OSU Invitational 11/1/26

newguy123

All-Conference
Feb 5, 2020
1,549
2,702
113
Wish I could have been there! I do want to say there's probably not a Cowboy fan that doesn't want Dee to succeed. Heck other fanbases are pulling for Dee too from what I can tell. But performatively stalling and arguing with refs is not a good look.
 

Travis25

All-Conference
Jan 14, 2020
388
1,190
93
165: Everyone knows how this weight played out by this point. Here's my question: in our pursuit of a team title and after seeing or hearing how each guy looked (granted its early) do you feel either of these guys is a lock for a top 4-5 finish at NCAAs? I mentioned months ago when there were rumors that maybe Alex dropping to 165 was the best option? Im not convinced this still isnt the best option. Considering both Dee's and Casey's size (both on the smaller side) along with how theyre wrestling what are your thoughts?

I agree that neither guy is anywhere close to a lock for a top 5 finish. I am not sure that you gain a lot by swapping Facundo for Swiderski/Dee at 165. It seems like Facundo thinks 174 is the best place for him to break into the lineup, which tells you something. Based on what I saw yesterday, I'd roll with Swiderski at 165 and go with either Ryder or Norman at 174.

We have a lot of solid options at 165 and 174. I am not yet convinced any of them are great options.
 
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osu2082

Heisman
Jan 29, 2006
33,537
61,821
78
I'm sure it could evolve over the season, but Casey absolutely should be the guy until proven otherwise. He earned it.

I'm just saying we've had plenty of matches where Casey frankly wasn't as aggressive as he should be. Heck last time we saw Casey on the mat he was pretty checked out (NCAAs). Once Casey was on the backside he phoned it in.

I say this not to criticize Casey. Love the kid and glad he is a Cowboy. I was sticking up for him last year. I just think it is ironic because I actually see a lot of similarities between Casey and Dee at times.

We would (and did) hate Casey if he wrestled for any other school.

Casey was booed and heckled by some of our owns fans this past year, especially in the beginning. He earned a lot of their respect and admiration with his finish down the stretch and the way the staff and his teammates glowed about him.

Dee hasn’t done any of the above. He looks disinterested at times, looks like he is lazy, looks like he has constant gas tank issues and takes forever to get back to the middle (his coaches yelled at him for that several times last year). You add all that with some celebrations that were ill timed and your own fans are at best skeptical of you.

I agree and don’t like the booing but he has set his own table in some respects here.
 

Air_Thurman

Heisman
Jan 16, 2003
32,760
33,096
63
Casey was booed and heckled by some of our owns fans this past year, especially in the beginning. He earned a lot of their respect and admiration with his finish down the stretch and the way the staff and his teammates glowed about him.

Dee hasn’t done any of the above. He looks disinterested at times, looks like he is lazy, looks like he has constant gas tank issues and takes forever to get back to the middle (his coaches yelled at him for that several times last year). You add all that with some celebrations that were ill timed and your own fans are at best skeptical of you.

I agree and don’t like the booing but he has set his own table in some respects here.
I've probably been Casey's biggest defender on this board. I hated when our fanbase turned on Casey last year and I hate to see them boo Dee. I think Dee has some things he needs to figure out and work on. I get being frustrated. I don't get booing him in a ranking match.

I think its ironic because it took Casey five years of college and a transfer to get to this point. He had a lot of growing to do. He was an ubber recruit who didn't live up to the hype, could not generate offense, and consistently was doing dumb stuff on the mat (remember we all hated the guy).

Now he is an integral leader on our team who everyone loves. Dee has some growing up to do. I think Casey is a perfect example of not giving up on a kid doing that.
 

vhsalum

All-American
Nov 14, 2002
2,120
5,232
113
Casey was booed and heckled by some of our owns fans this past year, especially in the beginning. He earned a lot of their respect and admiration with his finish down the stretch and the way the staff and his teammates glowed about him.

Dee hasn’t done any of the above. He looks disinterested at times, looks like he is lazy, looks like he has constant gas tank issues and takes forever to get back to the middle (his coaches yelled at him for that several times last year). You add all that with some celebrations that were ill timed and your own fans are at best skeptical of you.

I agree and don’t like the booing but he has set his own table in some respects here.
Dee has more than earned the boos.

