Under normal circumstances, North Carolina and Duke would be playing for the Victory Bell on Saturday. These aren't normal circumstances, of course - North Carolina plays N.C. State and Duke plays Wake Forest in a do-si-do of the usual finishing game for the two blue teams.
As trophies go, the Victory Bell is the most significant on the line for the Triangle teams in football (the Textile Bowl between N.C. State and Clemson being more notable than the trophy attached). A few more unique ones were on the line last weekend or will be on the line this weekend, the best making Tuesday's Top Five:
5. Little Brown Jug
Michigan vs. Minnesota
The oldest trophy in college football won't change hands this year - the two teams don't even play this season, for only the second time since 1928.
4. Monon Bell
Wabash vs. DePauw
It may not be Division I, but it's old and heartfelt. The 300-pound bell was a gift of and named for the railroad that connected the two Indiana Division III schools.
3. The Golden Egg Trophy
Mississippi vs. Mississippi State
Literal as could be, the winner of the Thanksgiving weekend Egg Bowl gets a giant brass egg.
2. Stanford Axe
California vs. Stanford
Not only dangerous, but every time the axe changes hands, the score of the famous 1982 "Oh, the band is out on the field" game is changed as well.
1. Floyd of Rosedale
Iowa vs. Minnesota
How can you beat a statue of a pig? Floyd was a record-setter back in 1935, immortalized as the prize in this border rivalry.
