| 100% | UPSET | 5 | Victory by a Cinderella team, e.g. |
| 48% | SUCCESSSTORY | 12 | Cinderella team's tale, e.g. |
| 47% | NEWSPOLL | 8 | Survey by a media outlet, e.g. |
| 46% | UPSET | 5 | Victory by a lower seed |
| 45% | BYANOSE | 7 | Victory by a very narrow margin |
| 44% | OWIE | 4 | Cut covered by a Snoopy bandage, e.g. |
| 44% | OWIE | 4 | Cut covered by a SpongeBob bandage, e.g. |
| 43% | SULTANATE | 9 | Land ruled by a Muslim sovereign, e.g. Brunei |
| 42% | COWL | 4 | Hooded cloak worn by a monk, e.g. |
| 41% | UPSET | 5 | Victory by an underrated team |
| 40% | MANAGES | 7 | Runs a baseball team from the dugout, e.g. |
| 40% | NOSE | 4 | Win by a ___ (eke out a victory) |
| 39% | PERFORMER | 9 | Contortionist, e.g., and, read syllable by syllable, a hint to the starred answers |
| 39% | SLED | 4 | Winter vehicle pulled by a team of dogs |
| 39% | MILEAGE | 7 | Total distance traveled, e.g. by a vehicle |
| 39% | ATTHE | 5 | & 24A 1910 novel by A E W Mason |
| 38% | SLED | 4 | Vehicle pulled by a team of Siberian huskies, say |
| 38% | ABET | 4 | Aid by being a lookout, e.g. |
| 38% | STRING | 6 | E, B, G, D, A or E |
| 38% | MUSICNOTES | 10 | A B C D E F G |
| 38% | MEAL | 4 | *Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, e.g. ... or a word made by changing one letter of 27a |
| 37% | RIFLE | 5 | Weapon that might be carried by a military drill team |
| 37% | THROUGH | 7 | Victory __ Air Power is a documentary by Disney |
| 37% | NOTE | 4 | A, B, C, D, E, F or G |
| 37% | OAR | 3 | Tool used by a crew team |
| 37% | SLEEPLAB | 8 | Facility staffed by a dream team? |
| 37% | SLED | 4 | Vehicle pulled by a dog team |
| 37% | CZECHEREDFLAG | 13 | "Wow! The car from Prague ekes out the victory by a nose and takes the ___!" |
| 37% | PACTS | 5 | Friendly agreements to marry if still single by a certain age, e.g. |
| 37% | ONEWAYTRAFFIC | 13 | Total dominance by a team over another during a sporting event |