GO LIONS, BEAT HAWKEYES!

[RoarLions1]

Title sounds like something out of the 1970's, but hey, this is me getting excited.

Ready for some great wrestling. The guys are ready and pumped too (but not too much), as these are the matches that they came to Penn State for. Could be a barn burner or could be a whitewash, not sure I care. If the guys bring the energy, the scores will take care of themselves.

I count 6 bouts tonight that could be considered toss-ups. That's crazy.

 

[tomsc]

I agree with you Roar. Only 125, 133, 174, 184 are clear cut. The other 6 could go either way, although I think Iowa is favored at 141 and we are favored at 157 if Haines go. The other 4 could really go either way. I give the bonus point advantage to Iowa. So, I would say Iowa has to win 3 of those 4 "toss ups" to win it. Tall order, but possible.

 

[Aardvark86]

Title sounds like something out of the 1970's, but hey, this is me getting excited.

Ready for some great wrestling. The guys are ready and pumped too (but not too much), as these are the matches that they came to Penn State for. Could be a barn burner or could be a whitewash, not sure I care. If the guys bring the energy, the scores will take care of themselves.

I count 6 bouts tonight that could be considered toss-ups. That's crazy.

Re the title, from the 70s:

http://gonzagatdclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo.jpg

 

[NittanyChris]

I agree with you Roar. Only 125, 133, 174, 184 are clear cut. The other 6 could go either way, although I think Iowa is favored at 141 and we are favored at 157 if Haines go. The other 4 could really go either way. I give the bonus point advantage to Iowa. So, I would say Iowa has to win 3 of those 4 "toss ups" to win it. Tall order, but possible.

Respectfully disagree. When Haines steps on the mat, there is no toss-up between he and Siebrecht. Haines is a very large favorite. That means PSU wins 33, 57, 74, and 84 and IA wins 25. That leaves 5 remaining bouts that are toss-ups. If PSU wins just 2 of the 5 toss-ups, PSU wins. If PSU wins 3 of the 5 toss-ups, then it's a rout, with PSU winning 7 matches.

WE ARE!!!

 

[RoarLions1]

Fans will be fans. I'm tamping the breaks a bit on young Haines, a true-freshman talent with unquestionable upside.

I can tell, like other greats before him, that he has the "it" factor; never seems rattled, and high confidence to go with a gifted physical wrestling skill set. But 157 last evening was far from a dominating win, and we can expect that result for the most part against the best at 157. Yes, he dominated against Model, and beat a very good Lewan in SV, but I'm not really sure where he fits among Robb, Franek, O'Connor, Humphreys, Andonian, Coleman, Scott, Lewan (if they meet again), even Saldate, and Brayton Lee, other than to say he can go with all of them. Do I believe he'll be an All-American in 2023? Yes absolutely, but unless 157 implodes, he'll be wrestling one or two of the guys listed to do it.

By rankings alone, he should win out for the regular season. Then there's the fact that he hasn't given up a dual meet takedown yet, while scoring 13 of his own. He's got the talent and the attitude to do well in the post-season. Imo, he's leaps and bounds better than he was when he stepped onto the mat at the Bearcat Open in November, and that trajectory should continue. I'll take the usual time to evaluate him when I do the Big Ten seedings work in a couple weeks. Until then, win Levi win!