"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Those words flowed from Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's mouth during his weekly press conference on Monday.

No, he wasn't giving advice about long-distance relationships or mending broken friendships. He was referring to something his football team lost last season for the first time since 1987: the Little Brown Jug.

And he wants it back on Saturday when his sixth-ranked Wolverines (1-0 Big Ten, 4-0 overall) travel to Minneapolis to face conference foe Minnesota (0-1, 2-2).

"I love the Little Brown Jug," Carr said. "I think looking back at it, the history, the tradition of that trophy, it's the oldest in college football history."

Carr continued, saying that although college football's most storied trophy may not be on the minds of the fans and the media, it certainly plays a part in the preparation for Saturday's game.

"If you're a Michigan football player, if you're a Minnesota football player, I guarantee you care," Carr said.

The history of the battle for the Little Brown Jug dates back to 1903. On Halloween, Michigan traveled to meet Minnesota in a highly anticipated battle. The Wolverines had won 28 straight games under their new coach, Fielding H. Yost, and were eager to travel west to play the Gophers.

Yost was worried about Minnesota fans tampering with his team's water supply, so he had a manager purchase a jug from a store nearby. That jug, purchased 103 years ago, was and still remains the Little Brown Jug.

The game in 1903 ended in a 6-6 draw, and following the game, the Wolverines forgot to take the jug back with them to Ann Arbor.

Days later, Yost wrote a letter to Minnesota asking for the jug back.

The letter was given to L.J. Cooke, the Gophers' athletic director, who replied, "We have your little brown jug; if you want it, you'll have to win it."

After a five-year hiatus in the series, the Wolverines did just that. In 1909, they beat Minnesota to reclaim the jug. In every subsequent matchup between the two teams, it's has been up for grabs.

Carr, like every coach who preceded him, loves the history that goes with the Jug. He quizzes players, young and old, about the jug during game week.

"Terrance Taylor volunteered to tell the other players about it. He knew the essentials. He knew the fundamental story," Carr said. "Carson Butler (knows about it). There's a guy who has only been here a year. I know they're paying attention."

Last season's matchup is one game in the 88-game series that sticks out in the minds of all of the Michigan players. The Gophers used their zone blocking scheme to break several long runs en route to a 23-20 upset victory. Though Michigan players are told to put the past behind them, the memory still occasionally seeps into the minds of some.

"It means a lot - it's always a bad feeling when you lose the jug," linebacker David Harris said. "It's a rivalry game, they beat us last year and it's just not a good feeling. It's just a bad feeling and a bad experience to be the team that loses the jug since we had it so long. It eats you up inside."

Michigan had won 16 straight games in the series before last season's loss. The Wolverines also hold a sizeable series lead (63-22). But the past matchups and current records are thrown out the window whenever these two teams meet - the last three meetings have been decided by just three points each time.

Harris and his teammates don't care about the final score; they just want to bring the jug back to Ann Arbor.

After watching the Gophers rush to the Michigan sideline as the clock struck 00:00 last season, Harris hopes he can return the favor at the Metrodome on Saturday.

"Oh yeah, I'll be over there if we win it," said Harris, one of the fifth-year seniors on the team. "We've gotta win the game first, so you can't really think about it too much."