Bevo, Uga featured on new sports NYT Connections ahead of Georgia-Texas football game

(Heads up! This story contains spoilers for Wednesday’s Connections: Sports Edition)

The New York Times recently released a beta testing version of its popular Connections game, with the new option being focused on sports.

Clearly today’s Connections: Sports Edition creator has the Georgia-Texas football game on his or her mind.

Connections shows players 16 tiles and the objective is to make four groups of four with the tiles. In the original game, groupings can range from last names to homophones to items that belong together.

Wednesday’s Connections: Sports Edition set included both “UGA” and “BEVO” on tiles, which ultimately grouped with “REVEILLE” and “SMOKEY” to create a group of four live college football mascots. All four are also notably SEC program mascots.

While the upcoming Georgia-Texas showdown gives this set a certain timeliness, many will connect Uga and Bevo based on the last time the Bulldogs played the Longhorns in the 2019 Sugar Bowl. Bevo, an orange and white longhorn steer, charged at Uga, an English bulldog, during an attempted photo op. Neither animal was harmed, though a photographer was scratched on his back by Bevo’s horn.

Texas, which is a 4-point favorite for the game this weekend, won the game 28-21.

Connections was launched in June 2023 and is part of the New York Times’ suite of games, including its digital crossword, Mini crossword, LetterBoxed and popular Wordle. Connections: Sports Edition, branded as The Athletic’s first NYT game, launched last month.