George Jewett Trophy

The George Jewett Trophy is an American college football rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the Michigan–Northwestern football game. The trophy was established in 2021 in honor of George Jewett.

George Jewett Trophy

Michigan Wolverines Northwestern Wildcats
First meeting	October 29, 1892 Northwestern 10, Michigan 8
Latest meeting	November 23, 2024 Michigan 50, Northwestern 6
Next meeting	November 15, 2025, Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Stadiums	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. Ryan Field Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Statistics
Meetings total	77
All-time series	Michigan leads 60–15–2 (.792)[1]
Trophy series	Michigan, 2–0
Largest victory	Michigan, 69–0 (1975)
Longest win streak	Michigan, 19 (1966–1992)
Current win streak	Michigan, 8 (2011–present)

100km
62miles

Michigan

Northwestern

  

Locations of Michigan and Northwestern

History

George Jewett

Main article: George Jewett

George Jewett with Michigan in 1890

The Michigan Wolverines and Northwestern Wildcats first played on October 29, 1892 in Chicago. In that game, Michigan's first African American player, George Jewett, kicked a field goal and led Michigan's play on both offense and defense. Despite Jewett's effort, Northwestern prevailed by a score of 10–8.^[2][3] Jewett transferred to Northwestern in 1893 and too became that university’s first African American football player. Jewett scored Northwestern's only touchdown in its 1893 loss to Michigan.^[4]

Pre-trophy games

The Wildcats won six out of the first thirteen games before Michigan began to dominate the series. The two programs were co-champions of the Big Ten in the 1926, 1930 and 1931 seasons.^[5] In 1925, Northwestern halted Michigan's march to a national championship with a 3–2 victory on a muddy Soldier Field.^[6][7] The three points scored by Northwestern were the only points allowed that season by the 1925 Michigan team. Wolverines head coach Fielding H. Yost called his team "the greatest football team I ever saw in action”.^[8]

In 1948, the schools met with Michigan ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and Northwestern at No. 3. Michigan forced four turnovers and prevailed by a score of 28–0, as the Wolverines jumped to No. 1 en route to a national championship that season.^[9][10] The Wildcats returned to prominence under head coach Ara Parseghian, defeating the Wolverines in consecutive games in 1958 and 1959.^[11][12] Following Parseghian's departure, the series reached its lowest point as Michigan won 19 consecutive games from 1966 to 1992.

In 1995, No. 25 Northwestern scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to shock No. 6 Michigan, 19–13. The Wildcats took advantage of four Michigan turnovers, and Pat Fitzgerald led Northwestern with 14 tackles, including two tackles for a loss. It was Northwestern's first victory over Michigan in 30 years, and first win in Ann Arbor since 1959.^[13] This upset led Northwestern to a 10–2 season, reaching as high as No. 3 in the rankings. The Wildcats won their first Big Ten Conference title that season since 1936, and were invited to play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1948.^[14][15] Additional Northwestern upsets of highly ranked Michigan teams in 1996 and 2000 were key in Northwestern's Big Ten title winning seasons. The 1995, 1996 and 2000 teams are Northwestern's only three Big Ten champions in the AP Poll era.

Prior to the creation of the Jewett Trophy, Michigan held a 58–15–2 advantage in the series.^[16]

Establishment of trophy

2021

In 2021, the University of Michigan and Northwestern University announced the creation of the George Jewett Trophy to be awarded to the football game's winner. The trophy honors George Jewett, who was the first African American college football player to play in the Big Ten Conference and at both schools. This marked the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) rivalry game trophy named for an African American player.^[17][18][19] Michigan won the inaugural George Jewett Trophy on October 23, 2021, when the No. 6 ranked Wolverines defeated the Wildcats 33-7 at Michigan Stadium.^[20]

2024

They played for the second time in the trophy series on November 23, 2024. The Wolverines came in to the game as the reigning national champions, but failed to replicate the success of seasons past, entering the game with a 5-5 record as they met the 4-6 Wildcats. Michigan defeated Northwestern 50-6 in the penultimate game of the regular season, retaining the George Jewett and improving to 2-0 in the trophy game. Running back Kalel Mullings rushed for three touchdowns as Michigan became bowl eligible with the win.^[21]

