Homer is asked to demonstrate how a proton accelerator works and causes a nuclear meltdown in class. Dean Peterson recommends Homer receive tutoring. When his tutors — three nerds named Benjamin, Doug, and Gary — try to help Homer understand physics, he refuses to cooperate. Instead, he and Bart convince them to pull a prank on rival college Springfield A&M University by kidnapping the school's mascot, a pig named Sir Oinkcelot. When the pig falls ill after Homer feeds it malt liquor, the nerds are blamed for the incident and expelled.