KSU's Goslow advances to Jeopardy National College Championship semifinals

Feb. 17—After a dominant performance in the quarterfinal round of the "Jeopardy! National College Championship," recent Kennesaw State University graduate Raymond Goslow has advanced to the semifinals.

Goslow competed with Lucy Greenman, a senior studying health analytics at William & Mary, and Jeric Brual, a senior studying film and television at NYU.

Goslow, who graduated last December, finished the night with $26,021. Greenman finished with $16,000 and Brual finished with $8,001.

Greenman and Brual both took home $10,000, which they were guaranteed just for making it to the quarterfinals.

Overall, Goslow correctly answered 28 questions, dwarfing Greenman's 11 and Brual's nine.

Despite the lopsided score, Greenman and Brual were worthy competition, Goslow said.

"They were great competition. They did really well considering how quick I was on the buzzer and everything. They put up a really good fight."

Goslow's performance in which he was the first competitor to hit the buzzer for the majority of the episode assured him that he had the "buzzer ability" to compete going forward as the competition gets harder.

His quick wit and buzzer ability are why he amassed such a high score, he said.

"I'm really quick at reading, and it takes the host long enough to read the clue that I can read ahead and figure out if I know the answer. As soon as I hit the buzzer, I had an answer that I was ready to give."

Goslow didn't feel the need to study for the show because he has been preparing for this his whole life in one way or another, he said. He felt that trying to cram for hours studying up until showtime would have only served to make him nervous.

"The most important thing for me (before competing) is to get plenty of rest and make sure I have my headspace right," he said.

He started scoring early when he beat everyone to the buzzer after Greenman's first clue was read. The clue was in the "Hits of 2021" category. It read, "She teamed with Cardi B to deal with 'Rumors' about a wide range of subjects, including groupies and smoothie cleanses." Goslow correctly answered, "Who is Lizzo?"

There was a brief stint where Greenman took an early lead, but once Goslow was on top, he continued to build his lead until the end.

Goslow accurately defined the word "hallelujah," correctly identified a "halo" as what's known as a nimbus in religious artwork and correctly identified "pi" as a truly transcendental number as he flexed his vast array of knowledge throughout the competition.

When it came time for Final Jeopardy, the question was, "A 1927 principle by this Nobel Prize winner says that some knowledge is inaccessible." All three competitors correctly answered, "Who is Heisenberg?"

By then, however, it was too late for Greenman and Brual to catch up with Goslow as he only bet a mere $821 of his $25,200 and cruised to an easy win.

Now that he has a quarterfinal win under his belt, Goslow feels much more confident going into the semifinal round.

"I got to see all of the quarterfinal games, and I have an idea of the people I might go up against," he said. "I felt really good knowing that I had had a really dominant performance, and that I could have a chance of moving on beyond the semifinals."

Greenman shared with host Mayim Bialik that she teaches Hebrew school to kindergarteners and first-graders and Brual shared that he is on the production crew of a pageant show called "Mr. Philippines."

Goslow's interesting fact was that he collects rubber ducks, he said. One of his friends jokingly showed him one and said, "This will go great with your rubber duck collection," during a road trip after high school graduation. Goslow didn't have any such collection at the time, but he decided that it was time to start one, so he did.

"My favorite rubber duck for a long time was one I have with a Rubik's Cube pattern because I also do Rubik's Cube competitions," he said. "But my coworkers at the library got me this sparkly, silver duck and they all autographed it. I think that's my new favorite."

"Jeopardy!" doesn't provide the contestants with any material to study, so rest is what Goslow is focusing on to ensure a good performance when he takes the stage again.

The semifinals will air Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., and the championship round will air Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. Viewers can tune into ABC or stream the show on Hulu.