Mark Petterson’s knowledge of the “Lord of the Rings” books, the University of Florida’s football team and the metric system wasn’t enough to push him past a fellow “Jeopardy!” contestant from the University of Missouri.

It was still good enough for a total of $16,200 and a second-place finish in the episode for the Kansas University senior.

Petterson, a liberal arts major, competed in the show’s college tournament. The winners of each of the first five shows this week, along with the next four highest money earners, will go on to the semifinals.

Petterson and about 20 relatives and friends gathered Monday at the Red Lyon to watch his performance. His reaction to losing to a Mizzou student?

It was all in the buzzers, he said, and she was just quicker.

“If it was football, I would care,” he said. “If it’s ‘Jeopardy!,’ I don’t really care.”