Michigan Trivia Team With Huge Comeback
A post for a slow Wednesday...NBC premiered their new trivia show last night 'Capital One College Bowl' hosted by Peyton and Cooper Manning (Tuesday nights at 10pm). Teams from universities compete in a tournament, where the winning team will win $1 million in scholarship funds.
Last night was Michigan vs Minnesota and Alabama vs Auburn, 2 rounds of questions and a speed round called the 2 Minute Drill with the top 2 teams in total points automatically advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the 1st matchup, Alabama topped Auburn 550 to 540.
Michigan started terribly, 90-0 after round 1 and 110-70 after 2. The show has a famous alum appear via video with a pep message, for Michigan it was Tom Brady. During the 2 Minute Drill, Michigan caught on fire to score 720 total points for the win over Minnesota's 510 and advance with Alabama to the quarterfinals.
Great comeback (Brady Effect)!
That comeback was 90% Sara just killing it in the speed round.
Speaking of, the speed round felt like that Harry Potter game - earlier goals don't matter as long as you do the one thing at the end, you win.
Quidditch
Sara the seeker got that golden snitch
Good to see M dominate but yeah it was heavily weighted towards the speed round. Not a huge fan when these shows have gimmicky rules like that.
Yeah, the show is kind of wack. I've never been a fan of the Mannings, and Peyton is not particularly good at this and Cooper just stands back there like a doofus. But, Michigan did go on a tear and won big. I was worried after the slow start!
This reminds me of that Reddit risk for college football. Any rumors that will be a thing this summer or is it too late already?
I have been waiting for this to start up again . I think I was a 3 star at the end of last season and hadnt missed a day in quite a while .
We’re a Trivia Team school now.
Hopefully we don't get blown out by OSU in the last match of the season.
Do you really think OSU qualifies for any event requiring knowledge?
Michigan has always been a quiz bowl school. Michigan won College Bowl national championships in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002 (and was the national runner-up in 1993, 1999, and 2004) when College Bowl was a campus-based program and not on television. A Michigan student/alumni team also won pop culture quiz bowl national titles in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2007.
Sara figured out that she could interrupt Peyton as soon as she knew the answer, which is important for racking up points. She also figured out that answering pass, though wrong, doesn't waste time.
The format isn't ideal, but the Michigan team acquitted itself handsomely and I look forward to seeing what this team can do in the next round.
Has a Michigan contestant ever won College Jeopardy?
(Also - damn, I was on campus from 2000-04 and didn't even realize we had College Bowl and it was a thing. I would've tried out for it).
Yes. Literally me, Craig Barker, 1997 Jeopardy! College Champion. :)
GET OUT!! Way to go!! Congrats!
Excited for your Learned League Michigan Football "one day" coming up in the fall!
Thanks! Trying really hard to balance the big ideas with the expert level separator questions. Feeling good about what I have thus far.
Might be a little late to ask this, but does anyone have a Learned League Invite? Happy to PM/reply with trivia credentials if needed.
Awesome. Any truth to the rumor they declare a guy from Nebraska co-champion after he ancounced he was retiring from trivia?
No, but I did have to beat a guy from Michigan State in the final, that is true.
Craig, is that you?
Yes, but that's my 2005 picture from when I lost in the first round of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
This is 1997 vintage me (including a Steve and Barry's Sweatshirt!)
https://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=2991
You still got that Volvo?!
Had it for a good ten years, finally traded it in in 2007.
Grats Craig! I was in school in '97! Another Championship claimed!
Good for them, I'm happy they came back to advance, and really hope they can get the kinks fully worked out and win the whole tournament.
But with an almost unwatchable format made completely unwatchable with awkward-ass Peyton and Eli, combined with sucking hard right out of the gate, I turned it off in frustration after the first round.
Haven't watched it, but I can't imagine Payton being anything aside from awful. What ever personality he's got that lands him in commercials is lost on me.
He has no personality whatsoever, none, zero. Which is probably why he does commercials for insurance, an industry that has zero personality itself...
I'll take "when was the last time Michigan beat Ohio State in football" for 400, Alex.
Your Minnesota based correspondent here. The take on the Gopher Twitterverse was that "Michigan got all the easy questions" and is why we won.
And you thought Sparty was thin skinned.
What about delusional Illinois fans?
I mean, one trivia note is that people who would be writing trivia for television might not know how "hard" a science question is, and if you have baseline solid science knowledge, like a couple of quiz bowl veterans would have and like a cognitive science major might have, it's not "easier" it's "I'm ready for this."
Sweet.
I also enjoyed the intro when the announcer said we are the top rated public university in the nation.