The Traveling The is a trophy whose origins stem from the Ohio State vs. Purdue game on 11/12/2011, which Purdue won in overtime, 26-23. The joke at the time was that since Purdue had beaten "The" Ohio State, they should take possession of the The until such time as Ohio State (now An Ohio State) was able to earn it back from them.
Over time during the offseason, the concept evolved into a Traveling The that any team could win. After research, The Purdue was found to have been beaten by Iowa the following week, thus the "The" transfered to The Iowa. Any team taking possession of the The is usually referred to as The (team) for the duration of their reign, unless the team is generally disliked (Notre Dame, USC, etc.).
Note also that the The does not recognize division lines; if Michigan had held the The at the time they were defeated by Appalachian State, for example, then the Mountaineers would have taken possession of the Holy Definite Article.
The Traveling The: The First History
- 11/12/2011: Purdue 26, The Ohio State 23 (OT)
- 11/19/2011: Iowa 31, The Purdue 21
- 11/25/2011: Nebraska 20, The Iowa 7
- 1/2/2012: South Carolina 30, The Nebraska 13 (2012 Capital One Bowl)
- 8/30/2012: The South Carolina 17, Vanderbilt 13 [First successful defense of the The.]
- 9/8/2012: The South Carolina 48, East Carolina 10
- 9/15/2012: The South Carolina 49, UAB 6
- 9/22/2012: The South Carolina 31, Missouri 10
- 9/29/2012: The South Carolina 38, Kentucky 17
- 10/6/2012: The South Carolina 35, Georgia 7
- 10/13/2012: LSU 23, The South Carolina 21
- 10/20/2012: The LSU 24, Texas A&M 19
- 11/3/2012: Alabama 21, The LSU 17
- 11/10/2012: Texas A&M 29, The Alabama 24
- 11/17/2012: The Texas A&M 47, Sam Houston State 28
- 11/24/2012: The Texas A&M 59, Missouri 29
- 1/4/2013: The Texas A&M 41, Oklahoma 13 (2013 Cotton Bowl)
- 8/31/2013: The Texas A&M 52, Rice 31
- 9/7/2013: The Texas A&M 65, Sam Houston State 28
- 9/14/2013: Alabama 49, The Texas A&M 42 [First team to regain the The. First team to regain the The from the team they lost it to.]
- 9/21/2013: The Alabama 31, Colorado State 6
- 9/28/2013: The Alabama 25, Mississippi 0
- 10/5/2013: The Alabama 45, Georgia State 3
- 10/12/2013: The Alabama 48, Kentucky 7
- 10/19/2013: The Alabama 52, Arkansas 0
- 10/26/2013: The Alabama 45, Tennessee 10
- 11/9/2013: The Alabama 38, LSU 17
- 11/16/2013: The Alabama 20, Mississippi State 7
- 11/23/2013: The Alabama 49, Tennessee-Chattanooga 0
- 11/30/2013: Auburn 34, The Alabama 28
- 12/7/2013: The Auburn 59, Missouri 42 (2013 SEC Championship)
- 1/6/2014: Florida State 34, The Auburn 31 (2014 BCS Championship) [The The exits the SEC for the first time in two years.]
- 8/30/2014: The Florida State 37, Oklahoma State 31
- 9/6/2014: The Florida State 37, (The) Citadel 12 [First matchup between the holder of the The and a school with a The in its name. No extra The was given to Florida State.]
- 9/20/2014: The Florida State 23, Clemson 17 (OT)
- 9/27/2014: The Florida State 56, NC State 41
- 10/4/2014: The Florida State 43, Wake Forest 3
- 10/11/2014: The Florida State 38, Syracuse 20
- 10/18/2014: The Florida State 31, Notre Dame 27
- 10/30/2014: The Florida State 42, Louisville 31
- 11/8/2014: The Florida State 34, Virginia 20
- 11/15/2014: The Florida State 30, Miami 26
- 11/22/2014: The Florida State 20, Boston College 17
- 11/29/2014: The Florida State 24, Florida 19
- 12/6/2014: The Florida State 37, Georgia Tech 35 (2014 ACC Championship)
- 1/1/2015: Oregon 59, The Florida State 20 (2015 Rose Bowl / 2014-15 CFP Semifinal)
- 1/12/2015: Ohio State 42, The Oregon 20 (2014-15 CFP Championship Game) [Ohio State regains the The, completing the cycle. Thus ends the first history of The Traveling The, which can now only be lost by Ohio State if they were to lose to Purdue or an equally calamitous opponent.]
The Second History Of The Traveling The
Due to Michigan State's complete and total dominance* of Ohio State, The Holy Definite Article was stripped from the Buckeyes and awarded to The Spartans, beginning the second ripple of The Traveling The
- 11/21/2015: Michigan State 17, The Ohio State 14
- 11/28/2015: The Michigan State 55, Penn State 16
- 12/5/2015: The Michigan State 16, Iowa 13 (B1G Title Game)
- 12/31/2015: Alabama 38, The Michigan State 0 (Cotton Bowl/2015-16 CFP Semifinal)
- 1/11/2016: The Alabama 45, Clemson 40 (2015-15 CFP Championship Game)