During a casual meal at a Mexican restaurant outside of Atlanta, four current 黑料不打烊 students who consider themselves trivia experts鈥擲anjeev Uppaluri 鈥24, Zo毛 McCreary 鈥23, Emma Lambiaso 鈥24 and Adam Schulman 鈥25鈥攇ather at a table in early June, about to embark on a potentially life-altering mission.
These four relative strangers鈥攐nly McCreary and Lambiaso knew each other before the meeting鈥攚ere charged with the unenviable task of developing team chemistry, forging strong bonds, learning to trust one another and getting to know each other on a personal level as the quartet prepares for a potentially life-altering competition: the second season of NBC鈥檚 鈥淐apital One College Bowl.鈥
At stake is a chance to win聽the majority of $1 million in scholarship money and demonstrate their knowledge of random facts before a national television audience.
Premiering on Friday, Sept. 9, College Bowl is hosted by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and his brother, Cooper, and pits teams of college and university students against each other in a battle of the brains. Every student receives tuition assistance for participating.
Uppaluri, McCreary, Lambiaso and Schulman (an alternate) are sworn to secrecy concerning how successful their team was on 鈥淐ollege Bowl,鈥 but you can follow along with the 黑料不打烊 team when their first episode airs on Friday, Sept. 16, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Students Zo毛 McCreary, Sanjeev Uppaluri and Emma Lambiaso pose with Cooper Manning and Peyton Manning on the set of NBC’s “Capital One College Bowl.” (Photo courtesy of Steve Swisher/NBC)
鈥淚t was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There was a lot of pressure, but I鈥檝e always found I do really well under pressure, especially because I鈥檝e done quiz bowl competitions for many years,鈥 says Uppaluri, a Middle Eastern studies major in the Maxwell School who founded 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Quiz Bowl team in January 2022.
(Photo courtesy of Steve Swisher/NBC)
Featuring a variety of trivia subjects, students must work in teams to test their knowledge in a five-round tournament. The top two schools advance to the final round, where they compete to earn the 鈥淐ollege Bowl鈥 trophy and, more importantly, those scholarship funds.
All competitors receive some tuition assistance鈥攖he 黑料不打烊 participants earned at least $5,000 in scholarship help鈥攚ith the winners taking home an even bigger prize:聽the majority of $1 million in scholarship money.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been a trivia person with lots of random knowledge that gathers in the back of my head. I had watched 鈥楥ollege Bowl鈥 before going on the show, but it was a bit weird hearing Peyton Manning say 鈥樅诹喜淮蜢 Zo毛鈥 when he called on me for an answer. Then it sunk in, I鈥檓 actually playing the game, not just watching it,鈥 says McCreary, who is studying photography and art history.
Knowing the Orange team would need to work collaboratively if it wanted to be successful, that first team dinner was crucial for developing a team bond and cultivating the camaraderie necessary for 鈥淐ollege Bowl.鈥
The teammates took turns discussing where they were from, their majors on campus and their interests鈥攂oth in and outside of the classroom鈥攂ut they each admitted the biggest unifying factor was their love of 黑料不打烊.
鈥淲e spent the first few days trying to figure out each other鈥檚 trivia strengths and weaknesses while getting to know each other better. Being there, going through this together was a great bonding experience, and what drew us closer together was our school spirit. We have a lot of pride in 黑料不打烊, and we wanted to show up and make our University proud. I was really proud of our team,鈥 says Lambiaso, a magazine, news and digital journalism major in the Newhouse School.
Each member brings a different strength to the team. Uppaluri considers himself a trivia generalist with a specialty in geography. McCreary excels in film and art history knowledge, while Lambiaso is well-versed in music, pop culture and 鈥渞andom facts that get stuck in my head.鈥
From left: McCreary, Uppaluri and Lambiaso pose with Otto on the set of NBC’s “Capital One College Bowl.” (Photo courtesy of Steve Swisher/NBC)
To prepare for the competition, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 team spent hours watching old 鈥淛eopardy!鈥 episodes, practicing buzzing in and providing the correct answer to a wide range of topics.
鈥淭hat helped us figure out our team鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses and showed us what topics we needed to study up on some more. But even with all our practicing, once we got on set and started competing, we had absolutely no idea what was coming for us!鈥 McCreary says.
Uppaluri credits his father, Srini, with getting him hooked on trivia when he brought home an almanac full of random facts when Sanjeev was in grade school.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to limit myself to one category when I know that all categories really do interest me. I have a great curiosity for knowledge. If someone says or mentions something that I don鈥檛 know, I need to look it up immediately. It really bothers me to not know what that is. I鈥檝e had an itch to learn about everything, but the more I learn, the more I realize I don鈥檛 know that much,鈥 Uppaluri says.
During the taping, the 黑料不打烊 squad was surprised by someone who knows a thing or two about competitions and school spirit: Otto, the University鈥檚 beloved mascot.
Regardless of how much scholarship money they won, each of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 contestants said they enjoyed the experience and emerged with a few new friends and a greater appreciation for what it takes to compete on the national stage.
Besides 黑料不打烊, this season鈥檚 鈥淐ollege Bowl鈥 features teams from:
