Who has the MacGuffin? Inside the story behind Rutgers, the sport's most coveted trophy, and the college football MacGuffin

College football MacGuffin is used as a term to describe the one trophy that every college football team covets. It is an imaginary object that stands as the ultimate achievement every team in the sport is after.

In the real sense, the MacGuffin is a concept that originated from storytelling. It is that seemingly elusive goal that motivates the characters to act the way they do. Thus, it ultimately drives the plot toward a conclusive end.

When applied in real-life contexts like college football, the MacGuffin becomes the driving force that propels teams to play their hearts out. So the question usually is - What is the MacGuffin of college football? Who possesses it? And how did it originate?

Discovering college football MacGuffin

Notre Dame Spring Football Game

Theories and views abound on each of these questions. In a sense, the MacGuffin is simply the goal a college football team has set for itself at any given time. That goal could be to win the conference championship, national championship, or simply to emerge victorious in a rivalry game. Therefore, the MacGuffin may mean different things to different teams.

The story of the college football MacGuffin and Rutgers

Rutgers Spring Football Game

An interesting theory links the college football MacGuffin to the rivalry game between Rutgers and Princeton. These two institutions played what is regarded as the first college football game ever, way back in 1869.

In that game, Rutgers edged Princeton to a 6-4 win. It became a rivalry played between them until it stopped in 1980.

Because Rutgers won that inaugural college football game, the trophy awarded to them embodied the motivation of subsequent teams to play the game. Hence the MacGuffin trophy, or Rutgers trophy, as it is also known.

After the rivalry was discontinued in 1980, some believe the next team that defeated Rutgers became the holder of the trophy. Subsequently, the phantom trophy is passed on to whichever team beats the holder.

Some fans hold a very keen interest in this passage of the trophy and have been following how it passes to new holders ever since.

In conclusion, while there are goals that may be common to all college football teams, the MacGuffin for each team is unique. It does not matter what it is, as long as it keeps the players motivated and the fans happy.

What motivates your team?