Everyone watches women’s sports, indeed
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy holidays!
Heads up, we’ll be taking some time off to celebrate and recharge, but there’s plenty of college sports action to keep you busy until we’re back on January 3rd with the first newsletter of 2025. Until then, let’s scroll one last time in 2024.
— USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins, on her No. 7 Trojans’ 72–70 Saturday win over No. 4 UConn, played in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,684 fans. Everyone watches women’s sports, indeed.
Volleyball
🏐 Serving up a championship
The GIST: No. 1 seed Penn State women’s volleyball defeated fellow No. 1 seed Louisville in four sets in yesterday’s national championship game, claiming the program’s eighth overall title and first in a decade.
- And the Nittany Lions did it in historic fashion: Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who won a natty as a player with Penn State in 1999, is now the first woman to coach her team to a Division I volleyball title. File that under things we love to see.
How it happened: The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead before Louisville evened things up with an epic marathon win in the second set. But the Cardinals ran out of gas from there, and Penn State found a spike in energy, winning consecutive sets handily to take home the title.
- Graduate student outside hitter Jess Mruzik was the difference-maker for the champs, nabbing Most Outstanding Player honors with her 29 kills, 14 digs, and five blocks. Truly doing it all.
Zooming out: Viewership numbers for yesterday’s final aren’t out yet, but a whole host of records have already been aced. The semifinals drew 1.1M viewers, a 4% increase from last season’s numbers. Not to mention, a record-setting crowd of 21,726 fans took in the semifinals action.
- As for yesterday’s title game, a national record 21,860 fans packed the KFC Yum! Center to watch the confetti fall. And with more pro volleyball options than ever before, it’s just the start of spiking growth in the sport.
Football
🏈 First (round) down
The GIST: After a weekend full of blowouts in the first round of the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP), the upcoming quarter-finals (featuring the top four teams who automatically received byes) should be more exciting.
- These bowl games have familiar names, but they mean even more this year. Here’s what to expect when the fun kicks off next week, airing on ESPN.
🎉 Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State — December 31st at 7:30 p.m. ET: This game features a few of the country’s best running backs (RB): Boise State junior and Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty, and Penn State’s explosive duo, juniors Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who helped the Nittany Lions to a first-round rout of No. 11 SMU. Who will run away with this one?
🍑 Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State — January 1st at 1 p.m. ET: This one is a classic matchup of offense vs. defense. Arizona State All-American RB Cam Skattebo is just 75 yards shy of breaking the program’s single-season rushing record, while Texas’ defense ranks eighth in the country in yards allowed per carry (3.1) – clamps that were on full display in their Saturday victory over No. 12 Clemson.
🌹 Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon — January 1st at 5 p.m. ET: These teams met back on October 12th, where Oregon narrowly won 32–31. But the Buckeyes offense looks rematch ready after throttling No. 9 Tennessee 42–17 on Saturday. Can they dethrone the undefeated Ducks?
🍭 Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia — January 1st at 8:45 p.m. ET: Notre Dame is red-hot, posting 11 straight wins, including topping Indiana to open the CFP on Friday. Meanwhile, Georgia, aiming for its third national title in four years, will need to overcome the loss of senior quarterback Carson Beck, who’s out with an injury.
Together With Skyscanner
🍹Vacation, all you ever wanted
Is your New Year’s resolution to travel more without draining your bank account? Skyscanner has you covered with the 10 best budget-friendly places to travel in 2025. We’re talking:
- 🏖️ A beachside getaway to the south of France
- ⛷️ Exploring a stellar U.S. ski town
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🏀 JuJu Watkins and No. 7 USC women defeat No. 4 UConn in primetime clash
The Trojans led by as many as 18 points before UConn, led by Paige Bueckers’ second-half surge and 22 points, stormed back to make it a nail-biter. But USC closed it out as Watkins finished with 25 points, including three clutch free throws to complete the upset in Hartford. This one certainly lived up to the hype.
😱 South Florida women upset No. 9 Duke 65–56
The Bulls’ defense rattled the Blue Devils, holding their typically hot-shooting squad to just 38.9% shooting. And the South Florida offense was cooking, too — senior Sammie Puisis was unstoppable with a game-high 23 points. That's a W for the underdogs.
🌰 Unranked Ohio State men blow past No. 4 Kentucky
After losing three of their last five games, the Buckeyes bounced back in a big way, defeating Kentucky 85–65 on Saturday. Junior Bruce Thornton led the way with a season-high 30 points, including a near-perfect 13-for-14 performance from the free throw line to hand the Wildcats just their second loss of the season. Big time.
👣 UNC men defeat UCLA No. 18 behind career game from Ian Jackson
The Tar Heels trailed by as many as 16 points before mounting a massive comeback en route to a 76–74 win over the Bruins — UNC’s first top-25 win of the season. Freshman rookie Ian Jackson played like a vet, coming off the bench to notch a career-high 24 points in the dramatic dub.
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Recs from our roster!
👟 What to snag
Nike x Isamaya Ffrench. Fresh new Air Max Dn colorways inspired by influential female athletes are here to elevate your sneaker game.
❄️ What to embrace
JOMO. Bid adieu to FOMO and welcome JOMO (the joy of missing out) this winter. Why not enjoy the game in your PJs and revel in winter's comfort?
✈️ What to learn about
NFL travel logistics. There’s massive planning involved, from booking 200 hotel rooms to thoughtful details like player-specific room numbers.
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.