The former champion analyzes the winning strategy of star James Holzhauer

Eddie Timanus, who compiles polls of college coaches for USA TODAY Sports, has been five-time winner on Jeopardy! in 1999 and a semi-finalist at the 2000 Tournament of Champions. He offers his point of view on the remarkable series of the current champion of "Jeopardy!", James Holzhauer:

I'll admit it: from the moment he was featured on "Jeopardy!" As a (replica of Johnny Gilbert voice) "a professional sports player from Las Vegas, Nevada," I was intrigued. This guy will not be afraid to bet big, I thought.

Indeed, when James Holzhauer discovered his first daily doubled and used his now familiar phrase, "All Tokens", I thought we were going to see something special. Still, I was not quite ready for the real game changer we've seen in the last three weeks.

Already in Holzhauer's fourth win, host Alex Trebek wondered aloud whether it was too early to ask if Ken Jennings' record-breaking 74-day winning streak could be compromised. No, it was really not too early. Having already surpassed the $ 1 million mark, Holzhauer is about to exceed Jennings' total wins in regular matches in less than half of appearances.

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Jennings finally lost, and Holzhauer will do it too. But the happy challenger who will overthrow him will probably need help from Holzhauer himself. We will delve further into the question below, but first, here is a brief introduction to what made it so unstoppable.

I do not use the term "game changer" lightly. It is often used in sports contexts, although the generational talents that actually change the way their game is played are not so common. But Holzhauer plays the game like no one did, including Jennings.

First and foremost, a successful "Jeopardy!" Player must have a general knowledge base. According to what I have observed, Holzhauer, 35, does not seem to have many deficiencies in this regard. However, the ability of the candidate to control the buzzer or, to use his own name, the signaling device is equally important if not more important. According to statistics compiled by Andy Saunders on thejeopardyfan.com, Holzhauer has successfully achieved nearly 57% of his first 14 wins. It's a phenomenal percentage while two other competitors are trying to do the same.

But it's his approach to the table that has made him a real game changer. While many players, including myself, prefer to play in the categories from top to bottom and try to stick to it, Holzhauer first eliminate the big clues. Thanks to his ability to enter the first systematically and never to miss, he usually accumulates a considerable number of times that he discovers a doubled daily. He finds most of them because he is able to keep control of the board for long periods of time and, as we have seen, he is not afraid to bet big. A sports player, certainly, but maybe betting on himself is the safest bet.

This is how he was able to accumulate unprecedented scores in the history of the series. He already has the six best results in a day. Speed, instinct, self-confidence and knowledge – pretty sick, right?

So what will it take to dethrone him? This will only happen if someone is at hand before entering Final Jeopardy. That is, a score of at least half of the leader's total. Until now, all his games have been locks. This could happen in many ways.

It is conceivable that someone quick enough to beat him in the draw could keep the game tight a few times. But it is not easy for a challenger who plays his first match to reconcile this type of efficiency with the signaling button. Timing is paramount and the experience makes it better. So, it will probably be necessary for Holzhauer to really miss one of these big bets. Then, of course, the challenger should give a correct answer on the final clue and hope that the champion would have missed it. To date, Holzhauer has only missed one Final Jeopardy. As I said, it would take a little luck.

Many fans are curious to know how Holzhauer would compare to other super-champions of the past like Jennings or the winner of multiple Brad Rutter tournaments. Knowing a good thing when they see it, I would not be surprised at all that the producers of the series make such a match-up one day.

Some social media members have even been kind enough to put me on this list. Although I appreciate the feeling, I'm reasonably sure that Holzhauer would be the windshield and me the insect. I do not have the exact figures, but I suspect that my investment percentage was exceeded by 30% on a good day. So, for the moment, I would just like to see how much this guy ends up bringing home.