First off, not only is PSU the best team I have ever watched, they seem to get every break as well. It isn’t a knock. It is just what winners do. Jordan, Brady, Tiger Woods, etc. They created an aura so strong that any close situation is colored so strongly in their favor simply because you expect them to win those situations and nearly all opponents can’t keep the pace long enough to stand out enough to earn it otherwise.
With that said, let’s try to keep it civil in the responses.
125: Peterson-5th. He lost a competitive match to the undefeated #1 and the #2 ranked wrestlers in the entire country. The first being two razor close calls and the other being by far his most competitive match in 3 attempts. Let that sink in. His only losses were to the top 2 in all of DI.
133: Ayala-3rd. His only loss was also to an undefeated #1 seed who was actually only #2 in the country. He would end up beating the defending NCAA champ in wrestlebacks.
141: Bailey-3rd. Yet again, his only loss was to the #1 ranked, undefeated and Hodge co-favorite.
149: Block-9th. I don’t know what to say here. The end of the Van Ness match is one of the few times I fully blame Brands. No matter his stance on the Brick, he should have known he needed to throw it. Still Block showed a ton of heart not mailing it in and winning the mini to qualify.
157: Voinovich-9th. I absolutely hate disparaging DI wrestlers, but this guy simply shouldn’t be the guy at a top DI program. Again, at least he pulled off the mini.
165: Caliendo-2nd. He is a great wrestler stuck in a weight class with an all timer. He fought the entire match and was even the aggressor at the end against a guy that NEVER stops.
174: Kennedy-4th. So much heart and works so hard. He is simply limited against guys that can weather his head hands and scramble at a very high level.
184: Ferrari-8th. Did all he needed to do coming of a serious injury and looked a ton better than I expected. Bad break in the quarters against yet again an undefeated #1.
197: Arnold-9th. Lost in OT to the #3 and #4 giving up a ton of weight. Not sure what more you could expect.
285: Kueter-4th. Lost to the #2 and 3 seeds.
Compared to the regular season, the performance was night and day. Now look, I get that the detractors on here want Iowa to simply be even better than that. But, you can’t ignore just how good PSU is and even tOSU. Out of the 16 total losses 6 were to undefeated guys. 5 of the remaining 10 were to top 5 guys in the country. 4 of the remaining 5 were Voinovich and Arnold simply wrestling where/when they shouldn’t be. Of that the ONLY bad loss was Ryder’s 2nd.
With that said, not having Endenne and Williams there hurt BADLY. Both absolutely could have and should have scored enough to easily surpass Nebraska. Why Brands can’t get his best at all 10 weights to March is the one issue I will join everyone against him on. For whatever reason it happens every single year and it is beyond frustrating…
So, yes I understand wanting more. I do too. I want to see a damn year where the team they start with is the team on the mat HEALTHY enough to win in March. My argument hasn’t been that they are as good as many of you want them to be. I KNOW they aren’t. It has simply been that they are way better than you portray and their performance clearly showed that.
With Angelo defaulting to 8th, they had 6 top 5s and 1 Finalist. The performance actually gave me more hope that they can meet my 6 AA’s threshold. That may still not be enough for many on here, but it’s waaay better than what many called for as the season progressed…
With that said, let’s try to keep it civil in the responses.
125: Peterson-5th. He lost a competitive match to the undefeated #1 and the #2 ranked wrestlers in the entire country. The first being two razor close calls and the other being by far his most competitive match in 3 attempts. Let that sink in. His only losses were to the top 2 in all of DI.
133: Ayala-3rd. His only loss was also to an undefeated #1 seed who was actually only #2 in the country. He would end up beating the defending NCAA champ in wrestlebacks.
141: Bailey-3rd. Yet again, his only loss was to the #1 ranked, undefeated and Hodge co-favorite.
149: Block-9th. I don’t know what to say here. The end of the Van Ness match is one of the few times I fully blame Brands. No matter his stance on the Brick, he should have known he needed to throw it. Still Block showed a ton of heart not mailing it in and winning the mini to qualify.
157: Voinovich-9th. I absolutely hate disparaging DI wrestlers, but this guy simply shouldn’t be the guy at a top DI program. Again, at least he pulled off the mini.
165: Caliendo-2nd. He is a great wrestler stuck in a weight class with an all timer. He fought the entire match and was even the aggressor at the end against a guy that NEVER stops.
174: Kennedy-4th. So much heart and works so hard. He is simply limited against guys that can weather his head hands and scramble at a very high level.
184: Ferrari-8th. Did all he needed to do coming of a serious injury and looked a ton better than I expected. Bad break in the quarters against yet again an undefeated #1.
197: Arnold-9th. Lost in OT to the #3 and #4 giving up a ton of weight. Not sure what more you could expect.
285: Kueter-4th. Lost to the #2 and 3 seeds.
Compared to the regular season, the performance was night and day. Now look, I get that the detractors on here want Iowa to simply be even better than that. But, you can’t ignore just how good PSU is and even tOSU. Out of the 16 total losses 6 were to undefeated guys. 5 of the remaining 10 were to top 5 guys in the country. 4 of the remaining 5 were Voinovich and Arnold simply wrestling where/when they shouldn’t be. Of that the ONLY bad loss was Ryder’s 2nd.
With that said, not having Endenne and Williams there hurt BADLY. Both absolutely could have and should have scored enough to easily surpass Nebraska. Why Brands can’t get his best at all 10 weights to March is the one issue I will join everyone against him on. For whatever reason it happens every single year and it is beyond frustrating…
So, yes I understand wanting more. I do too. I want to see a damn year where the team they start with is the team on the mat HEALTHY enough to win in March. My argument hasn’t been that they are as good as many of you want them to be. I KNOW they aren’t. It has simply been that they are way better than you portray and their performance clearly showed that.
With Angelo defaulting to 8th, they had 6 top 5s and 1 Finalist. The performance actually gave me more hope that they can meet my 6 AA’s threshold. That may still not be enough for many on here, but it’s waaay better than what many called for as the season progressed…
. What was Angelo point total and what was #4 Mantonona total. Just trying to understand
