5 Things Iowa Must Have to be the 2015 NCAA Champions

5.  Mike Kelly must wrestle above seed. Kelly has shown more than once this season that he has the capability to wrestle far above his current ranking.   If Iowa is going to win the 2015 NCAA championship he'll have to.   Losses like the one he had in the dual against Missouri to Joey LaValle aren't going to cut it.  Performances like he had at this year's Midlands with a third place finish and against All American Anthony Perrotti with a 4-0 win, are an absolute must if Iowa wants to get past Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State and Cornell for a team title.

4.  Mike Evans needs to be THE BEST at 174 lbs.He's already one of the best at 174, but that isn't good enough if Iowa is going to win the NCAA title.   The fabulous four of 174, include Evans, Penn State's Matt Brown, Nebraska's Robert Kokesh and Minnesota's Logan Storley.   When it is all said and done, Evans needs to be the one amongst them that is standing at the very top of the podium.  If not, he can stand no lower than fourth.

3.  Josh Dziewa and Nick Moore need to step it up and perform. Dziewa has the ability to defeat a lot of guys and be a top eight wrestler.  Moore has the talent and ability to be a NCAA finalist.   No way is he beating Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer, but as far as capability is concerned he can beat anyone else at this weight including Bo Jordan, Michael Moreno, Isaac Jordan and Nick Sulzer.    Is making the finals and finishing in second place within Moore's potential?  Without a doubt it is.   Unfortunately so is going 0-2  and the same can be said for Dziewa.   The pressure is on these two.   What will make or break Iowa is how well Dziewa and Moore end up wrestling.   At the end of the day if Iowa win's the title, it'll be cause of Dziewa and More, if they lose the title, it'll be because of Dziewa and Moore. 

2. Offense must replace counter wrestling. Some guys are able to strictly stick to counter wrestling and be successful with it.  Hell look at Derek St. John who countered his way to four All American honors and an NCAA title.  It can certainly be done but for all of the Hawkeyes currently relying solely on counter wrestling I would love to let them in on a little secret.  It is NOT working!  Take a friggin' shot!!! You wrestling for the University of Iowa.  A program that prides itself on tradition and that tradition is a relentless state of attack, attack, attack.    Why the Iowa guys aren't being offensive is beyond me.   Counter wrestling leads to 3-2 or 2-1 wins, when you can win with it.   It doesn't generate the bonus points of major decisions, technical falls and falls.   You earn those through offense.    To get past the other teams in the hunt, bonus points will be a must.

1. Eliminate the "First or Nothing" mentality.  To quote the film, "The Season: Iowa's Men of the Mat" - "Luke Eustice just finished second in the nation.  To a Hawkeye, it's as good as last."    No, actually second place is a hell of a lot better than last place because second place gets a ton of team points that help win your team an NCAA title, even if you individually don't.    Going 0-2, which would be last, doesn't do jack squat for your school.   I know how bad these guys want to win individual NCAA titles, but for your team, you have got to be hungry for third place.   Ideally it'd be fantastic if the Hawkeyes could go into the NCAA tournament and walk out with 10 individual NCAA champions.    That's not realistic though.   Guys are going to get beat, not everyone is making the finals.   Team championships are won through the consolation bracket.  When beat in the first, second, quarter final or semi final rounds, these guys need to be hungry and fighting through the consolation bracket to get third.    The feeling like a failure because you aren't going to be NCAA champion and then losing to someone in the consolations you would have otherwise majored because your heart just isn't in it anymore isn't going to cut it.   You have to be hungry for third.   That's how team titles are won. 

