Homework? On a long weekend? Despicable.

Over the weekend, Wisconsin mathematics professor Jordan Ellenberg shot his shot and made a wager with Penn State alum and noted math whiz John Urschel. Following Saturday’s Wisconsin-Penn State game, the loser would need to hit the books for two hours on a complicated math problem.

Make it two hours and you’ve got yourself a deal!

— John Urschel (@JohnCUrschel) September 4, 2021

Urschel, a man of his word, sent a hell of a problem Ellenberg’s way on Sunday. According to his Twitter page, Ellenberg worked on Crouzeix’s conjecture. Don’t you remember that one from algebra? Classic!

Here’s a breakdown of the equation, courtesy of good ol’ Wikipedia:

The rather infamous (and unsolved) matrix analysis equation was proposed by Michel Crouzeix in 2004. To avoid spoiling the fun, we’ll let you do the hard work and figure it out. If you send us the solution, you might just earn a genuine Onward State cup.

At any rate, Ellenberg posted on Twitter and said he actually had fun holding up his side of the bargain, noting he achieved his “secret goal” of learning some more math. However, he didn’t crack the unbroken code.

I made no headway. But I achieved my secret goal of learning some interesting math by way of "losing" my bet.

— Jordan Ellenberg (@JSEllenberg) September 6, 2021

Although Urschel is widely known as a football player, he’s a mathematician, too. While playing at Penn State, he balanced his success on the field with a degree in mathematics.

Urschel joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2014 and went on to play 40 games for the team before retiring at 26 to pursue his Ph.D. candidacy in mathematics at MIT. Since retiring, he authored a memoir, “Mind and Matter: A Life In Math And Football,” that discussed topics ranging from Black representation in STEM fields to what it means to be a modern mathematician.