Talk about riding the tide of emotions. The University of Iowa wrestling program has been through a lot in a relatively short amount of time. In the quest to dethrone Penn State and reclaim their status as THE "wrestling school" the Hawkeyes came up painfully short in a 30-8 loss to the Nittany Lions on Friday, January 31st. Not all hope is lost however, as five days later, on February 4th, the black & gold landed what many believe is the biggest recruit of all time, Bo Bassett.
Bassett may be the nuclear bomb that Iowa has been looking for to drop upon HiroStateCollegeshima, but come Friday the 7th, they better concern themselves with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The scarlet & cream aren't coming into Carver Hawkeye planning on going back to Lincoln with a loss. If you look up and down the lineup, it'd take some upsets & some bonus, but the Huskers are not out of this. Iowa's focus Friday night is going to have to be Nebraska.
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#8 Caleb Smith Vs #26 Joey Cruz |
If the Huskers want to give themselves a legitimate shot at possibly knocking off the Hawkeyes, they are going to have to get bonus, where bonus is plausible. Here at 125 lbs, it is plausible. Caleb Smith, 6th in the DI nation last year, is currently 14-4 on the season, as he hunts for another All American honor. Opponent Joey Cruz has looked good at times this season, including a very nice 6-5 win over Brendan McCrone of Ohio State. Inside Carver Hawkeye Arena, it's going to be hard for a foreigner to come in and get 8+ against a black & gold foe. However, if Mark Manning wants his biggest win of the '24-'25 season, that's exactly what he'll need out of Smith.
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| #14 Jacob Van Dee Vs #3 Drake Ayala 133 |
Wanting to avoid bonus at 125 lbs, the Hawkeyes are going to want to secure bonus at 133 lbs. Among common opponents, Van Dee lost an 11-1 major decision to Wisconsin's Zan Fugitt, whom Drake Ayala tech'd earlier this season. If you've been watching wrestling long enough, you know that doesn't always mean anything. Matter of fact, more often, it doesn't mean anything at all. Yet in an effort to shatter any hopes of a Husker win, Ayala is going to want to rack up those points. 4 would be nice, 5 would be better. 6 would be fantastic, but seeing how Ayala has 0 falls this year & 6 techs, I'll be a safer betting man.
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| #6 Brock Hardy Vs U.R. Ryder Block 141 |
6th & 3rd thus far in the DI nation, Brock Hardy is currently 16-3 on the year, with some highlights to his '24-'25 season, including a 3rd place showing in Las Vegas. From a dual perspective, I'm sure in his senior season, he would love to knock off Iowa and be a big part of the reason in doing so. Regardless of who Iowa sends out on the mat, I believe Hardy's strategy and goal remain the same. Nothing short of a major will do. Ryder Block, Cullan Schriever, Jesse Ybarra, all good, tough wrestlers, but we're talking a guy who may not be the #1 prospect but is still in the least a darkhorse national title contender. I think we see bonus here for the Huskers.
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| #3 Ridge Lovett Vs #2 Kyle Parco 149 |
Here is perhaps the most important match of the night for both teams. We have two national title contenders (and I'm sticking by that statement) about to go head-to-head. Here's what makes this match most interesting. Kyle Parco is 2-0 against Ridge Lovett. The four-time, looking to become five-time All American has defeated the Husker by scores of 3-1 & 4-3. That's one psychological edge. On the other hand, Lovett dismantled Shayne Van Ness earlier this season 10-2, and then SVN turned around & borrowed a recipe from Colonel Harlan Sanders himself when he cooked Parco in a PFH (Pennsylvania Fried Hawkeye) 17-6 extra crispy dish. So much of wrestling can be mental & Parco wrestling in front of a home crowd of 14K+ will certainly be of advantage. A dual W on the line, this one is a must win for both programs.
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| #4 Antrell Taylor Vs U.R. Miguel Estrada 157 |
For the life of me, I can not figure why Iowa would want to burn Miguel Estrada's redshirt. I've racked my brain, and all I can come up with is something that at the moment seems unthinkable. Ludicrous, crazy. Insane if you will. Jacori Teemer doesn't seem 100% right now. Injured earlier this year in a match against Paniro Johnson of Iowa State, the Hawkeye isn't healing up as quickly as was hoped. I'm wondering if Brands & Co are possibly trying to get Estrada prepared for the BIG 10's, in that "just in case" moment where Teemer wouldn't be ready to go by March 8th. They know that at the National tournament, they need all hands on deck. Sending 9 ain't gonna cut it, they need to send all 10. As farfetched as it sounds, that's the only explanation I can come up with.