The antics, the stalling, the complaining, the lack of effort - getting gassed??? It's shenanigans, it's beneath his talent and the work the people in the program do.

And guess what? He's getting paid. He's not some poor college kid.
 

Travis25

All-Conference
Jan 14, 2020
388
1,190
93
We keep saying that the crowd booed Dee, but they were really booing the ref for not calling a well-deserved stall point and booing the operators for their inability to figure out the clock. It's not like they booed Dee during his intro song. Let's not be over dramatic about it.
 

mugwamp2

Senior
Sep 15, 2006
352
551
78
As someone who likes both Dee and Swid I find it odd how people treat one verse the other. Swid wasn't exactly super aggressive and he was doing plenty of complaining. Swid won and should be the guy to start the season. Went and got a TD when it mattered. Dee is way too in his own head.

The booing of Dee was utterly embarrassing. I'm rarely embarrassed by our fans, but I thought it was terrible.
The coaches were very disappointed that our fans booed D. Just could not understand any scenario where our own fans would be one of our guys
 

OSUBigBadBob

All-Conference
May 28, 2024
659
1,053
92
Never heard of anyone being booed at a fundraiser this is a first 🤣
Huh? This wasn’t a Tuesday roll around practice. These matches counted for seeding, college records, and while I’m sure not the only factor for who starts this year were a contributing factor. I hated that he was good but don’tpretend this was ”just a fundraiser” all these guys wanted it, probably more than they would have “in the room”
 
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vhsalum

All-American
Nov 14, 2002
2,120
5,232
113
Huh? This wasn’t a Tuesday roll around practice. These matches counted for seeding, college records, and while I’m sure not the only factor for who starts this year were a contributing factor. I hated that he was good but don’tpretend this was ”just a fundraiser” all these guys wanted it, probably more than they would have “in the room”
Over My Head Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
 

DartSingle128

Redshirt
Sep 9, 2026
5
12
1
People love to cheer for someone who competes at a talent disadvantage but wins through heart and grit. That is the plot of most great sports movies (Rocky, Miracle, Hoosiers, Rudy, etc.). We were all told the story of the tortoise and the hare as kids and not one of us cheered for the hare. If you can't see a difference in how Dee wrestles vs. how Casey wrestles, I am not sure what to tell you.
I think the objective person would say...neither did much in this match ! Yes, Casey took the final shot and won himself the match. But the reality is both did a whole lot of nothing for nearly 10 minutes...so I can't subscribe to one person wrestling much different here. This 165lb casey was not who we saw in the NCAA match against Van Ness.
 

Corby2

Heisman
Jul 14, 2025
5,563
12,321
113
My opinion the fans were expecting more from Dee this year . I think fans thought last year he was a true freshman we will give him another chance. And as the match went on Dee started doing what he did last year and that upset some fans . And his opponent is Casey who does everything 110%. So after hearing what happened I wasn't surprised. I guess anything can happen at a fundraiser 🤷
 

chasepollard

Heisman
Nov 25, 2005
93,468
15,952
48
My opinion the fans were expecting more from Dee this year . I think fans thought last year he was a true freshman we will give him another chance. And as the match went on Dee started doing what he did last year and that upset some fans . And his opponent is Casey who does everything 110%. So after hearing what happened I wasn't surprised. I guess anything can happen at a fundraiser 🤷
That is actually what I think. Fans and I guess donors that paid for tickets to the fundraiser expect the World caliber guy to emerge.

He didn't, and he is doing the same game he did last year. This match, with the familiarity also had more extra-curricular and emotion than normal and the vocal portion of the crowd took the side of Casey. Dee now seems to hold the moniker that he is lazy, flamboyant and has gas tank issues. The crowd let him hear their opinions.

So, much of the fanbase has no clue that he does have none of those issues except for a tad flamboyant...which is okay if you are putting on a show. I don't think they gave Casey enough credit for Wrestling a match the way he could beat a superior athlete and Dee didn't get enough credit to what his opponent was doing. I actually think Casey may be one of the best hand-fighters in the weight...which is hard to determine with no metrics to read.
 

