LSU falls to Auburn and gives up theTrophy again

 For the second time this year, LSU entered their game with the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy and for the second time they left it for their opponents.

 

 Photo credit - Shanna Lockwood/AU Athletics

This time the Auburn Tigers were the victors - their second time as Trophy-holder this season.

We know for sure that for the first time this season, the trophy will not change hands the next Saturday - Auburn has a week off before facing Mississippi State on November 14th.

 

jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy changes hands again

 The jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy is back where it started - in Baton Rouge as the LSU Tigers dominated South Carolina 52-24.

The South Carolina loss makes it 7 straight losses by the Trophy-holder. 

LSU goes to Auburn this weekend. Auburn had of course won the Trophy from Arkansas before losing to South Carolina

 

South Carolina takes the Trophy from Auburn

 South Carolina became the 6th consecutive challenger to win the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy

The Gamecocks are now 8-12 in trophy games. 

This is their 3rd time as trophy holder. They reeled of 2 additional wins after defeating Georgia in 1989, before falling to NC State. And tacked on 3 more victories after taking the trophy from Florida in 2010 before Cam Newton and the national Champion Auburn Tigers took it over in the SEC Championship game.

South Carolina travels to Baton Rouge next Saturday giving the Tigers a chance to win back what they lost to Mississippi State to open the season.

This is longest streak of not defending the trophy in it's existence. Before Ohio State lost to Clemson to start this chain, the most consecutive challenger wins was 4 in the prior 1559 games.

The trophy holder is 1196-313-55 - an overall winning pct of 0.782

Quick Trophy Update

Clemson was victorious over Ohio State Saturday evening in the Fiesta Bowl and will take the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy with them to the National Championship game against LSU.

The trophy had been held by Big Ten teams since Penn State defeated Pitt last September, 27 straight wins within the conference.

Clemson has not held the trophy since losing to Syracuse in October of 2017.

LSU has not been in trophy possession since losing to Arkansas in November of 2007.

Trophy Predictions for 2012 - point spreads

Previously I posted how the CFRC would predict the fate of the jiMpossible sarcasMike Trophy for 2012. Now we'll follow the path using point spreads from Beyond the Bets.

Again we start with WVU. They are favored by 21 over Marshall, 40.5 over James Madison, 21 over Maryland, and 14 over Baylor. They are 4 point underdogs against Texas.

Texas is a 4 point underdog against Oklahoma. So far the sharps are following the CFRC exactly.

OU is favored by 33 over Kansas, 10 over Notre Dame, 20 over Iowa State, 18.5 over Baylor, 2.5 over WVU, 9 over Oklahoma State and 3.5 over TCU.

So once again the Sooners take the trophy bowling. LSU is favored in every game this season, so again it looks like a repeat of the CFRC version. Oklahoma, LSU and the Trophy all meet in the Arroyo Seco.

Trophy Predictions for the 2012 season - CFRC

As you may remember West Virginia is the current holder of the jiMpossible-SarcasMike Trophy. Over the next few days we'll look at some potential outcomes for trophy this season.

First up the current CFRC:

WVU is ranked 17 so they beat Marshall (78), James Madison (FCS), Maryland (96), and Baylor (23) before losing on the road to Texas (18 - home field advantage).

Texas loses the Red River Rivalry to Oklahoma (4).

The Sooners should beat Kansas (104), Notre Dame (24), Iowa State (58), Baylor (23), and WVU (17) before squeaking by Oklahoma State (3 - home field advantage). They close out the regular season with a victory over TCU (16).

The teams ranked above Oklahoma are Alabama (1), LSU(2) and Oklahoma State(3). They've already beaten the Cowboys and it would seem an undefeated Oklahoma team would be selected for the MNC game over  a one-loss Alabama (lost at LSU) to face LSU. So the biggest trophy ends the season in the biggest game.

This years MNC game is in the Rose Bowl - no home field advantage for either team so LSU finishes the season undefeated and holds the trophy.

Next up we'll see what the odds-makers predict.