Maybe we'll see Teemer back in action on Friday. If so that makes the Estrada redshirt smoldering even more bizarre. Teemer himself isn't a shoe-in against Taylor & as well as the CKLV champ has been wrestling this year, I'm not giving the chance of an upset a ton of probability. I think Estrada will keep this one to a decision, but I do think we're looking at a Cornhusker victory.
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| #8 Christopher Minto Vs #2 Mikey Caliendo 165 |
I haven't heard anything about Bubba Wilson's return, so I'm pretty sure we're going to see Christopher Minto in action Friday night. This is where Mikey Caliendo is going to have to illustrate why he has a strong #2 ranking, against a very formidable opponent. 14-1 on the season, 11 of the Hawkeyes' victories have seen bonus points. Minto is 16-1 on the season, & throughout every collegiate match he has ever wrestled, he's never lost by more than 5 points. Iowa could use bonus in this match, but all information provided, we're probably looking at a respectable decision.
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| #14 Lenny Pinto Vs #6 Patrick Kennedy 174 |
NCAA DI R12'er last year, Lenny Pinto has had a few hiccups thus far in '24-'25, but for the most part has looked pretty solid in a 16-4 season. Patrick Kennedy, who at the beginning of the season looked like he might serve as a reserve, has been proving and reproving himself time and time again. I've argued on Kennedy's behalf many times over the past 3 months, & believe the Hawkeye has more than earned his right to be the 174 representative in Evanston.
Friday night provides an opportunity for both of these talents to be determining factors to their team's victory. A Pinto upset over Kennedy could be the pivotal momentum the Husker's need to pull off this victory. A solid Kennedy victory could be the very thing that turns that hope into despair.
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| #8 Silas Allred Vs #5 Gabe Arnold 184 |
In my opinion, from my observation, it didn't seem to me that in a 2-1 tiebreaker victory, that Gabe Arnold's focus was on Jaxon Smith, when Iowa dualed Maryland on Sunday. It looked to me like Arnold's mind was on something else. Silas Allred may not be Carter Starocci, but we're talking about a former BIG 10 champ here, who has been R12 at the NCAA's the past two seasons. Arnold better be thinking about Allred, and Allred only, or he could live to regret it. I realize we could also see Angelo Ferrari in action, but this doesn't seem like the time or place to use up his remaining matches.
Arnold is 12-0 on the season, and while he's had a handful of scares, he has walked off the mat every time this season with his hand raised. Allred at 14-3, as far as I'm concerned will be Arnold's toughest challenge yet in '24-'25. With the Husker's desire to upend, the Hawkeyes rely heavily on an attentive Arnold.
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| #20 Camden McDanel Vs #1 Stephen Buchanan 197 |
If Iowa does find themselves in jeopardy by this point in the dual, this is where the Hawkeyes bring out their heavy artillery. Stephen Buchanan, or should I say Bu-cannon, because the 197'er has been blasting through the competition this year like a cannon ball sinking ship after ship. 15-0 on the season, only three of those wins didn't include bonus points. Keeping this match to a decision is exactly what Camden McDanel is going to want to do, but we're inside of Carver, with the atmosphere of 14K+ Hawkeye fans screaming in support of their wrestlers. I do see bonus here for the Hawkeyes.
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| #22 Harley Andrews Vs #11 Ben Kueter HWT |
I'll defend my argument that the Huskers can win this dual, but I'll be specific, that it can only be done a certain way. They're going to have get bonus from Smith & Hardy, and they absolutely must win any and all tossup situations throughout the middle weights. An upset wouldn't hurt the old yokels either. By the time we get into the upper-weights, if Nebraska isn't leading by a significant margin, then forget about it. Call up the Rolling Stones, & tell them to add a little gold to their 1966 hit, because by the time we hit the 197 lbs weight class, we're painting this one black.
Bonus for the Hawkeye? I wouldn't rule it out, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it either. I definitely expect a dominant win for the young Hawkeye, but not sure if it'll translate into 8 or more points.
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