2015 NWCA National Duals Predictions

QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS

Iowa Vs UT-Chattanooga
Boyle dec Gilman  UTC 3 IA 0
Clark dec Soto UTC 3 IA 3
Dziewa dec Pongracz  UTC 3 IA 6
Sorenson maj Greevy UTC 3 IA 10
Kelly maj Sams UCT 3 IA 14
Moore maj Lampe UTC 3 IA 18
Evans Tech Mappes UTC 3 IA 23
Brooks maj Newberg UTC 3 IA 27
Burak maj Boykins UTC 3 IA 31
Telford dec Johnson UTC 3 IA 34

MOCS 3
HAWKEYES 34

Minnesota vs Cornell
Garrett dec Brancale CORN 3 MINN 0
Dardanes dec Gray CORN 3 MINN 3
Dardanes maj David CORN 3 MINN 7
Villalonga dec Short CORN 6 MINN 7
Ness dec Realbuto CORN 6 MINN 10
Palacio dec Wanzek CORN 9 MINN 10
Storley maj Pickett CORN 9 MINN 14
Dean maj Pfarr CORN 13 MINN 14
Schiller maj Bennett CORN 13 MINN 18
Kroells dec Aiken-Phillips CORN 13 MINN 21

GOLDEN GOPHERS 21
BIG RED 13

Ohio State Vs Lehigh
Tomasello maj Parker OSU 4 LEH 0
DiJulius dec Beckman OSU 7 LEH 0
Stieber fall Cruz OSU 13 LEH 0
Stieber maj Longo OSU 17 LEH 0
Demas dec Minotti OSU 20 LEH 0
Jordan maj Peppleman OSU 24 LEH 0
Martin dec Martinez OSU 27 LEH 0
Brown dec Courts OSU 27 LEH 3
Snyder dec Riddick OSU 30 LEH 3
Tavanello dec Vollaro OSU 33 LEH 3

BUCKEYES 33
MOUNTAIN HAWKS 3

Missouri Vs Illinois
Delgado dec Waters ILL 3 MIZZ 0
Richards dec Synon ILL 6 MIZZ 0
Rodrigues dec Mayes ILL 9 MIZZ 0
Houdashelt dec Langenderfer ILL 9 MIZZ 3
Martinez fall LaValle ILL 15 MIZZ 3
Morse dec England ILL 18 MIZZ 3
Eblen dec Brunson ILL 18 MIZZ 6
Miklis dec Reyes ILL 18 MIZZ 9
Cox Fall Koepke ILL 18 MIZZ 15
Mellon dec Black ILL 18 MIZZ 18

TIGERS 18
FIGHTING ILLINI 18
(Both teams win 5 matches a piece with 4 decisions and 1 fall a piece.   I believe this will be a great dual meet and it'll come down to the wire.   I'm simply going with Missouri because they are ranked higher.   Individual tournament wise, the Illini aren't as tough, but as a dual meet team they are very solid.  They could very easily sneak into the semi-finals)

SEMI-FINAL PREDICTIONS

Iowa Vs Minnesota
Gilman dec Brancale IA 3 MINN 0
Dardanes dec Clark IA 3 MINN 3
Dardanes dec Dziewa IA 3 MINN 6
Sorenson maj Short IA 7 MINN 6
Ness dec Kelly IA 7 MINN 9
Moore dec Wanzek IA 10 MINN 9
Storley dec Evans IA 10 MINN 12
Brooks dec Pfarr IA 13 MINN 12
Schiller dec Burak IA 13 MINN 15
Telford dec Kroells IA 16 MINN 15

HAWKEYES 16
GOLDEN GOPHERS 15

Ohio State Vs Missouri
Waters dec Tomasello MIZZ 3 OSU 0
DiJulius dec Synon MIZZ 3 OSU 3
Stieber maj Mayes MIZZ 3 OSU 7
Houdashelt dec Stieber MIZZ 6 OSU 7
Demas dec LaValle MIZZ 6 OSU 10
Jordan maj England MIZZ 6 OSU 14
Eblen dec Martin MIZZ 9 OSU 14
Miklis dec Courts MIZZ 12 OSU 14
Cox dec Snyder MIZZ 15 OSU 14
Tavanello dec Mellon MIZZ 15 OSU 17