Game results

Michigan victories

Northwestern victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 1 October 29, 1892 Chicago Northwestern 10 Michigan 8 2 November 18, 1893 Ann Arbor Michigan 72 Northwestern 6 3 November 5, 1898 Evanston Michigan 6 Northwestern 5 4 October 19, 1901 Ann Arbor Michigan 29 Northwestern 0 5 November 24, 1917 Evanston Northwestern 21 Michigan 12 6 November 1, 1919 Ann Arbor Michigan 16 Northwestern 13 7 November 8, 1924 Ann Arbor Michigan 27 Northwestern 0 8 November 7, 1925 Chicago Northwestern 3 Michigan 2 9 October 8, 1932 Ann Arbor Michigan 15 Northwestern 6 10 November 25, 1933 Evanston Michigan 13 Northwestern 0 11 November 24, 1934 Ann Arbor Northwestern 13 Michigan 6 12 November 14, 1936 Ann Arbor No. 1 Northwestern 9 Michigan 0 13 October 9, 1937 Evanston Northwestern 7 Michigan 0 14 November 12, 1938 Ann Arbor Tie 0 Tie 0 15 November 16, 1940 Ann Arbor No. 6 Michigan 20 No. 10 Northwestern 13 16 October 18, 1941 Evanston No. 6 Michigan 14 No. 5 Northwestern 7 17 October 17, 1942 Ann Arbor No. 3 Michigan 34 Northwestern 16 18 October 2, 1943 Evanston Michigan 21 Northwestern 7 19 October 14, 1944 Ann Arbor No. 12 Michigan 27 Northwestern 0 20 October 6, 1945 Evanston Michigan 20 Northwestern 7 21 October 19, 1946 Ann Arbor Tie 14 Tie 14 22 October 18, 1947 Evanston No. 1 Michigan 49 Northwestern 21 23 October 16, 1948 Ann Arbor No. 4 Michigan 28 No. 3 Northwestern 0 24 October 15, 1949 Evanston Northwestern 21 No. 7 Michigan 20 25 November 18, 1950 Ann Arbor Michigan 34 Northwestern 23 26 November 17, 1951 Ann Arbor Northwestern 6 Michigan 0 27 October 18, 1952 Evanston Michigan 48 Northwestern 14 28 October 17, 1953 Ann Arbor No. 5 Michigan 20 Northwestern 12 29 October 16, 1954 Evanston Michigan 7 Northwestern 0 30 October 15, 1955 Ann Arbor No. 1 Michigan 14 Northwestern 2 31 October 20, 1956 Ann Arbor No. 8 Michigan 34 Northwestern 20 32 October 19, 1957 Ann Arbor No. 18 Michigan 34 Northwestern 14 33 October 18, 1958 Evanston No. 17 Northwestern 55 No. 19 Michigan 24 34 October 17, 1959 Ann Arbor No. 2 Northwestern 20 Michigan 7 35 October 15, 1960 Ann Arbor Michigan 14 Northwestern 7 36 November 2, 1963 Ann Arbor Michigan 27 Northwestern 6 37 October 31, 1964 Ann Arbor Michigan 35 Northwestern 0 38 November 13, 1965 Evanston Northwestern 34 Michigan 22 39 November 12, 1966 Ann Arbor Michigan 28 Northwestern 20 No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 40 November 4, 1967 Ann Arbor Michigan 7 Northwestern 3 41 November 2, 1968 Evanston No. 9 Michigan 35 Northwestern 0 42 September 11, 1971 Evanston No. 4 Michigan 21 No. 20 Northwestern 6 43 September 16, 1972 Ann Arbor No. 11 Michigan 7 Northwestern 0 44 October 18, 1975 Ann Arbor No. 7 Michigan 69 Northwestern 0 45 October 16, 1976 Evanston No. 1 Michigan 38 Northwestern 7 46 November 5, 1977 Ann Arbor No. 6 Michigan 63 Northwestern 20 47 November 11, 1978 Evanston No. 7 Michigan 59 Northwestern 14 48 September 8, 1979 Ann Arbor No. 7 Michigan 49 Northwestern 7 49 September 13, 1980 Ann Arbor No. 11 Michigan 17 Northwestern 10 50 October 24, 1981 Ann Arbor No. 18 Michigan 38 Northwestern 0 51 October 23, 1982 Evanston Michigan 49 Northwestern 14 52 October 15, 1983 Ann Arbor No. 13 Michigan 35 Northwestern 0 53 October 13, 1984 Ann Arbor Michigan 31 Northwestern 0 54 October 31, 1987 Ann Arbor Michigan 29 Northwestern 6 55 October 29, 1988 Evanston No. 14 Michigan 52 Northwestern 7 56 November 9, 1991 Ann Arbor No. 4 Michigan 59 Northwestern 14 57 November 7, 1992 Evanston No. 4 Michigan 40 Northwestern 7 58 October 7, 1995 Ann Arbor No. 25 Northwestern 19 No. 6 Michigan 13 59 October 5, 1996 Evanston No. 22 Northwestern 17 No. 6 Michigan 16 60 October 11, 1997 Ann Arbor No. 6 Michigan 23 Northwestern 6 61 October 17, 1998 Evanston Michigan 12 Northwestern 6 62 November 6, 1999 Ann Arbor No. 16 Michigan 37 Northwestern 3 63 November 4, 2000 Evanston No. 21 Northwestern 54 No. 12 Michigan 51 64 November 15, 2003 Evanston No. 5 Michigan 41 Northwestern 10 65 November 13, 2004 Ann Arbor No. 9 Michigan 42 Northwestern 20 66 October 29, 2005 Evanston No. 25 Michigan 33 No. 21 Northwestern 17 67 October 28, 2006 Ann Arbor No. 2 Michigan 17 Northwestern 3 68 September 29, 2007 Evanston Michigan 28 Northwestern 16 69 November 15, 2008 Ann Arbor Northwestern 21 Michigan 14 70 October 8, 2011 Evanston No. 12 Michigan 42 Northwestern 24 71 November 10, 2012 Ann Arbor Michigan 38 No. 25 Northwestern 31OT 72 November 16, 2013 Evanston Michigan 27 Northwestern 193OT 73 November 8, 2014 Evanston Michigan 10 Northwestern 9 74 October 10, 2015 Ann Arbor No. 18 Michigan 38 No. 13 Northwestern 0 75 September 29, 2018 Evanston No. 14 Michigan 20 Northwestern 17 76 October 23, 2021 Ann Arbor No. 6 Michigan 33 Northwestern 7 77 November 23, 2024 Ann Arbor Michigan 50 Northwestern 6 Series: Michigan leads 60–15–2:[1] 2–0 in trophy games

