Deciphering Morse code, scouring the catacombs of Paris, scaling treacherous mountains, jet setting around the globe, these are things that would normally be nothing more than the subject matter for an Indiana Jones movie, or the History Channel’s millionth spin off of “Decoding the DaVinci code.”

For the past seven weeks though, these things have been hitting closer to home than ever before, which anyone who has been following NBC’s “Treasure Hunters” fully understands. SMU’s own Sam Khurana, Francis Goldshmid and Charles Taylor have a better grasp on these tasks than most, considering they are currently on the show.

Competing under the team name “The Geniuses,” the three students have battled everything from the elements to themselves. Each week the team has solved new puzzles and overcome increasingly more difficult and complex obstacles. Treasure Hunters format is of an adventure game show consisting of challenges that are often intellectually demanding rather than physically. The guys seem to have favored “The Geniuses” from the start. That’s not to play favorites or to say that they haven’t had their own fair share of troubles, but it seems as though the team just fits.

More importantly, the students have not become disillusioned by any part of the experience. Nor have they been so sucked into the fight for the mystery treasure that they have forgotten about school either. The Geniuses have stayed grounded. They’ve stuck together and that seems to be a big part of their success on and off the show.

With an attitude of “work hard, play harder” the team has conquered nearly everything, and in the process has made it into the final three groups for the show’s season finale.

The first of two final episodes airs at 8 p.m. on Monday night, and will find the group doing whatever it takes to locate the ominous treasure, promised to be “the richest prize in television history.”