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Cael does not seem particularly happy ...

honestly, i don't think either team wrestled that well tonight.

125 hildebrandt was okay, but ybarra is bad and he had to beat the buzzer for that major. only 1 takedown.

133 my thoughts are known here. rby is capable of more. desanto can't finish without the dump and that will always be his ceiling. neither team should feel great about this match

141 was going how i expected until the brain fart at the end. iowa can't be happy about eierman still being flat and cael can't be happy about lee almost pissing that away

149 murin very good. cael has to be frustrated with bartlett

157 young owes me 7 minutes of my life back. obv 157 not a strength for you guys

165 marinelli best match of the year. berge broke.

174 starocci aggressive, but couldn't finish. had kem dead to rights multiple times. 2nd match in a row where kem struggled to get to legs. going forward, even though neither can reliably score, starocci is better suited to rideouts.

184 should have been a major. assad fought, but is not on the level. brooks capable of more.

197 warner blew this match. couldn't hold up to the pace. dean has carved out a style at 197, but it's a tight rope to walk

285 good job cass. weird match kerk.

on balance, there's a lot for both coaches to be displeased about.


Spot on. Both teams searching for answers
 
The honest truth Grades from my POV

Team -

Results - B-, we won and that's what matters most!!! Better if we had delivered in a few areas to provide a point differential that would have negated the Spencer Lee effect. We could/should have won buy 10-15 points. I can see why Cael is less than enthusiastic.

Effort - C-, Almost across the board a lack luster, almost curious performance. More December like than late January. The Carver effect is real. Then again Duals < Bigs < Nationals. Keep your eyes on the prize.

125 - C, the biggest of duals an AA vs a 3rd stringer. He should have had multiple takedowns in the first and didn't even try. Should have been seeking a major by the second, then working for a fall. Underachieved despite the very late major.

133 - C, RBY should 'never' be called for stalling. I think he could have been penalized more. He was toying with AD but put the match in jeopardy in doing so. I think he didn't bring his A game on purpose, and I dont know why, but I didn't like it.

141 - A-, poor situational awareness to allow the late TD, but a solid match against an elite opponent. Delivered when it counted with the pressure on. Chop wood and carry water.

149 - D, And I am the biggest Beau supporter on this board. The kid is terrified to shoot, and won't beat anyone good if he doesn't. He has way too much talent to be a head case in terms of letting it fly. Its more than time to take the shackles off, at least try to go balls out and lose for god's sake.

157 - C-, Sorry but the Claw isn't the answer. This is the 3rd match where I have seen him repeatedly get to his feet from bottom only to have no clue what to do from that position. Awful hand control, high hips instead of low weight back into your opponent. Zero counter attempts during mat returns. No switch, no granby, no dive through the legs. It was painful to watch. I would rather see Negron because at least he shoots from neutral and scrambles.

165 - D - what I have been fearing, he just isn't a 165. Most of those guys are walking around at 175. It's not good to have three undersized wrestlers at weights where we need points (149, 165, 197). Brady has to much talent to give up the major against a guy who doesn't major much. That one really stung. Worse yet he was 'broken' which is something very hard to watch for someone in blue and white. I don't know if his tank can take it, but I am back on the Berge to 157 train, as Berge will have a big problem with multiple stronger guys at 165. 157 is a weaker weight. I think Edsel would have lost to Marinelli, but not in that somewhat embarrassing fashion.

** Ammendment - In all fairness Brady has only been in the room for a few weeks and we don't know his conditioning or level of prep prior. I think he could still jump levels given the talent over the next month and a half. Yesterday's Brady will not be March's Brady. That said he had no answer for the Bull in all three positions. I don't see him beating the top 7 at 165, where at 157 the top 3. Likewise the talent at 157 drops off faster after that.

174 - A-, He was the aggressor all match. If he can finish even half of his single legs he wins by 4+ points in regulation. Kem is super talented, and those counters were so frustrating, while amazing at the same time. Carter's conditioning still isn't there but he grinded through fatigue and gutted out a beauty in the end. His mental toughness is off the charts I wanted to give a B+, but on balance he proved he is the man.

185 - B-. A solid match against an inferior opponent. A major was the measuring stick set by many pundits (Willie, Flo,..) and he fell short there. This and 125 were supposed to be the bonus point matches. He gave up 2 releases and then showed little urgency in getting the follow on takedown. I thought his clock management could have been better. That said it was never in doubt and I love to watch his talent. He outclassed Assad as expected, and delivered a solid win.