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Winsipedia – Michigan Wolverines vs. Northwestern Wildcats football series history". Winsipedia.
2. "Evanston Men Win". The Inter Ocean. October 30, 1892. p. 6.
3. "Northwestern Beats Ann Arbor". Chicago Tribune. October 30, 1892 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Almost a Shut-Out: Northwestern Powerless Before the Strength and Skill of Our Team – 72 to 6". The U. of M. Daily. November 20, 1893. pp. 1, 3 – via Bentley Historical Library.
5. "Michigan Leads, 7 to 4, In Northwestern Series Starting in Early 80's". Battle Creek Enquirer. November 14, 1936. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.("Michigan, which three times has tied Northwestern for the Western conference title, holds an edge of seven victories to four for the Wildcats in a rivalry which dates back to 1892.")
6. Walter Eckersall (November 8, 1925). "Northwestern Upsets Michigan, 3–2: Purple Brains and Lewis' Toe Sink Wolverines in Morass; Flash of Genius in Giving Foes Safety Saves the Day". Chicago Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
7. "Michigan Beaten By Northwestern: Bows to Purple, 3 to 2, Before 20,000 in Game Played in Rainstorm at Chicago; Lewis's Kick Decides Issue; Field Goal Overcomes Safety Made Deliberately by Winners – Not One First Down". The New York Times. November 8, 1925.
8. "Yost Calls 1925 Eleven Greatest: Does Not Even Except Wonderful Teams of 1901 and 1902; Rolled Up Grand 227 Point Total; Wolverine Mentor Says He's Proud to Have Coached Boys". The Hartford Courant. November 29, 1925. p. B2. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
9. Walter W. Ruch (October 17, 1948). "Takes 18th In Row: 85,938 Watch Michigan Score Over Wildcats in Big Nine Contest; Koceski Wolverine Star". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
10. Allison Danzig (October 18, 1948). "Michigan Is Defensive Standout Among Nation's College Elevens: Wolverines Have Yielded Only 7 Points in 4 Games". The New York Times.
11. Tommy Devine (October 19, 1958). "Wildcats Murder M, 55–24". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
12. Hal Middlesworth (October 18, 1959). "'Cats Win, 20–7: U-M Gives All – But NW Takes". Detroit Free Press. p. 1E – via Newspapers.com.
13. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Northwestern Stuns Michigan This Time : Big Ten: Opportunistic Wildcats down Wolverines, 19–13, for first victory over foe in 30 years". Los Angeles Times. October 8, 1995.
14. "'One of the greatest underdog stories of our time': Northwestern's run to the Rose Bowl, 25 years later". ESPN.com. November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
15. "Northwestern Wildcats School History". sports-reference.com.
16. "Winsipedia – Michigan Wolverines vs. Northwestern Wildcats football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
17. "Michigan and Northwestern Establish George Jewett Trophy". mgoblue.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021. The University of Michigan and Northwestern University have established the first rivalry game trophy named for an African American player in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history, creating the George Jewett Trophy, announced jointly by the two institutions today (Thursday, Feb. 25).
18. Orion Sang (February 25, 2021). "Michigan, Northwestern to play for George Jewett Trophy, honoring Big Ten's first Black football player". Detroit Free Press.
19. "Michigan Wolverines, Northwestern Wildcats football to play for George Jewett Trophy". ESPN.com. February 25, 2021. This becomes the Big Ten's 16th rivalry game trophy – the third for Michigan (Little Brown Jug, Paul Bunyan Trophy) and second for Northwestern (Land of Lincoln Trophy).
20. "George Jewett Trophy: Michigan vs. Northwestern". University of Michigan Athletics.
21. "Michigan football runs over Northwestern 50-6, clinches bowl: 'Just feels like bliss'". Detroit Free Press.