It's still early in the season and I haven't had a chance to watch either team in action, so I thought I'd look at how we match up per the intermat/Win rankings and see if we can get some discussion going this week.
Here's the rankings (taking an educated guess at the lineups), with the ISU guys listed first:
125 – Patrick Hunter (NR/NR) vs. Matt McDonough (1/1)
133 – Brandon Jones (NR/NR) vs. Tyler Clark (9/NR) or Nick Trizzino (NR/18)
141 – Chris Drouin (11/13) vs. Mark Ballweg (NR/NR)
149 – Nate Carr, Jr. (17/13) vs. Jeret Chiri (NR/NR)
157 – Trent Weatherman (NR/NR) vs. Derek St. John (10/11)
165 – Andrew Sorenson (17/13) (ISU) vs. Jake Kerr (16/NR)
174 – Jon Reader (3/7) vs. Ethan Lofthouse (19/16)
184 – Cole Shafer (NR/NR) vs. Grant Gambrall (8/8)
197 – Jerome Ward (11/9) vs. Luke Lofthouse (12/17)
285 – Kyle Simonson (NR/NR) or Matt Gibson (NR/NR) vs. Blake Rasing (16/NR)
So based entirely off of the rankings I'd say the following on a match by match basis:
125 – Strong Iowa
133 – Strong Iowa
141 – Strong ISU
149 – Strong ISU
157 – Strong Iowa
165 – Weak ISU
174 – Strong ISU
184 – Strong Iowa
197 – Toss-up
285 – Weak Iowa
So Iowa has four matches they should win, and ISU has three, with one match for each where they are they slight the favorite, and one toss-up.
I think the keys to ISU winning on Friday will be to win all the matches we are supposed too, not give up too many bonus points at 125/133, pull off an upset at Heavyweight, and win the toss-up match at 197. It's a tall order but not at all impossible. I think the weight we start at might end up making a huge difference in the outcome if one team is able to gain momentum based on having a few heavy favorites in a row.
Does anybody know what's up with Tyler Clark? He injury defaulted out of the Kaufman open and hasn't wrestled again. Is he done for the season? Or was Iowa just giving him time to heal since they didn't need him for any of their duals so far? Either way we aren't favored at 133, but it could be the difference between a decision and a tech fall/pin.
Here's the rankings (taking an educated guess at the lineups), with the ISU guys listed first:
125 – Patrick Hunter (NR/NR) vs. Matt McDonough (1/1)
133 – Brandon Jones (NR/NR) vs. Tyler Clark (9/NR) or Nick Trizzino (NR/18)
141 – Chris Drouin (11/13) vs. Mark Ballweg (NR/NR)
149 – Nate Carr, Jr. (17/13) vs. Jeret Chiri (NR/NR)
157 – Trent Weatherman (NR/NR) vs. Derek St. John (10/11)
165 – Andrew Sorenson (17/13) (ISU) vs. Jake Kerr (16/NR)
174 – Jon Reader (3/7) vs. Ethan Lofthouse (19/16)
184 – Cole Shafer (NR/NR) vs. Grant Gambrall (8/8)
197 – Jerome Ward (11/9) vs. Luke Lofthouse (12/17)
285 – Kyle Simonson (NR/NR) or Matt Gibson (NR/NR) vs. Blake Rasing (16/NR)
So based entirely off of the rankings I'd say the following on a match by match basis:
125 – Strong Iowa
133 – Strong Iowa
141 – Strong ISU
149 – Strong ISU
157 – Strong Iowa
165 – Weak ISU
174 – Strong ISU
184 – Strong Iowa
197 – Toss-up
285 – Weak Iowa
So Iowa has four matches they should win, and ISU has three, with one match for each where they are they slight the favorite, and one toss-up.
I think the keys to ISU winning on Friday will be to win all the matches we are supposed too, not give up too many bonus points at 125/133, pull off an upset at Heavyweight, and win the toss-up match at 197. It's a tall order but not at all impossible. I think the weight we start at might end up making a huge difference in the outcome if one team is able to gain momentum based on having a few heavy favorites in a row.
Does anybody know what's up with Tyler Clark? He injury defaulted out of the Kaufman open and hasn't wrestled again. Is he done for the season? Or was Iowa just giving him time to heal since they didn't need him for any of their duals so far? Either way we aren't favored at 133, but it could be the difference between a decision and a tech fall/pin.
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