Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 15, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category The U.S. Military) for Wednesday, February 15, 2023 (Season 39, Game 113):
Losses over Asia in the 1960s led to the establishment of the program known as this at a San Diego naval base in 1969
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jason Carpenter, a fast food worker & stand-up comedian from Santa Rosa Valley, California![]() |
Stephen Webb, a data scientist from Longmont, Colorado![]() |
Kendra Westerhaus, a licensed psychologist from Pocatello, Idaho (2-day total: $47,201)![]() |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Pocatello, Idaho’s Kendra Westerhaus has won the first two games this week; today, she faces Stephen Webb and Jason Carpenter. Will she win game #3 today? The last Idahoan to win at least 3 games was Josh Saak—you may remember Josh as the player that Matt Amodio narrowly defeated to begin his incredible run of 2021.
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Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is “Top Gun”?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Top Gun, known as the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, was formed as the result of the U.S. military realizing that their air combat proficiency in the Vietnam War was seriously declining. As a result, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established at Naval Air Station Miramar. The school was made famous by the 1986 film Top Gun and its 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Landmarks; The Class Menagerie; On A Stamp; ACC School History; A Decade Of No. 1 Hits Tells A Story; Serving T For 3)
Stephen got off to the best start, doubling $2,000 on clue #4 en route to running the ACC category! Jason clawed back, however, taking the lead by the end of the round!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Stephen 7 correct 1 incorrect
Jason 5 correct 1 incorrect
Kendra 3 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Jason 13 correct 2 incorrect
Stephen 9 correct 2 incorrect
Kendra 5 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: I Have An Idea; TV Party Tonight!; Crafts; Love; Conquers; All)
Both challengers got to play Daily Doubles; Jason took the lead with a $4,000 bet on his, but Stephen re-took it with a $7,000 bet on his! Kendra had a strong time on $2,000 clues on the way to Final, but the game belonged to the challengers. Scores going into Final were Stephen at $25,800, Jason at $15,200, and Kendra at $10,800.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Stephen 22 correct 3 incorrect
Jason 22 correct 3 incorrect
Kendra 10 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 16 (0 today).
Kendra and Stephen were correct on Final—we have a new champion! Stephen returns tomorrow to defend.
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Stephen $25,800
Jason $19,200
Kendra $10,800
Tonight’s results:
Kendra $10,800 + $2,401 = $13,201 (What is Top Gun?)
Jason $19,200 – $19,199 = $1 (What is B-2)
Stephen $25,800 + $12,601 = $38,401 (What is Top Gun?) (1-day total: $38,401)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jason $6,400
Stephen $5,600
Kendra $2,800
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) ACC SCHOOL HISTORY $600 (clue #4)
Stephen 2000 +2000 (Kendra 0 Jason 0)
2) LOVE $1600 (clue #12)
Jason 10800 +4000 (Kendra 2800 Stephen 13600)
3) I HAVE AN IDEA $1200 (clue #15, $18000 left on board)
Stephen 14400 +7000 (Kendra 2800 Jason 14800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 186
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Kendra 1
Stephen 5 4 3*
Jason
DJ! Round:
Kendra 1
Stephen 5 4 4 5 3 3 1 3*
Jason 1 2 3 5 4* 1
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Stephen 3.64
Kendra 1.00
Jason 2.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 16 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Stephen $18,600 Coryat, 22 correct, 3 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Kendra $10,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 1 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Jason $16,800 Coryat, 22 correct, 3 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $46,200
Lach Trash: $3,800 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,000
Kendra Westerhaus, career statistics:
53 correct, 5 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities)
25.73% in first on buzzer (44/171)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,200)
3/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,533
Stephen Webb, career statistics:
23 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $9,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,600
Jason Carpenter, career statistics:
22 correct, 4 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,800
Stephen Webb, to win:
2 games: 76.929%
3: 59.181%
4: 45.527%
5: 35.023%
6: 26.943%
Avg. streak: 4.334 games.
Today’s interviews:
Jason got to join SAG-AFTRA due to playing a dead body.
Stephen had his marriage proposal in Tokyo derailed by a missing cell phone.
