Do yourself a favor. Travel an hour and a half south of Syracuse and watch the best rivalry you’ve never heard of.

It’s not as heated as the Red Sox-Yankees. It’s not as well-known as Ohio State-Michigan. It’s not as watched as Duke-North Carolina.

No, it’s on a slightly smaller scale than those.

It’s the battle for the Cortaca Jug, the 45th annual competition between Division III football rivals Ithaca and Cortland.

Sports Illustrated once referred to the Cortaca Jug game as the ‘Biggest Little Game in the Nation’ – a title now claimed by fellow Division III teams Amherst and Williams, whose annual game is also this weekend. But those who’ve experienced the excitement that annually surrounds the Cortaca Jug game feel it deserves to be included in the ranks of the best rivalries around.

‘If you’re on campus, it’s the same for the students (as a Ohio State-Michigan game),’ Ithaca head coach Mike Welch said. ‘This is a very special week for everybody here. It’s the oldest rivalry in both our schools’ history.’

Ithaca (8-1) and Cortland (4-4), separated by just 20 miles on Route 13, first faced each other in 1930. But the annual series didn’t start until 1959, when Ithaca captain Dick Carmine and Cortland captain Tom Decker combined to devise a keepsake more tangible than just bragging rights. And so the Cortaca Jug, which combines the names of the two schools in its title, was born.

A touching story, but let’s face it: The Ithaca-Cortland matchup isn’t even the most famous Jug rivalry in college football. That title belongs to Michigan and Minnesota’s game for the Little Brown Jug.

Again, those involved feel shortchanged.

‘The Sports Illustrated article a few years ago tabbed it correctly,’ Cortland head coach Dan MacNeill said. ‘There are only a few other colleges in Division III that do (something of this magnitude). People come from all over the state and country to watch this game. To these people, it’s a huge game, as big as any out there.’

And those devoted people and fans will arrive in droves, filling Ithaca’s Butterfield Stadium, which will host this year’s game, well over its seating capacity of 5,000. In past years, more than 12,000 have crammed into the stadium to catch a piece of the action.

‘For the students, it’s a big event,’ Ithaca offensive guard Shaun Poore said. ‘The whole campus is at the game. For the majority of them, it’s a drinking event, with kegs and eggs and everything. (The crowd) is pretty rowdy.’

Said Welch: ‘It’s a sound many of these players have never heard before, playing at this level.’

Despite the rowdiness, MacNeill says fans from each school make the trip despite the home team, essentially canceling each other out.

‘It’s a super-charged atmosphere,’ MacNeill said, ‘but there’s no home-field advantage. In fact, there was a time when we were only winning over there and they were only winning over here.’

Since the inception of the Cortaca Jug series, Ithaca has dominated, winning 30 of 44 games. But in recent years, the series has evened out. Last year, Cortland won, 16-12, at home.

But there’s something else, something unknown, that keeps these fans believing they have the best-kept secret in football.

That something, whatever it is, got Welch and MacNeill to return to their alma maters as coaches, and each year, it gets more and more people to stand closer and closer together while watching the game.

Who knows? Either way, no one involved can describe it.

‘If you show up,’ MacNeill said, ‘you’ll be impressed.’

No. 25 Kansas State (-1.5) at No. 15 Nebraska:

With Kansas State (8-3) and Nebraska (8-2) tied for the lead in the Big 12’s North Division and each team having just one more game after this, this game could determine the champion. Though Kansas State had some success against Nebraska, winning the last three matchups in Manhattan, Kan., Wildcats coach Bill Snyder has never won in Lincoln, Neb. Don’t expect him to this year.

Pick: Nebraska 24, Kansas State 18

No. 16 Pittsburgh (Pick ’em) at West Virginia

The annual Backyard Brawl between Pittsburgh (7-2) and West Virginia (5-4) has serious Big East-title implications this year. Pitt is 4-0 in conference and is one game ahead of No. 14 Miami and WVU, both of which stand at 3-1. With a victory, the Mountaineers, who have played surprisingly well in Big East competition, can grab a share of first place in the Big East. But with Miami still on Pitt’s remaining schedule, the Panthers can not afford to take a step back in the Big East-title race.

Pick: Pitt 27, West Virginia 17

No. 22 Michigan State (+2) at Wisconsin:

Back-to-back losses to Michigan and Ohio State have dropped the Spartans (7-3) out of the national spotlight and Big Ten title race. Wisconsin (6-4) has dropped three straight – to Purdue, Northwestern and Minnesota – after breaking Ohio State’s 19-game winning streak on Oct. 11. Expect Michigan State to snap its losing streak first, with quarterback Jeff Smoker regaining his passing accuracy. Either way, one team will break out of a slump.

Pick: Michigan State 34, Wisconsin 23

No. 10 Purdue (+3) at No. 4 Ohio State:

The winner will be guaranteed at least a share of the Big Ten title with No. 5 Michigan. It won’t be easy for the Boilermakers (8-2). OSU (9-1) has beaten Purdue in nine of the past 10 meetings and hasn’t lost in 16 straight home games. Purdue’s Jerod Void and Ohio State’s Lydell Ross should each get plenty of carries at running back. But with Purdue ranked No. 10 nationally in total defense and Ohio State ranked No. 5, this should be a low-scoring affair.

Pick: Ohio State 17, Purdue 16

Syracuse (+19) at No. 14 Miami:

After suffering its second straight loss, Miami (7-2) is looking to change its luck by changing its quarterback from the statuesque Brock Berlin to the more mobile Billy Crudup. The Orangemen (5-3) are coming off a 41-17 Parents Weekend victory over Temple and hope to sneak a win by the slumping-but-talented Hurricanes. Look for the Hurricanes to awaken and re-establish themselves by playing to their ability.

Pick: Miami 41, Syracuse 20

Published on November 11, 2003 at 12:00 pm