Air_Thurman

Heisman
Jan 16, 2003
32,760
33,096
63
I think the objective person would say...neither did much in this match ! Yes, Casey took the final shot and won himself the match. But the reality is both did a whole lot of nothing for nearly 10 minutes...so I can't subscribe to one person wrestling much different here. This 165lb casey was not who we saw in the NCAA match against Van Ness.
This is kind of my point. Casey did a bunch of nothing and then goes all out at the end. He falls in that trap frequently. Now hats off to him. He went and got the TD but Casey can be pretty passive during matches until the end.
 

osu2082

Heisman
Jan 29, 2006
33,537
61,821
78
This is kind of my point. Casey did a bunch of nothing and then goes all out at the end. He falls in that trap frequently. Now hats off to him. He went and got the TD but Casey can be pretty passive during matches until the end.

I think many OSU wrestling fans are very tied into the program and all you have heard from other coaches and wrestlers is how good of a leader Swid is, how hard he works, etc and that has also paid off for him as far as perception.

You haven’t heard those same things about Dee so there isn’t any counter to what they saw most of last year and then saw again on Sunday.
 

Howie_Fartz

All-Conference
Jan 29, 2024
987
3,575
93
Its maddening to fans that understand how much talent Dee has. Where is the Dee from NDI last year? Something changed along the way. The B12s he was hard to watch last season and then came up short at NCAAs. You would think after getting rolled through and pinned in Cleveland he would have learned to keep wrestling til the whistle but Sunday showed different.

165 is a huge piece of the team title puzzle. Knowing this I watched Dee very closely every match. In his early matches he was hand fighting, holding center and looking to attack. Granted his opponents weren't much but I liked what I saw until about 4 mins in. Halfway thru the second he hits the knee and end of the period he's still pretty much there and crawls to the center after choosing bottom. He still scored points in those matches because his opponents weren't much but he slowed WAY down. So it "appears" thats where he is shape wise currently.

As far as the boos I didnt react to either guy during the match. I just watched but I did jump up on the late td. I could list everything that Dee does that drives us all crazy but theres no need. I will say that if one of our guys is wrestling someone (not a teammate) in a big match and their opponent does what Dee does consistently the roof would come off the place. So in a way I understand why some people boo'd him. That style is not a great way to rep the Orange, plain and simple. Has nothing to do with how many points are scored, lots of past Cowboy greats weren't prolific scorers. Its all the other stuff.

No clue how the weight shakes out but with 2 good opponents in LJ Arujua and Nicco Ruiz in the near future we'll know about where we are.
Side note: I still think Alex dropping would be a great option if he can make 65. . The dude looked great. He's in great shape and he attacks and at least Sunday he was finishing nearly everything.

141: Kyler Larkin is going 41 instead of 49 and then you have Consiglio from stanford. 2 good tests for Raney and or maybe Jamison.

174: you have Minto and Larkin and Garvin coming up. Do Alex and Lorenzo split matches?

184: Flo has Lucas Cochran from Neb ranked 15th and Stanfords Slava Shahbazyan ranked 12th. Will we only see Mikey?

Plenty of tests ahead. November is crammed full of great to insane match ups for the Cowboys. Nearly every weight will see at least 2 top 10 opponents this month.
 

Air_Thurman

Heisman
Jan 16, 2003
32,760
33,096
63
I think many OSU wrestling fans are very tied into the program and all you have heard from other coaches and wrestlers is how good of a leader Swid is, how hard he works, etc and that has also paid off for him as far as perception.

You haven’t heard those same things about Dee so there isn’t any counter to what they saw most of last year and then saw again on Sunday.
People I talk to say Dee is a great teammate and absolutely loves OSU. Is he the team leader Casey is? Of course not. Casey has been doing this a long time. Casey wasn't this guy after his first year of college either. Casey was, frankly, a problem. A much bigger problem than Dee has been at the same point in his career.

Casey had to grow up on and off the mat. It is awesome he did. He is a huge part of this team. It is these type of posts that get me though. Dee has a lot of growing up to do on the mat. I've never heard a bad word about the kid off of it.
 

OKCpistol

Junior
Dec 30, 2012
109
242
43
I thought people were saying Dee didn't live the life off the mat....nobody said outright partying, but "not as committed" as the other freshmen.
 
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DartSingle128

Redshirt
Sep 9, 2026
5
12
1
Its maddening to fans that understand how much talent Dee has. Where is the Dee from NDI last year? Something changed along the way. The B12s he was hard to watch last season and then came up short at NCAAs. You would think after getting rolled through and pinned in Cleveland he would have learned to keep wrestling til the whistle but Sunday showed different.

