How the mighty have fallen! Challenging Times, the Irish Times/ RTE quiz competition for third-level colleges, commenced its televised first rounds last night with the sight of the Goliaths of NUI Maynooth taking it on their Waterford Crystal chins from the Davids of Mary Immaculate.

For the first two years of Challenging Times, Maynooth teams were unbeatable. They took the overall title in both years, shook hands, drank some Irish Times wine and then dropped off the leader board faster than a golfer with the DTs. Last year, Maynooth failed entirely to qualify for Challenging Times. This year, even its newfound full university status failed to help Maynooth to rise to the occasion. Maybe they were was something in their water.

In the end, Mary Immaculate won a low-scoring competition, leaving Maynooth to wonder if God might have smiled more favourably on them if they had remained under the control of the bishops.

Maynooth was represented by Denis Ryan, Mark Sinnott and Thomas Byrne, while Aidan O'Leary, Paul Brennan and Shane Scully made up the Mary I team.

Mary I becomes the first team to qualify for the quarter finals and will face the victor of next week's clash between former two-time winners UCC and the Honourable Society of King's Inns. (Why is it "Honourable"? These are barristers, after all.) Challenging Times is shown each Monday night on Network 2 (aka N2) at 8 p.m. The question-master is, as always, the taxi-drivers' friend, Kevin Myers.