Aztecs look to get ‘Old Oil Can’ back this weekend at Fresno State
The rusty Old Oil Can Trophy that represents the rivalry between the San Diego State and Fresno State football teams has a liquid volume of about two gallons.
The can is significantly more impressive than if they had attached, say, a yellow one-quart can of Pennzoil to a piece of wood.
Then again, it brings this thought to mind: If your car used that much oil on a 345-mile road trip, perhaps you should be driving to the nearest repair shop, not a college football game.
Anyway, it does make for a handsome trophy.
The Old Oil Can is among dozens and dozens of trophies college teams across the country compete for in rivalry games.
Some trophies — like the Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana vs. Purdue, first presented in 1925), the Little Brown Jug (Michigan vs. Minnesota, 1903) or the Territorial Cup (Arizona vs. Arizona State, 1899) — date back a century or more.
The SDSU-Fresno State rivalry dates to 1923, when the Aztecs claimed a 12-2 victory over the Bulldogs.
The Old Oil Can is a rather recent addition to the rivalry. The results from each of the 60 games between the teams — SDSU leads the series 30-26-4 — are recorded on the can and the wood board that accompanies it.
Fresno State took the oil can home last year following a 30-20 win over the Aztecs at Carson’s Dignity Health Sports Park. SDSU (4-3, 2-1 Mountain West) will look to get it back when the Aztecs travel to Fresno State (3-4, 2-1) this weekend.
Why an oil can?
The SDSU and Fresno State alumni associations held a contest in 2011 to create a trophy that would represent the rivalry.
Among the 65 submissions was one that detailed the discovery of a 1930s era oil can from Fresno that was supposedly uncovered at SDSU during an on-campus building project.
“The oil can likely came from a time when Aztec and Bulldog fans traveled to football games between the two schools via the old, twisting, precipitous Grapevine section of Highway 99 over Tejon Pass,” explained Jacquelyn K. Glasener, executive director of the Fresno State Alumni Association, when the trophy was unveiled 11 years ago.
An antique oil can was purchased to create the trophy.
“When you first see it,” SDSU running back Chance Bell said, “you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, this is just an oil can. But once you’ve learned the history of it, how important it is to both programs, it has just created that great rivalry.
“We’re grateful to be at a school that has one of those rivalries. It has history to it. We’re excited to play for it and get another chance to bring it back home to San Diego.”
Asked if he has ever put oil in his car, Bell said, “No, just gas.”
Coincidentally, this isn’t the only can the Bulldogs have on the line with a Mountain West opponent.
Fresno State plays Boise State for the Milk Can Trophy, which was created in 2005 by a pair of dairymen on different sides of the rivalry.
More Mountain West trophies
Perhaps the best-known trophy involving a Mountain West team is the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, which includes the service academies — Air Force, Army and Navy.
It has been awarded for the past 50 years. The teams play each other annually, and whichever one goes 2-0 against the others gets the trophy.
Air Force (20) has won it the most, followed by Navy (16) and Army (9). The trophy has been shared five times.
Air Force also has a trophy game — the Ram-Falcon Trophy — against Colorado State.
The Rams also have a trophy game — the Bronze Boot Trophy — against Wyoming.
Another boot game — the Beehive Boot Trophy — involves Utah State, Utah and BYU, dating back to 1971 to symbolize “gridiron supremacy in the state of Utah.”
It goes to the team with the best in-state record, with ties broken by a vote from Utah media members.
The Cowboys play Hawaii for the Paniolo Trophy. Paniolo is the Hawaiian word for cowboy.
Nevada and UNLV play for the Fremont Cannon Trophy.
Big Ten popularity
Rivalry trophies seem most popular with Big Ten schools, and Minnesota seems to play for something pretty much every other game.
Among them are the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy — a 98-pound bronze pig — with Iowa, the Governor’s Victory Bell with Penn State and Paul Bunyan’s Ax with Wisconsin.
The ax is actually a replacement trophy that began in 1948.
The teams originally played for the Slab of Bacon Trophy from 1930 to 1943 (We’re not making this up).
That trophy was somehow misplaced after the 1943 meeting and was not located again until 1994, when it was found in a storage area at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium.
The Gophers have been playing Michigan for more than a century for The Little Brown Jug, which is college football’s oldest trophy game.
Origins trace to 1903, when Michigan used a jug to prevent Minnesota from doing anything to its water supply. According to legend, a Minnesota custodian stole the jug after the game.
Trophy games are popular in the Big Ten.
Michigan and Michigan State play for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a four-foot wood trophy first presented in 1953.
Other trophy games include Old Brass Spittoon (Indiana vs. Michigan State), Old Oaken Bucket (Purdue vs. Indiana), Illibuck (Illinois vs. Ohio State), Land of Lincoln Trophy (Illinois vs. Northwestern) and Cy-Hawk Trophy: (Iowa vs. Iowa State).
The Big Ten will add another trophy game two years from now when USC and UCLA join the conference. The teams play each year for the Victory Bell Trophy, which dates to 1941.
There actually are three Victory Bell games. ACC rivals Duke and North Carolina play for one, as do Miami of Ohio and Cincinnati.
Better known is the Bedlam Bell Trophy that involves Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. This competition is so big that a crystal bell is awarded in every sport contested between the schools.
Cups, boots and apples
There are a pair of Governor’s Cups — between Georgia and Georgia Tech and Kansas and Kansas State.
There is the Golden Hat (Texas vs. Oklahoma), the Golden Boot (Arkansas vs. LSU) and the Golden Egg (Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State).
Notre Dame has the Megaphone Trophy with Michigan State and the Jeweled Shillelagh with USC.
Washington and Washington State play for the Apple Cup.
Texas and Texas Tech play for Chandler’s Spurs, Florida and Georgia for Okefenokee Oar.
Cincinnati and Louisville for the Keg of Nails and TCU and SMU for the Iron Skillet.
Then there is this: the Platypus Trophy that is at stake when Oregon and Oregon State get together.
First presented in 1959, it combines the schools’ duck and beaver mascots.
Makes as much sense as anything.