197 - B, I remain a Warner skeptic. I think he can be beaten and broken late in matches. Max delivered but with no time to spare whatsoever. I love having Max at this weight but there is no question he is undersized. We will have a lot of nail-biters especially with the bigger 197s. A lot of grit displayed in this match and he never gives up. I don't know if he can generate an early takedown, ride hard and wear him out earlier but in order to dominate he needs to work him earlier. I love that Warner was broken at the very end. I think Max can finish anywhere from 2nd to 8th at nationals, and deliver some bonus along the way, which should keep all of us on the edges of our seats.

Heavy - D, I can't candy coat it, pretty much inexcusable. From a blast double that silenced the crowd to just plain poor judgement from there on, Kerk delivered a head scratcher. He obviously didn't learn from his first blunder. He looks a foot taller than Cass who is also heavier. You are never going to toss a more compact heavier guy from a bad position, yet he tried twice. Shades of Cenzo and Marinelli, but at least for Cenzo that was his bread and butter. I hope I never see Kerk attempt a throw again. He doesn't need it. He missed big on putting an explanation point on the team victory and avenging his loss to Cass from last year. I now predict Kerk will see a wave of body locks going forward and I just hope he will recognize that is not a position for him to mess with.

Team health A+ we got through a greuling match without any injuries and with the victory to spare. I would have loved for us to dominate, but we still win in a dual. worthy of watching again years down the road, it was a bit of a classic, despite the sloppiness.

It's tough to walk away from a huge dual win giving those grades, but that's what my eyes saw. So many individual matches where so close we could have easily lost the dual. None of our underdog matches delivered anything to be happy about. Just one breakthrough at 149-165 would have been such a massive boost, but all underachieved. A few of our hammers looked off, and a couple dug deep and gritted out some very awesome tough wins in the most hostile environment we face anywhere.

We won, we will get better, we came out healthy, we haven't peaked, We Are!
 
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Maybe, but recall that 141 and 174 were both rematches of the 2021 NCAA final, and both of those bouts also went to OT. So I doubt the issues for the PSU staff were at at 141 and 174. Besides, Starocci and Kemerer are about as evenly matched as you'll find,

Rather, Sanderson probably had a residual bad taste from 285, where Kerk unexpectedly got manhandled. Further, the bout at 133 was strange, and 165 was just ugly.
and 149 is becoming a problem!
 
Cael reminds me of Pep Guardiola, neither of them are ever happy or satisfied until a championship is secured. Duals are important for seeding but they're even more important as a learning tool, the team has a lot of room for improvement and Cael knows it.
 
To be fair there are plenty on this board that do the same thing.
Maybe. I don’t really notice if it does happen. I know Lemonpie used to get a lot of flack because he told it like the way he saw it and didn’t care if it pissed people off. He was a favorite of mine so maybe not a good example to help you prove your case. You’re probably right though.
 
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That sounds pretty easy. But maybe a factor is that Kemerer has elite defense (as does Starocci). Heck, even Nolf's scoring was relatively pedestrian against Kemerer, even when Nolf was injury free.
Ok, so Cael thinks finishing against Kem is too hard and that match is all good?

I will reiterate, Cael is probably less than satisfied with 174. Especially since he knows that if Carter finishes a couple of those deep shots he got it on Carter could win by 4 or 5. Now that isn't saying Cael is expecting Carter to ragdoll Kem, but finish the opportunities he gave himself.
 
I’m guessing Carter improves on his finishing in the last month of the season. Just a WAG. Not informed by historical improvements of PSU guys at NCAAs over the years or anything.
 
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133 - About expected. ADS needs to figure out how to wrestle when he can't dump. I think RBY respects ADS and is not taking chances, he gets the 1 TD he needs to win and is content not that Cael is.

165 - Berge needs to get to 157. Marinelli dominated. I don't understand how Berge got hit for stalling 4 times. A few times, Marinelli literally shoved Berge off the mat for stall calls, Berge was not fleeing and this is not freestyle. Berge did nothing
This take at 133 is much better than the counter argument that RBY is just playing mind games with ADS. Based on their last couple matches, it seems far more likely that RBY respects ADS and thus is cautious, and satisfied with a close, low-scoring win.

Also agree that a couple stalling calls against Berge looked to be where Marinelli simply ran or pushed him off the mat. Those were questionable IMO, but overall the entire match was a bad look for Berge. Any thought that Berge could compete with the top guys at 165 was foolishly optimistic IMO, but I figured Berge could at least keep it to a decision.
 