Kendra is double-jointed.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score: February 15, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Stephen $25,800 Jason $19,200 Kendra $10,800)
Kendra: Betting at least $2,401 wins if Stephen makes a cover bet and is wrong. However, this is a three-player game. You need to bet at least $6,001 to have a chance to win against Jason’s small bet range. Even moreso, you might as well go all in to maximize winnings on a single-get Final. (Actual bet: $2,401)
Stephen: Standard cover bet over Jason is $12,601. (Actual bet: $12,601)
Jason: Standard cover bet over Kendra is $2,401. (Actual bet: $19,199)
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Wrong again. I thought ‘no man left behind’.
That is what I thought of, but figured I was wrong. I just saw Top Gun Maverick.
Jumbled thoughts again (this happens far too often, I think):
1: Wouldn’t have gotten this one if I was given a million years. The only Top Gun I was familiar with prior to today was the Tom Cruise movie.
2: What are your thoughts about Ike Barinholtz being given a slot in the Tournament of Champions?
3: Looking at the matchups for the High School Reunion Tournament, it looks like Ryan Presler was brought in as the alternate, since I don’t recall his name being on the original lineup. I don’t know who he replaced.
4: Imagine how different the past two years would’ve been had Josh Saak known who received a Tony for Cats.
I think that’s it, thanks again for all you do!
Ryan replaced Rotimi from the 2018 Teen tournament.
In regards to 4, I feel the same way about Andrew He and if he’d said Manhattan in FJ.
I’m with you on this one as well.
RE 1: That wasn’t your typical Jeopardy clue in my opinion. Usual there’s some kind of tip-off within the clue itself but this one required you to actually know the response. (I didn’t get it.)
RE 2: I am an Ike B fan but this seems more like a ratings gimmick more than anything. That being said… some of the 4 and 5 game winners who made it into this season’s T of C weren’t all that great. They won low-scoring games by 1 or 2 dollars in some instances just to qualify. I think Ike could do just as well as those players or even better. Not a real contender however.
RE 2: I take the blame for them inviting Ike B to TOC — because I said the whole last Celebrity Jeopardy! episode was especially easy. JK (Though if a lot of people on Twitter, etc, [which I am not on any of] have also said that, then perhaps?)
Navy Fighter Weapons School was my guess. Probably acceptable? I only know the movie by reputation and trailers.
If you search on “United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program” the information that comes up matches on date and location, but it is called “The Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course” on the Department of Defense website (which almost immediately goes into the information about being because of the losses in Vietnam). So I think had your response been given on the show, Jeopardy! would have been able to defend their decision whether acceptable or not either way. My feeling is that if the other two contestant responses had not come close, it would have been called correct, but if either of the other two contestants had said “The Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course” or “Top Gun”, then yours would not have been accepted.
Sorry, for my main comment to you, I had actually searched on your “Navy Fighter Weapons School” and did not notice that I had picked up that other version for my ‘paste’ at the beginning. Obviously the one I first quoted (instead of your response) would have been accepted.
Easy!!! Unlike what everyone in the comments has said, the movie Top Gun helped me come to the answer. The opening text slide in both films helped me get there!
Easy for me. I was young, single, and living in San Diego in the 60s (the good old days).
Easy I was young and of course watching this movie made me see the remake starring tom Cruise. Opening text slide helped as well. Happy to see Kendra and Stephen getting this final
I just couldn’t get the ‘Stop-Loss program’ out of my head to think of anything else in 30 seconds! (But I knew that was not instituted while there was still a draft.) And I was trying to think of something defensive instead of offense.
Would “the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program,” have been accepted? Assuming, of course, someone could have written all of that out in 30 seconds and that it would have fit on the screen, lol.
I’m thinking the contestants that got it right may have known the full name but didn’t think they could get it all down and thought that Jeopardy! would not have expected them to be able to.
I think the Celebrity Jeopardy winner deserves a spot in the regular contestant pool, to compete against an accountant and a dental hygienist. Would be an interesting experience for everyone involved… Advancement to the TOC is a promotion to failure, though they’ll do it for ratings.
I got this Final Jeopady right off. What ever is it’s official name, the program seems to have been popularly known as “Top Gun” even before the original Tom Cruise movie. If anyone had even tried to respond with the offcial name, the producers would probably have had a hard time deciding what was close enough to be considered correct.