“Clean, old-fashioned, hate”
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Welcome back!
Whether you’ve spent the past few days turkey trotting, turkey eating, or doing a little of both, we’re so thankful to have you back because we have lots to catch up on from a hoopla-filled holiday weekend.
— San Jose State women’s volleyball coach Todd Kress, after his team’s loss to Colorado State in the Mountain West Championship game on Saturday. The Spartans’ season was embroiled in controversy as multiple teams refused to play them due to speculation that they had a transgender player on the roster. All women belong in women’s sports — full stop.
Football
🏈 Raucous rivalries
The GIST: The holiday season is here, but this weekend’s football games were anything but holly jolly — with rivalries, brawls, nearly historic overtimes, and much more. And the best part? The drama is just getting started.
Georgia survives Georgia Tech in instant classic: The rivalry dubbed “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” lived up to its name on Friday. Georgia Tech jumped out to a 17–0 halftime lead before No. 5 Georgia mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to send things to overtime (OT).
- But it wasn’t just one OT — the eight (!!!) OT game was the second-longest game in college football history, and Georgia’s game-winner in the 44–42 dub likely secured them a place in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
Michigan stuns No. 2 Ohio State in The Game: Despite Michigan’s season-long struggles, the Wolverines turned in a classic defensive performance to secure a 13–10 upset victory. Ego blow and rivalry bragging rights aside, the result won’t impact the Buckeyes’ CFP hopes — but the postgame fighting cost both teams a pretty penny. Chaos is an understatement.
CFP field nearly set: The penultimate rankings of the season drop tomorrow, with one week of football left before the playoffs begin. And with the top spots all but secured, all eyes are on the bubble teams for the remaining bids.
- We’re in for a loaded conference championship week, with teams like No. 16 Arizona State and No. 18 Iowa State playing for their CFP lives. Let the countdown begin.
Basketball
🏀🦃 Feast Week frenzy
The GIST: Thanksgiving week tournaments took teams to tropical locations like the Bahamas and Maui, where the heat off the court produced even hotter results. Here’s what you need to know about the Feast Week action:
No. 3 Notre Dame women lose two straight: After upsetting then–No. 3 USC just over a week ago, the Fighting Irish faltered in the Cayman Islands Classic, losing to No. 17 TCU on Friday before falling to unranked Utah on Saturday, a game in which Notre Dame committed 22 turnovers. Yikes.
- As for the tourney champs TCU, senior Hailey Van Lith had 23 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds to help the Horned Frogs leap over South Florida in the championship game.
No. 2 UConn men finish last in Maui: Things went from bad to worse for the Huskies over the holiday as they lost to three unranked teams in the Maui Invitational, ultimately placing last in the famed tournament. The defending National Champions lost 99–97 to Memphis, 73–72 to Colorado, and 85–67 to Dayton. Island life is not for them, apparently.
- No. 4 Auburn had the opposite experience, saying “Aloha” to a tournament victory after winning a tight first-round battle against No. 5 Iowa State, followed by dubs over No. 12 North Carolina and unranked Memphis.
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Consider this your fiscally responsible excuse to rep your love for leveling the playing field in style.
Thanks for supporting a women-run and operated startup. We couldn’t level the playing field without you.
*Limited sizing, while supplies last🏐 Women’s volleyball national tournament field is set
Pitt, Penn State, Louisville, and Nebraska all secured No. 1 seeds in the 64-team field announced yesterday afternoon. Last season’s champion, Texas, received a No. 3 seed, while 2023 Player of the Year Sarah Franklin and Wisconsin earned a No. 2 seed. They will square off in the same region as aforementioned Big Ten rival Nebraska.
- The first round is set to start this Thursday, leading up to the December 22nd National Championship game airing on ABC. Aces, incoming.
⚽ All-ACC Women’s College Cup kicks off December 6th
And then there were four, and they’re all from the ACC with No. 1 overall seed Duke, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 2 Wake Forest, and No. 3 Stanford booking tickets to the women’s soccer semis over the weekend.
- Duke beat their semis foe UNC twice in three games this season, while Stanford and Wake Forest met once with Wake Forest coming out on top. Is it Friday yet?
⚽ No. 1 Ohio State survives No. 16 Stanford’s upset bid, advances to Friday’s men’s soccer quarter-finals
Title favorite Ohio State needed a penalty shootout to escape upset-minded Stanford while unranked UMass came through for the underdog, defeating No. 11 Virginia 1-0.
- Regulation wasn’t enough in several of the third round contests, with four games going to extra time. Nobody said it was easy.
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Here’s what has GIST HQ buzzing:
👗 Where to find the ultimate winter dress
REI Co-op, where you can snag this Mountain Hardwear Summit Grid Dress for 25% off thanks to their Cyber Week deals — perfect when layered over leggings for a snowy walk through the woods or a cute outfit at an après ski. So cozy.*
🍓 What to eat
Pop-Tarts. Edible mascots are back for the upcoming Pop-Tarts Bowl, and this year’s MVP will get to pick which flavor gets devoured. Delicious.
📖 Where to meet
In your inbox for The GIST Book Club’s discussion on November’s book of the month, The Snap by Elizabeth Staple. Subscribe to The GIST Book Club’s newsletters to keep the conversation going.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Warm and fuzzy.Today’s email was brought to you by Eden Laase and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Marga Sison and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of Content Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.