165 is a huge piece of the team title puzzle. Knowing this I watched Dee very closely every match. In his early matches he was hand fighting, holding center and looking to attack. Granted his opponents weren't much but I liked what I saw until about 4 mins in. Halfway thru the second he hits the knee and end of the period he's still pretty much there and crawls to the center after choosing bottom. He still scored points in those matches because his opponents weren't much but he slowed WAY down. So it "appears" thats where he is shape wise currently.

As far as the boos I didnt react to either guy during the match. I just watched but I did jump up on the late td. I could list everything that Dee does that drives us all crazy but theres no need. I will say that if one of our guys is wrestling someone (not a teammate) in a big match and their opponent does what Dee does consistently the roof would come off the place. So in a way I understand why some people boo'd him. That style is not a great way to rep the Orange, plain and simple. Has nothing to do with how many points are scored, lots of past Cowboy greats weren't prolific scorers. Its all the other stuff.

No clue how the weight shakes out but with 2 good opponents in LJ Arujua and Nicco Ruiz in the near future we'll know about where we are.
Side note: I still think Alex dropping would be a great option if he can make 65. . The dude looked great. He's in great shape and he attacks and at least Sunday he was finishing nearly everything.

141: Kyler Larkin is going 41 instead of 49 and then you have Consiglio from stanford. 2 good tests for Raney and or maybe Jamison.

174: you have Minto and Larkin and Garvin coming up. Do Alex and Lorenzo split matches?

184: Flo has Lucas Cochran from Neb ranked 15th and Stanfords Slava Shahbazyan ranked 12th. Will we only see Mikey?

Plenty of tests ahead. November is crammed full of great to insane match ups for the Cowboys. Nearly every weight will see at least 2 top 10 opponents this month.
I agree.....Facundo at 165 (if he can make the weight) is probably the best lineup for Ok. State. I think he would be the better option over Dee and Casey - and allows for both Facundo and Norman to be in the lineup. But I'm not even sure if that is on the table. Any insiders know ?
 

glorycowboy

All-Conference
Jun 10, 2021
889
2,049
78
Dang, disappointed that Norman and Dee were not able to capitalize it. I had high hopes for them, especially Norman. I thought he will non stop attack and go at it like MM.
 
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Howie_Fartz

All-Conference
Jan 29, 2024
987
3,575
93
People I talk to say Dee is a great teammate and absolutely loves OSU. Is he the team leader Casey is? Of course not. Casey has been doing this a long time. Casey wasn't this guy after his first year of college either. Casey was, frankly, a problem. A much bigger problem than Dee has been at the same point in his career.

Casey had to grow up on and off the mat. It is awesome he did. He is a huge part of this team. It is these type of posts that get me though. Dee has a lot of growing up to do on the mat. I've never heard a bad word about the kid off of it.
Hold up.
How did people booing Dee because it looks like he's looking for a breather translate into questioning his whole damn life as a teammate and a human? There's a problem in todays society that says if you show or vocalize disapproval of someone's actions or words you must hate them. Its always taken to the 99th degree. I'm pretty sure nobody boo'd Dee because they thought he was a trouble maker in his day to day life or a bad teammate.

As far as maturing on the mat, yes that comes with time. But either youre in shape or youre not. If youre in shape, stop doing things out there that very much make it look like you arent.
 

ionel

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2008
2,323
2,487
113
Good on DT for calling out the booing, well put,

“You can boo the opposing team, but these guys are teammates, you don’t boo our guys”
I don't agree with booing the opposing team. They are competitors, they came to compete. You are booing them when they walk in why ... because you'd rather they didn't thus you don't want to see the competition? Maybe stay home then.

Now if they are Sooners maybe an exception cause the name itself means cheaters and no one likes a cheater.
 

driad

Heisman
Nov 13, 2009
21,614
44,654
93
I don't agree with booing the opposing team. They are competitors, they came to compete. You are booing them when they walk in why ... because you'd rather they didn't thus you don't want to see the competition? Maybe stay home then.

Now if they are Sooners maybe an exception cause the name itself means cheaters and no one likes a cheater.
I’ve never boo’ed anybody, I cannot imagine being a grown man and booing some goofy kid.
 
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