Here is a take from another PSU fan. I'll admit I was slightly worried about Brooks. Bo Nickal is phenomenal, but, the kind of guys who worry me with him are the ones who aren't afraid to go upper body throws with him. Brooks falls into that category. In my humble opinion, without Brooks hitting Bo (no catching but hitting) with a big move from is feet, I struggle to see him winning. However, Bo's style, while a blast to watch, leaves him susceptible to getting thrown himself (See NCAA finals last year). Brooks is one of the guys fearless enough to possibly win one of those upper tie throw attempts.
As for the dual, despite the score, I'll admit that Iowa blew me away in a lot of individual matches. Sorensen certainly changed my opinion of him. That was an amazing effort, and I'm not buying any excuses PSU is selling on Zain. The fact is, Sorensen not only found offense on his feet, but, figured out how to get off the bottom, which changes everything in this match-up. Obviously, I didn't expect Hall to be Meyer, but, knew it would a tough match. I also expected PSU to win by more at 165 & 197. I thought Iowa wrestled extremely hard and it was a case of the dual score not showing how tight the individual matches were.
I know that you guys know that Iowa fans aren't perfect. I've been going to nationals for years, and I've run into many more great Iowa fans than not. However, you also have a portion that doesn't like what PSU has established and makes it known, sometimes in pretty unsportsmanlike ways. However, I will be the first to admit that there is a decent sized portion of PSU fans who jumped on board the bandwagon and really don't know the sport all that well. Sitting in Rec Hall can be painful and I have to bite my lip often. I've even had to confront some PSU fans for acting extremely unsportsmanlike at bars at Nationals.
Reality is, rivalries are great for this sport. I love this sport with all my heart. I'm a PSU fan through and through, but, I just really enjoy great wrestling, and Iowa has my respect and always will. There is too much trolling from both sides. I prefer to just enjoy the rivalry and the great wrestling that comes out of it.