The crowd went wild for Manti Te’o.
Te’o, a former star linebacker for Notre Dame who now hosts “Good Morning Football,” recently competed against two of his NFL Network co-workers on the new show “ESPN Jeopardy!”
And while he might not have answered the most clues during the game, he did seem to have the most audience support.
After buzzing in and missing a pair of clues early on, he got a lot of cheers for correctly answering a clue about Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.
“I don’t know a lot of things but I know who @maxxcrosby is‼️” Te’o wrote in an Instagram post about the moment. “Thanks for the points brother😂”
When Te’o got his second clue of the game, the cheers from the studio audience got even louder.
“He’s a fan favorite!” his fellow “Good Morning Football” host Jamie Erdahl said. “They love him, they love him.”
But in the end, it was NFL Network analyst Kyle Brandt who had the spotlight for the majority of the game as he buzzed in on the most clues and made some thrilling wagers.
Here’s a brief recap of the game — which included two clues about the Utah Jazz.
Utah Jazz get 2 shout-outs during Manti Te’o’s game
It was clear early on that Brandt was a strong contender to win.
When he landed on the first of two Daily Doubles in the second round, he already had 5,100 points — Erdahl was in a distant second with 700 points while Te’o had 100.
Despite this solid lead, Brandt decided to wager all of his 5,100 points on the following clue: “The Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Cup in 2023, breaking a 38-year curse attributed to this fast food businessman.”
He incorrectly guessed McDonald’s Ray Kroc and went all the way back down to zero points. The answer host Joe Buck was looking for: Colonel Sanders.
After Brandt’s setback, Te’o started putting some points on the board. He correctly answered two back-to-back questions in a category called Old School — including one about the NBA team that plays not far from his Utah home.
“After his freshman season at Rutgers, founded in 1766, Ace Bailey was this NBA team’s top draft pick in 2025.”
With his correct response — “What is the Utah Jazz?” — Te’o had 1,500 points on the board.
But by the time Brandt landed on the second Daily Double of the game, he was back to 5,000 points and decided to again go all in and wager everything. This time, that decision paid off.
When he got the Daily Double clue about the movie “Little Big League” right, Te’o walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
During the third round of the game, Brandt had a huge lead with 11,800 points — and he decided once again to go all in on a Daily Double. That daring decision took him back down to zero.
He was quickly able to rebuild — thanks in part to a second clue about the Utah Jazz.
“As Bulls and USPS fans know, it’s the putdown said by Scottie Pippen to Karl Malone during a tie game in Game 1 of the 1997 finals.”
Brandt didn’t hesitate. With his correct response — “What is ‘The Mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays’?” — he was on the board with 3,000 points.
He kept climbing up from there. And when he again decided to wager everything on a Daily Double and got it right, Te’o walked over to him and gave him another hug.
“There is a lot of love on your show, isn’t there?” Buck said.
Going into Final Jeopardy, Brandt couldn’t be caught. He had 12,300 points while Te’o was in a distant second with 2,900 points.
With that strong game, Brandt moved on to the semifinals, while Te’o and Erdahl both earned $30,000 for their respective charities.
6 ESPN ‘Jeopardy!’ clues Manti Te’o got right
Here are some clues Te’o got right during the game (answers are at the bottom of the article):
- Curses!: “This rapper’s ‘curse’ has been blamed for Team Canada losing in the World Cup and Ohtani choosing L.A. over Toronto.”
- Old school: “Harvard alum Gabby Thomas sprinted to Olympic gold in this individual event at the Paris Games in 2024.”
- Same first and last letter: “Here are Australia’s Fox sisters, celebrating a win at the 2024 Paris Olympics in one of these craft.”
- Jerry Rice makes the catch (clue presented by Rice): “In 1989, I caught 11 passes for 215 yards, and I was named MVP of Super Bowl XXIII when my 49ers beat this team, led by future broadcasters Boomer Esiason and Cris Collinsworth.”
- Jerry Rice makes the catch: “I made the NFL’s 100th anniversary All-time team along with this wide receiver from the coast. We’ve both seen our kids follow us into the NFL.”
- Fit check: “This Eagles quarterback was fined by the NFL in 2024 for wearing mismatched green cleats. Jordan brand said they’d cover the bill.”
All episodes of “ESPN Jeopardy!” are now available for streaming on Hulu, Disney+ and the ESPN app.
Answers: 1. Drake; 2. the 200-meter race; 3. a kayak; 4. the Bengals; 5. Marvin Harrison; 6. Jalen Hurts