “The chance to play in a trophy game this weekend is huge for us, the Old Brass Spittoon is something that we take a lot of pride in.” Coach knows the full extent of Michigan State’s dominance throughout the history of this rivalry. Allen continued, “I know that over the years it's spent more time away from us than here, and haven't been able to retain it in almost 50 years, back-to-back wins, and so want to be able to understand what it means, want to do a good job explaining that to our guys in the morning, and have a great week of preparation getting ready for a very solid, very good team that's 5-1 right now, playing good football, and very well-coached.” Allen concluded with kind words for the Spartan program, “A lot of respect for what the Michigan State staff does with their program.”

Tom Allen also acknowledged the turnaround the Spartans are making from this year compared to last. “Coach Dantonio has done a great job of not -- sometimes guys have -- they fire coordinators and change coaches, and it's a great lesson for all of us,” Allen explained, “He just kept his staff together and reevaluated things, I'm sure they made changes, and they have done some things different schematically.” Allen was able to retain his defensive staff despite rampant turnover on the offensive side, and he understands firsthand the importance of continuity. Coach then spoke about his own team. "We're at a point in the season," head coach Tom Allen said, "that you take what you learned in the first six games, and now we've got to strap it up and finish strong. That's what I expect us to do."

Indiana will need to force turnovers without committing them. They will need to minimize penalties and get off the field on third down. Playing a ranked conference rival on the road is a tall task. It can be easy to forget that Indiana has a first-year head coach, redshirt freshman quarterback, true freshman running back, and entirely new offensive staff. A win next Saturday against the Spartans would be mightily impressive. After the heartbreaking loss against Michigan, Indiana will be locked in and focused. The Hoosiers are primed to steal the Old Brass Spittoon for the second straight time.