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Ok, so Cael thinks finishing against Kem is too hard and that match is all good?

I will reiterate, Cael is probably less than satisfied with 174. Especially since he knows that if Carter finishes a couple of those deep shots he got it on Carter could win by 4 or 5. Now that isn't saying Cael is expecting Carter to ragdoll Kem, but finish the opportunities he gave himself.
Nice try, but I said no such thing. Rather, merely stating that converting against Kemerer is easy to say but a lot harder to do. Sometimes we need to give credit to the opponent, that's all. But really don't disagree with your overall point.
 
This take at 133 is much better than the counter argument that RBY is just playing mind games with ADS. Based on their last couple matches, it seems far more likely that RBY respects ADS and thus is cautious, and satisfied with a close, low-scoring win.

Also agree that a couple stalling calls against Berge looked to be where Marinelli simply ran or pushed him off the mat. Those were questionable IMO, but overall the entire match was a bad look for Berge. Any thought that Berge could compete with the top guys at 165 was foolishly optimistic IMO, but I figured Berge could at least keep it to a decision.
Don't forget that there was also a lot of pressure on RBY last night. His match was one where Penn State was slightly favored but it wasn't a slam dunk. RBY didn't want to go out there and blow a winnable match that could decide the team score.
 
honestly, i don't think either team wrestled that well tonight.

125 hildebrandt was okay, but ybarra is bad and he had to beat the buzzer for that major. only 1 takedown.

133 my thoughts are known here. rby is capable of more. desanto can't finish without the dump and that will always be his ceiling. neither team should feel great about this match

141 was going how i expected until the brain fart at the end. iowa can't be happy about eierman still being flat and cael can't be happy about lee almost pissing that away

149 murin very good. cael has to be frustrated with bartlett

157 young owes me 7 minutes of my life back. obv 157 not a strength for you guys

165 marinelli best match of the year. berge broke.

174 starocci aggressive, but couldn't finish. had kem dead to rights multiple times. 2nd match in a row where kem struggled to get to legs. going forward, even though neither can reliably score, starocci is better suited to rideouts.

184 should have been a major. assad fought, but is not on the level. brooks capable of more.

197 warner blew this match. couldn't hold up to the pace. dean has carved out a style at 197, but it's a tight rope to walk

285 good job cass. weird match kerk.

on balance, there's a lot for both coaches to be displeased about.
Although I agree with alot in this, I don't agree that neither wrestled that well - implying that both were below average. I think the match went just about as expected. Iowa was always going to be a tough out in a dual for PSU and this one in Carver, yeah, a real grind.

125 - I know the Iowa fans are real down on Ybarra but he's not like somebody ranked #154. Before the match I told my buddy, 5-0 controlled win, Hildebrandt will never be threatened. That's how he wrestles. He gets the major late, that was a plus for me.

133 - Again, I think this match wasn't far off from my expectations. RBY won his championship last year by being really hard to score on, having a great counter attack and not being drawn out of his gameplan, ever. As much as we marvel at his quickness, where he impresses me most is that he is just so solid and very rarely makes mistakes now. DeSanto did what he could and I think they dialed up a good gameplan, but, yeah, with the dump neutralized, scoring against a guy like RBY is not in the cards for him. If anything I'd credit Brands and DeSanto for putting himself in the best position he can be in to steal a match at Carver. Knows he's not going to "pace" RBY out of the match so he dialed it down just enough to limit RBY counterattack opportunities.

141 - I said in another post I think Nicks not real comfortable in match management mode. And Eierman can be really dangerous.

149 - BB is just not as good as Murin at this point. Agreed, that is probably frustrating for Cael as he's got a lot of tools. I've really questioned his mat IQ as well at times this year.

157 - as expected from both guys this year. Young - underwhelming to say the least. Barraclough - good enough to lose close to NCAA qualifiers.

165 - yup, Berge was broke about midway through the 2nd. Not a good spot to be in against that wrestler in that spot.

174 - Starocci is really good. Kemerer is as well, and knows how to wrestle but seems more vulnerable to me now. I don't see this as 50-50 moving forward but who knows maybe Kem gets a little more in the groove as he gets more matches undet his bel? More likely that this is the Kem we'll see until the end as he tries to make it to March. Probably limited offense against the top guys and managing matches which is a difficult way to win against Starocci as you point out. But he almost did it last night.

