Stuffing Wins Tight Thanksgiving Battle; Pumpkin Pie, Mashed Potatoes Tie for 2nd

Defending champion Stuffing edged Pumpkin Pie and Mashed Potatoes to win its second straight DtB Thanksgiving Poll championship today.

Stuffing, ranked #1 entering the four-day competition, earned 33% of the readers' votes.

Pumpkin Pie and Mashed Potatoes battled the defending champs throughout the competition, but ultimately tied for second with 29%. (As in collegiate cross country, ties in Thanksgiving Poll voting remain ties.)

2007 runner-up Turkey, though synonymous with the late-November holiday, finished 4th with 25%.

"I'm proud of the way we competed," Stuffing coach David Gates told DtB. "We won by a larger margin last year, but you never know how things will turn out in a tough competition like this one. A victory is a victory."

The bready side-dish tallied 52% of the vote en route to their 2007 title.

"The credit goes to the team," Gates added. "They're the ones who dressed for the competition. It's not like I gave them any sage advice that won it for them."

Gravy, which some observers thought might crack the top-3 this year, finished a distant 5th with 13%; Cranberries finished 6th with 12%. The two sides flip-flopped places from a year ago.

The 2009 DtB Thanksgiving Poll is scheduled to begin on November 27.