Who Currently Has The Macguffin In College Football?

Macguffin in college football is the transitive property traced back to the first-ever college football game in 1869.

The team who defeats the one with Macguffin becomes the beholder. It is sort of a title that goes to whoever defeats the beholder.

Rutgers Scarlet Knight won it against Princeton Tigers. A week later, the Tigers won it against the Knights.

Every fixture for the beholder is the title defense. The moment they lose it against an opponent, it can take years to claim it back.

It is because the one who defeated you might lose against the team from another conference and vice versa. So, if a college loses it once, there is no telling when they will reclaim it.

College football Macguffin was first held by Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the inaugural match held on 6th November 1869. They beat Princeton Tigers by 6-4.

A week later, on 13th November, a rematch was held with the addition of a 'free kick.' The Tigers defeated the Knight 8-0 to claim the Macguffin. A third match was to be played but never took place, and hence Princeton was the 1869 champions.

The Princeton Tigers held the title for 2572 days, winning eleven matches and remaining undefeated until 1876.

On 30th November 1876, they lost to Yale Bulldogs 0-2, their first defeat since the first-ever college football match of 1869.

Since then, Macguffin has changed hands numerous times. A total of 96 colleges have won it.

Besides Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale, the remaining 93 colleges are as follows:

Colleges who have never held Macguffin in NCAA Division I FBS football programs are as follows:

• Akron Zips
• Appalachian State Mountaineers
• Arkansas Razorbacks
• Ball State Cardinals
• Boise State Broncos
• Boston College Eagles
• Bowling Green Falcons
• Buffalo Bulls
• Central Michigan Chippewas
• Charlotte 49ers
• Cincinnati Bearcats
• Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
• East Carolina Pirates
• Eastern Michigan Eagles
• FIU Panthers
• Florida Atlantic Owls
• Fresno State Bulldogs
• Georgia Southern Eagles
• Georgia State Panthers
• Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
• Houston Cougars
• Jacksonville State Gamecocks
• James Madison Dukes
• Kansas Jayhawks
• Kent State Golden Flashes
• Liberty Flames
• Louisville Cardinals
• Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
• Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
• Marshall Thundering Herd
• Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
• Nevada Wolf Pack
• New Mexico State Aggies
• North Texas Mean Green
• Northern Illinois Huskies
• Northwestern Wildcats
• Ohio Bobcats
• Old Dominion Monarchs
• Sam Houston Bearkats
• San Diego Aztecs
• San Jose State Spartans
• SMU Mustangs
• South Alabama Jaguars
• South Florida Bulls
• Southern Miss Golden Eagles
• Temple Owls
• Texas State Bobcats
• Toledo Rockets
• Troy Trojans
• UAB Blazers
• UCF Knights
• UConn Huskies
• UMass Minuteman
• UNLV Rebels
• Utah State Aggies
• UTEP Miners
• UTSA Roadrunners
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons
• Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
• Western Michigan Broncos

Princeton Tigers has the most Macguffin Championships. They have twenty championships, with the last one recorded in 1951.

One might question what does Macguffin championship mean. Well, it is the title held by the team who has Macguffin at the end of the college football season.

It does not matter if a team loses it in the first week. They can reclaim it with a single win over the beholder.

The one who holds it by the end of the year is the champion. Below are the teams with the most number of championships from its start:

• Princeton - 20
• Yale - 30
• USC - 8
• Alabama - 8
• Harvard - 8
• Penn - 5
• Auburn - 4
• Army - 4
• Ole Miss - 4
• LSU - 4
• Texas - 4
• Ohio State - 4
• Clemson - 3
• UCLA - 3
• Tennessee - 3
• TCU - 3

Most Macguffin Championships in the Modern Era

In the initial days, the college football scenario was a budding prospect, and formal rules were just around the corner.

It was also the phase with a limited number of teams and comparatively fewer games.

The post-1980s period is considered the modern era of college football. It comprised many teams, high competition, and a fixed set of rules.

The list of the teams and championships from 1980 to 2022 is given below:

• Ohio State - 3
• Alabama - 3
• Clemson - 3
• Baylor - 2
• UCLA - 2
• Florida - 2
• USC - 2
• Miami - 2
• Arizona - 2
• Florida State - 2
• Texas - 2
• TCU - 2

Macguffin Triple Crown refers to a team's collection of the National Championship, the Heisman Trophy, and the Macguffin Championship in a year.

In the history of college football spanning over hundred and fifty years, there have only been five teams to achieve this feat. They are:

• Army Cadets Football Team (1945, 1946)
• USC Trojans (2004)
• Alabama Crimson Tide (2009, 2020)
• Auburn Tigers (2010)
• LSU Tigers (2019)

Doc Blanchard did it for the Army in 1945, and Glenn Davis did it in 1946.

The recipient of the Heisman Trophy for Alabama was Mark Ingram in 2009 and Devonta Smith in 2020.

Matt Leinhart did it for USC Torjans. Likewise, the Trojans have the highest Macguffin defense record of 70. The closest second is Alabama, with 55.

Auburn and LSU's Heisman recipients were Cam Newton and Joe Burrow.