NYT Connections Sports Edition · #712

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#712) — September 5, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·September 5, 2026

“Before you commit to any group, ask what role each word is playing — school, city, person, or mascot — because several words look like one thing and mean another entirely.Today's puzzle has BURROW and COLUMBIA, both carrying history. BURROW appeared in Connections #672 (Jul 27, 2026) as part of things associated with Cincinnati. COLUMBIA appeared in Connections #646 (Jul 1, 2026) as part of teams with lion nicknames.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for September 5, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 BATON ROUGELouisiana's capital and home to LSU — the Tigers who connect to the blue category.

2 BURROWJoe Burrow — LSU's 2019 Heisman winner, now the Cincinnati Bengals' franchise quarterback.

3 CHASEJa'Marr Chase — Burrow's LSU teammate and Bengals receiver, not the bank or a verb.

4 CLEMSONSouth Carolina's Tigers — perennial ACC powerhouse and two-time recent national champion.

5 COLUMBIANot the Ivy League school — this Columbia is in South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks.

6 DANIELSJayden Daniels — LSU's 2023 Heisman winner, now the Washington Commanders' starting QB; not the whiskey.

7 JEFFERSONJustin Jefferson — LSU wideout turned Minnesota Vikings star; the surname also evokes a president, which is the bait.

8 LOUISVILLEThe Cardinals of Kentucky, a longtime ACC member in both football and basketball.

9 NORMANLooks like a first name; it's actually the Oklahoma city where the Sooners play.

10 RALPHIEColorado's live buffalo who charges across the field before home games — one of the most dramatic mascot entrances in college football.

11 REVEILLETexas A&M's Rough Collie — the highest-ranking member of the Corps of Cadets, outranking most humans on campus.

12 SMOKEYTennessee's Bluetick Coonhound — not Smokey Bear; this one wears an orange collar on the Knoxville sideline.

13 STANFORDThe California school that joined the ACC in 2024 after the Pac-12 dissolved — the sneakiest entry here.

14 STARKVILLEA small Mississippi city that hosts Mississippi State and its famous cowbell fans.

15 UGANot the school abbreviation — UGA is the name of Georgia's live English Bulldog mascot, now in its tenth-plus generation.

16 VIRGINIAThe Cavaliers — a founding ACC member whose campus sits in Charlottesville.

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint

These four campuses all compete in the same coastal-heavy conference.

See Group

ACC SCHOOLS

See Word

CLEMSON

See Word

LOUISVILLE

See Word

STANFORD

See Word

VIRGINIA

See Hint

Each of these places has a major college stadium drawing Saturday crowds.

See Group

SEC SCHOOL LOCATIONS

See Word

NORMAN

See Word

BATON ROUGE

See Word

COLUMBIA

See Word

STARKVILLE

See Hint

They all learned the game in Baton Rouge before going pro.

See Group

LSU ALUMNI IN NFL

See Word

BURROW

See Word

CHASE

See Word

JEFFERSON

See Word

DANIELS

See Hint

These are names, not nicknames — each belongs to a real animal on a sideline.

See Group

LIVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL MASCOTS

See Word

UGA

See Word

REVEILLE

See Word

SMOKEY

See Word

RALPHIE

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 COLUMBIA Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of Columbia University or a generic city — but here it's a specific Southern city that is home to an SEC school, not an Ivy League institution.

2 UGA Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as an abbreviation for the University of Georgia itself — but here it's the name of a specific living creature, not the school.

3 DANIELS Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of a whiskey brand or a presidential surname — but here it refers to a recent Heisman winner turned NFL starter.

4 NORMAN Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as a person's first name — but here it's a city in Oklahoma that is home to an SEC program.

5 CHASE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the verb or the bank — but here it's a surname belonging to one of the most explosive receivers to come out of Baton Rouge.

NYT Sports Connections answers for September 5, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y ACC SCHOOLS · Yellow · easiest

CLEMSON
LOUISVILLE
STANFORD
VIRGINIA

CLEMSON, LOUISVILLE, STANFORD and VIRGINIA are all current members of the ACC. Stanford's inclusion surprises many solvers — the California school joined the ACC in 2024 after the Pac-12 collapsed.

G SEC SCHOOL LOCATIONS · Green · easy

NORMAN
BATON ROUGE
COLUMBIA
STARKVILLE

NORMAN, BATON ROUGE, COLUMBIA and STARKVILLE are the home cities of SEC schools — Oklahoma, LSU, South Carolina and Mississippi State respectively. NORMAN is the biggest trap: it reads as a person's name, not a college town in Oklahoma.

B LSU ALUMNI IN NFL · Blue · medium

BURROW
CHASE
JEFFERSON
DANIELS

BURROW, CHASE, JEFFERSON and DANIELS all played college football at LSU before being drafted into the NFL. The 2019 LSU squad that produced Burrow, Chase and Jefferson is widely considered one of the greatest single-season college offenses ever assembled.

P LIVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL MASCOTS · Purple · hardest

UGA
REVEILLE
SMOKEY
RALPHIE

UGA, REVEILLE, SMOKEY and RALPHIE are the names of live animal mascots at college football programs — Georgia's English Bulldog, Texas A&M's Collie, Tennessee's Bluetick Coonhound and Colorado's buffalo respectively. UGA is the cruelest trap: most solvers see a school abbreviation, but it is actually the personal name given to Georgia's bulldog.

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Connections

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