184 - I predicted 0-0 or maybe 2-0 on a late TD at the end of the first right before the match but that AB still may get the major. That would be more in the line with how Brooks seems to attack matches against quality opponents. AB looked out of gas late in the 2nd. May have been a case of doing too much too early as he must have known a major would have pretty much secured the dual.

197 - Im not sure how Warner blew the match. He looked like he pretty much did all year to me. Hes always playing with fire in the 3rd and Dean just made him pay - this time. Kudos to Dean. Warner is who he is and will be somewhere not too high and not too low on the stand as always.

285 - Agree, kinda weird match because of the throws, but beyond that shows that Kerk still has a few things to figure out against lil Tony and probably Schulz and Parris the next time as well. Tony forced him to the other side for the snatch and it worked. Also, one escape against Parris doesn't mean he's got bottom solved.

Kerk-Cass was probably the only match that really surprised me because you get so caught up in what Kerk does great that its essy to overlook what he struggled with at times.
 
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Nice try, but I said no such thing. Rather, merely stating that converting against Kemerer is easy to say but a lot harder to do. Sometimes we need to give credit to the opponent, that's all. But really don't disagree with your overall point.
Yeah I know that, and my smart assed answer was because quoting Gibbons, it isn't easy finishing on Kemerer? "No shit". While it may be difficult to finish on Kemerer, Carter probably will need to if repeating is his goal. Or at least finishing against someone as good as Kemerer.
 
He took down Sasso last year with an excellent shot, this year, he is afraid to shoot on Murin. Head scratcher
he shoots when there is an opening for him. That is why I think he is going to be good by the way he finishes. He just needs to create the openings.
 
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Although I agree with alot in this, I don't agree that neither wrestled that well - implying that both were below average. I think the match went just about as expected. Iowa was always going to be a tough out in a dual for PSU and this one in Carver, yeah, a real grind.

125 - I know the Iowa fans are real down on Ybarra but he's not like somebody ranked #154. Before the match I told my buddy, 5-0 controlled win, Hildebrandt will never be threatened. That's how he wrestles. He gets the major late, that was a plus for me.

133 - Again, I think this match wasn't far off from my expectations. RBY won his championship last year by being really hard to score on, having a great counter attack and not being drawn out of his gameplan, ever. As much as we marvel at his quickness, where he impresses me most is that he is just so solid and very rarely makes mistakes now. DeSanto did what he could and I think they dialed up a good gameplan, but, yeah, with the dump neutralized, scoring against a guy like RBY is not in the cards for him. If anything I'd credit Brands and DeSanto for putting himself in the best position he can be in to steal a match at Carver. Knows he's not going to "pace" RBY out of the match so he dialed it down just enough to limit RBY counterattack opportunities.

141 - I said in another post I think Nicks not real comfortable in match management mode. And Eierman can be really dangerous.

149 - BB is just not as good as Murin at this point. Agreed, that is probably frustrating for Cael as he's got a lot of tools. I've really questioned his mat IQ as well at times this year.

157 - as expected from both guys this year. Young - underwhelming to say the least. Barraclough - good enough to lose close to NCAA qualifiers.

165 - yup, Berge was broke about midway through the 2nd. Not a good spot to be in against that wrestler in that spot.

174 - Starocci is really good. Kemerer is as well, and knows how to wrestle but seems more vulnerable to me now. I don't see this as 50-50 moving forward but who knows maybe Kem gets a little more in the groove as he gets more matches undet his bel? More likely that this is the Kem we'll see until the end as he tries to make it to March. Probably limited offense against the top guys and managing matches which is a difficult way to win against Starocci as you point out. But he almost did it last night.

184 - I predicted 0-0 or maybe 2-0 on a late TD at the end of the first right before the match but that AB still may get the major. That would be more in the line with how Brooks seems to attack matches against quality opponents. AB looked out of gas late in the 2nd. May have been a case of doing too much too early as he must have known a major would have pretty much secured the dual.

197 - Im not sure how Warner blew the match. He looked like he pretty much did all year to me. Hes always playing with fire in the 3rd and Dean just made him pay - this time. Kudos to Dean. Warner is who he is and will be somewhere not too high and not too low on the stand as always.

285 - Agree, kinda weird match because of the throws, but beyond that shows that Kerk still has a few things to figure out against lil Tony and probably Schulz and Parris the next time as well. Tony forced him to the other side for the snatch and it worked. Also, one escape against Parris doesn't mean he's got bottom solved.