TIGERS 15
BUCKEYES 17

THIRD PLACE

Missouri Vs Minnesota
Waters dec Brancale MIZZ 3 MINN 0
Dardanes dec Synon MIZZ 3 MINN 3
Dardanes dec Mayes MIZZ 3 MINN 6
Houdashelt maj short MIZZ 7 MINN 6
Ness Fall LaValle MIZZ 7 MINN 12
England dec Short  MIZZ 10 MINN 12
Storley dec Eblen MIZZ 10 MINN 15
Miklis dec Pfarr MIZZ 13 MINN 15
Schiller dec Cox MIZZ 13 MINN 18
Mellon dec Kroells MIZZ 16 MINN 18

TIGERS 16
GOLDEN GOPHERS 18

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

Iowa Vs Ohio State
Tomasello dec Gilman OSU 3 IA 0
DiJulius dec Clark OSU 6 IA 0
Stieber fall Dziewa OSU 12 IA 0
Sorenson dec Stieber OSU 12 IA 3
Demas dec Kelly  OSU 15 IA 3
Jordan dec Moore OSU 18 IA 3
Evans tech Martin OSU 18 IA 7
Brooks maj Courts OSU 18 IA 11
Burak dec Snyder OSU 18 IA 14
Telford fall Tavanello OSU 18 IA 20

BUCKEYES 18
HAWKEYES 20


TOP FOUR
1. Iowa Hawkeyes
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Minnesota Golden Gophers
4. Missouri Tigers

Looking forward to the NCAA DI Wrestling tournament

I usually only do two predictions a year for the NCAA tournament.   One at the very beginning of the season and then I fill out the brackets for one at the very end of the year.    This year, I've decided to do a third.   I'm anxious to see how much this one differs from my final one.  

Top 15 Teams
1. Iowa
2. Minnesota
3. Missouri
4. Edinboro
5. Ohio State
6. Cornell
7. Iowa State
8. Illinois
9. Oklahoma State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Penn State
12. Northwestern
13. Wisconsin
14. Pittsburgh
15. Nebraska


125
1. Jesse Delgado senior Illinois
2. Alan Waters senior Missouri
3. Nahshon Garrett junior Cornell
4. Joey Dance sophomore Virginia Tech
5. Thomas Gilman sophomore Iowa
6. Dylan Peters sophomore Northern Iowa
7. Josh Martinez junior Air Force
8. Sean Boyle senior Chattanooga
R12 Nathan Tomasello freshman Ohio State
R12 Tyler Cox senior Wyoming
R12 David Terao junior American
R12 Eddie Kilmara sophomore Oklahoma State

133
1. A.J. Schopp senior Edinboro
2. Cody Brewer junior Oklahoma
3. Chris Dardanes senior Minnesota
4. Johnni DiJulius junior Ohio State
5. Cory Clark sophomore Iowa
6. Earl Hall sophomore Iowa State
7. Mason Beckman junior Lehigh
8. Nick Soto senior Chattanooga
R12 Zane Richards sophomore Illinois
R12 Rossi Bruno junior Michigan
R12 Ryan Taylor sophomore Wisconsin
R12 Jimmy Gulibon sophomore Penn State

141
1. Logan Stieber senior Ohio State
2. Mitchell Port senior Edinboro
3. Nick Dardanes senior Minnesota
4. Devin Carter senior Virginia Tech
5. Josh Dziewa senior Iowa
6. Geo Martinez freshman Boise State
7. Steve Rodrigues junior Illinois
8. Lavion Mayes sophomore Missouri
R12 Anthony Ashnault freshman Rutgers
R12 Zach Horan junior Central Michigan
R12 Todd Preston senior Harvard
R12 Michael Morales senior West Virginia

149
1. Brandon Sorenson freshman Iowa
2. David Habat senior Edinboro
3. Drake Houdashelt senior Missouri
4. Jason Tsirtsis sophomore Northwestern
5. Chris Villalonga senior Cornell
6. Josh Kindig senior Oklahoma State
7. Hunter Stieber junior Ohio State
8. Sal Mastriani freshman Virginia Tech
R12 Alec Pantaleo freshman Michigan
R12 Cody Rugirello senior Hofstra
R12 Mike Racciato sophomore Pittsburgh
R12 Gabe Moreno sophomore Iowa State

157
1. Isaiah Martinez freshman Illinois
2. Dylan Ness senior Minnesota
3. James Green senior Nebraska
4. Ian Miller junior Kent State
5. Dylan Alton senior Penn State
6. Nick Brascetta junior Virginia Tech
7. Aaron Walker sophomore Citadel
8. Brian Realbuto sophomore Cornell
R12 Cody Pack junior South Dakota State
R12 Mike Kelly senior Iowa
R12 Doug Welch senior Purdue
R12 Josh Demas junior Ohio State

165
1. Alex Dieringer junior Oklahoma State
2. Isaac Jordan sophomore Wisconsin
3. Michael Moreno senior Iowa State
4. Nick Sulzer senior Virginia
5. Taylor Walsh senior Indiana
6. Bo Jordan freshman Ohio State
7. Nick Moore senior Iowa
8. Pierce Harger senior Northwestern
R12 Cooper Moore sophomore Northern Iowa
R12 Jim Wilson sophomore Stanford
R12 Peyton Walsh senior Navy
R12 Jesse Stafford senior Air Force

174
1. Mike Evans senior Iowa
2. Logan Storley senior Minnesota
3. Robert Kokesh senior Nebraska
4. Matt Brown senior Penn State
5. Cody Walters junior Ohio
6. Tyler Wilps senior Pittsburgh
7. John Eblen senior Missouri
8. Blaize Butler junior Virginia
R12 Zach Epperly freshman Virginia Tech
R12 Tanner Weatherman junior Iowa State
R12 Bryce Hammond junior Cal State Bakersfield
R12 Andy McCulley senior Wyoming

184
1. Blake Stauffer junior Arizona State
2. Max Dean sophomore Cornell
3. Taylor Meeks senior Oregon State
4. Jack Dechow sophomore Old Dominion
5. Nolan Boyd sophomore Oklahoma State
6. Max Thomusseit senior Pittsburgh
7. Lorenzo Thomas junior Pennsylvania
8. Sammy Brooks sophomore Iowa
R12 Willie Miklus freshman Missouri
R12 Lelund Weatherspoon sophomore Iowa State
R12 Nathanial Brown senior Lehigh
R12 Vic Avery junior Edinboro

197
1. Kevin Gadson senior Iowa State
2. Scott Schiller senior Minnesota
3. J'Den Cox sophomore Missouri
4. Connor Hartmann junior Duke
5. Morgan McIntosh junior Penn State
6. Nathan Burak junior Iowa
7. Kyle Snyder freshman Ohio State
8. Shane Woods senior Wyoming
R12 Braden Atwood senior Purdue
R12 Abe Ayala junior Princeton
R12 Jace Bennett senior Cornell
R12 James Fox senior Harvard

HWT
1. Mike McMullan senior Northwestern
2. Nick Gwiazdowski junior North Carolina State
3. Adam Coon sophomore Michigan
4. Bobby Telford senior Iowa
5. Spencer Myers senior Maryland
6. Connor Medberry junior Wisconsin
7. Riley Shaw senior Cleveland State
8.  Joe Stolfi senior Bucknell
R12 Jimmy Lawson senior Penn State
R12 Austin Marsden junior Oklahoma State
R12 Nick Tavanello sophomore Ohio State
R12 Evan Knutson senior North Dakota State

The BIG 10's - One Month Away

TEAMS
1. Iowa
2. Ohio State
3. Minnesota
4. Illinois
5. Michigan
6. Penn State
7. Nebraska
8. Wisconsin
9. Purdue
10. Northwestern
11. Rutgers
12. Indiana
13. Michigan State
14. Maryland

125
1. Jesse Delgado senior Illinois
2. Thomas Gilman sophomore Iowa
3. Nathan Tomasello freshman Ohio State
4. Tim Lambert sophomore Nebraska
5. Jordan Conaway junior Penn State
6. Sam Brancale sophomore Minnesota
7. Connor Youtsey sophomore Michigan
8. Sean McCabe sophomore Rutgers