Kerk-Cass was probably the only match that really surprised me because you get so caught up in what Kerk does great that its essy to overlook what he struggled with at times.
Kerk/Cass did not really matter last night once the dual was decided. The winner is the 2 seed at B1G's. The loser is the 3 seed, they wrestle in the semi's to be the offering to Gable. The winner in the semi's is probably the #3 at NCAA's behind Gable and Schulz. Last night did not matter.
 
I
Berge and stalling. Agree, Also agree 4 stall calls was a bit much considering Rivera wasn't anywhere that aggressive calling stalls in any other match.
If that is the best Berge has to offer one of the very elite 165 pounders he probably should consider 157. He isn't going to challenge Carr, nor Deaken but nobody at 157 is going to bully him like Marinelli did.
My opinion is that wrestling at carver pushed bill a lot.more than usual the same for desanto the crowd was really into it. By the way someone needs t bitch slap bull that bullshit he pulls after the whistle blows is rediculous. Punk shit
 
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Kerk/Cass did not really matter last night once the dual was decided. The winner is the 2 seed at B1G's. The loser is the 3 seed, they wrestle in the semi's to be the offering to Gable. The winner in the semi's is probably the #3 at NCAA's behind Gable and Schulz. Last night did not matter.
Agreed that there's no real difference between 2 and 3 seed at B10s, so last night did not affect Kerk. It did affect Cass -- had he lost last night, he likely would've been the 4 seed at B10s behind Parris.
 
Man was 174 a fun match, both guys the legs a couple times and I thought they were going to finish.

Anyone else thought how weird it was that Kem didn't fight the escape when he was riding Star in rideouts and they both got to their feet? He basically just let go, which makes no sense given the situation. I'm curious if 1) he forgot the new rules that the first rideout can end it even if both escape or 2) he's making a concerted effort to avoid certain positions because of his shoulder.

Haven't re-watched yet, but my initial thought was that he cut Starocci to avoid getting a 2nd stall call.
 
psuyankee23 (insider on 247 who knows Cael personally) said RBY is far from 100% right now. Like I said, I don't think he tapes his shoulder for a fashion statement. I'm just very grateful it's not a brace. With rumors Nick Lee might be nicked up, the next few weeks will really be about maximizing conditioning, making the adjustments and obviously, getting as close to 100% as possible.
 
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I'm not saying it's something I'd predict but every year some unseeded guy (not top 16 before 2019) or a guy in the 20s makes a run to AA. They were in that position because they took a ton of L's but it's apparent they learned from each one. Goes without saying but Beau won't have to worry about weight management in March. Why can't it be him?
 
Haven't re-watched yet, but my initial thought was that he cut Starocci to avoid getting a 2nd stall call.
I believe you are correct. He could have tried to cling but he was at high risk for giving up 1 + 1.
 
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There were some strange matches. RBY did very little offensively, just enough to win; seemed like Eierman gave up points more than Lee creating them; nothing from Beau; Berge got dominated; Starocci could not finish a shot (incredible match); Brooks had an opportunity for bonus but no takedowns after the 1st; Kerk had no business playing around up top with Cass (back outta that tie if you have to).

Hildebrandt, BearClaw and Dean wrestled really well, I thought. But otherwise, I don’t think we saw the best version of the team

Barraclough looked good? Really don't see that at all. Absolutely zero offense as per usual, didn't ride Young well and looked terrible on bottom.
 
I don't care all that much about a flat performance in CHA in January, just the ones we will see in Detroit come March. No doubt in my mind whatsoever that when the lights shine brightest only one team is coming out on top. Meet the new boss... Same as the old boss.
 
I got a feeling of what he was talking about, especially at 133 & 285, and how did Brooks not get bonus?? The good news is BigTens and Nationals aren't wrestled at Carver on a Friday night after traversing the state of Michigan 5 days earlier. Expect to see more separation in some of those wins and better performances from some of the guy that lost in the post season.

That's a good point. Traversing Lower Michigan is a drag. (The upper peninsula is cool.)
 
Cael has a schedule that he lays out every year so the squad peaks when they get to nationals. Seven weeks to go. He’s got this!
Every year the team has some lackluster performances around this time. Used to upset me thinking we were in trouble. My guess is Cael puts them in bootcamp stress building towards March. Genius.
 
That's a good point. Traversing Lower Michigan is a drag. (The upper peninsula is cool.)
Well, except that Ann Arbor and Lansing are only an hour apart and it's almost all freeway driving.

The hard part was the bus ride to/from State College.
 
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I used "weird match" as a descriptor for a ton of matches today, ironically. Nobody really got it. Disappointing.
 
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