133
1. Chris Dardanes senior Minnesota
2. Johnni DiJulius junior Ohio State
3. Cory Clark sophomore Iowa
4. Zane Richards sophomore Illinois
5. Ryan Taylor sophomore Wisconsin
6. Jimmy Gulibon sophomore Penn State
7. Danny Sabatello sophomore Purdue
8. Dom Malone junior Northwestern
9. Scott DelVecchio sophomore Rutgers
10. Geoff Alexander junior Maryland

141
1. Logan Stieber senior Ohio State
2. Nick Dardanes senior Minnesota
3. Josh Dziewa senior Iowa
4. Steve Rodrigues junior Illinois
5. Anthony Ashnault freshman Rutgers
6. Javier Gasca freshman Michigan State
7. Nick Lawrence senior Purdue
8. George Fisher freshman Michigan
9. Shyheim Brown sophomore Maryland
10. Jameson Oster junior Northwestern

149
1. Brandon Sorenson freshman Iowa
2. Jason Tsirtsis sophomore Northwestern
3. Hunter Stieber junior Ohio State
4. Alec Pantaleo freshman Michigan
5. Brandon Nelsen senior Purdue
6. Ken Theobold junior Rutgers
7. Zach Beitz sophomore Penn State
8. Justin Arthur sophomore Nebraska
9. Ryan Lubeck sophomore Wisconsin
10. Jake Short freshman Minnesota
11. Kyle Langenderfer freshman Illinois

157
1. Isaiah Martinez freshman Illinois
2. Dylan Ness senior Minnesota
3. Dylan Alton senior Penn State
4. James Green senior Nebraska
5. Doug Welch junior Purdue
6. Josh Demas junior Ohio State
7. Mike Kelly senior Iowa
8. Anthony Perrotti junior Rutgers
9. Brian Murphy sophomore Michigan

165
1. Isaac Jordan sophomore Wisconsin
2. Bo Jordan freshman Ohio State
3. Taylor Walsh senior Indiana
4. Nick Moore senior Iowa
5. Pierce Harger senior Northwestern
6. Jackson Morse senior Illinois
7. Taylor Massa sophomore Michigan
8. Austin Wilson junior Nebraska
9. Nick Wanzek freshman Minnesota
10. Garrett Hammond freshman Penn State
11. Ryan Watts senior Michigan State

174
1. Mike Evans senior Iowa
2. Logan Storley senior Minnesota
3. Robert Kokesh senior Nebraska
4. Matt Brown senior Penn State
5. Zac Brunson sophomore Penn State
6. Mark Martin junior Ohio State
7. Nate Jackson sophomore Indiana
8. Phil Bakuckas sophomore Rutgers
9. Chad Welch junior Purdue

184
1. Sammy Brooks freshman Iowa
2. Dominic Abounader sophomore Michigan
3. T.J. Dudley sophomore Nebraska
4. Brett Pfarr sophomore Minnesota
5. Jon Rizqallah senior Michigan State
6. Kenny Courts junior Ohio State
7. Matt McCutcheon freshman Penn State
8. Nikko Reyes sophomore Illinois
9. Ricky Robertson freshman Wisconsin
10. Pat Kissel senior Purdue

197
1. Scott Schiller senior Minnesota
2. Morgan McIntosh senior Penn State
3. Nathan Burak junior Iowa
4. Kyle Snyder freshman Ohio State
5. Braden Atwood senior Purdue
6. Spencer Johnson senior Nebraska
7. Timmy McCall senior Wisconsin
8. Max Huntley senior Michigan
9. Andrew Campolattano junior Rutgers
10. Alex Polizzi senior Northwestern

HWT
1. Mike McMullan senior Northwestern
2. Adam Coon sophomore Michigan
3. Bobby Telford senior Iowa
4. Spencer Myers senior Maryland
5. Connor Medberry junior Wisconsin
6. Jimmy Lawson senior Penn State
7. Nick Tavanello sophomore Ohio State
8. Will Smith junior Rutgers
9.  Matt Kroells sophomore Minnesota
10. Collin Jenson sophomore Nebraska