That was ugly...

[ginormous.headed.circus.midget]

NC STATE: 6 bonus points
Iowa: 2 bonus points

Corey Clark couldn't get bonus points on an unranked kid with a .67 record
Brody Grothus looked like he wasn't really there. Carton competes harder! Weight cut may be too much for Brody mentally. He looked smaller than Jack.
Brandon Sorensen can only get a single bonus point on a sub .500 wrestler.
Alex Meyer, wow, didn't think the floor could keep going lower to win on a locked hands call and riding time over a guy with a losing record.
Sam Brooks wrestled his absolute worst match of the year when it counted the most.

Penn State will KILL Iowa on Bonus Points alone.

On the plus side Gilman wrestled well as did Cooper.
Cooper and Rhoads wrestled the best they have all year.

Burak was his old self and made a close match out of one he could have gotten a bonus point. Not being critical, as he was never known for his bonus point capability.

Stoll, could be a deal breaker if he is hurt.
Like Brooks last year, killed the post season...

All in all, if they wrestle like this, not a lot to worry about stressing the Big 10's and NCAA's as they will be mid pack.

 

[Omahahawk86]

Brooks is who he is. He has a good single that he can only finish if he gets it up in the air. He can't finish on the mat or win the scramble. He doesn't have a short offense and isn't tough when guys are in in his legs. Every once in awhile he'll hit a pretty foot sweep against a lessor opponent. This board has a love fest with him. There's 15+ guys at this weight he COULD lose to on a given day. I would be shocked if he AA's this year and can see a 6-8 finish next year.

Go ahead a bash away but that's who he has become.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I'll give Brooks a little more credit than that. He works off double-unders pretty well, can go upper body and throw guys with some consistency, has a nice inside trip, and has a very nice tilt that can rack up the points. Unfortunately, he never got going tonight and didn't give himself a chance to execute any of his offense. Looked like he was drugged. Very weird, actually. Never seen him look remotely close to this bad, ever.

 

[Omahahawk86]

See Rutgers match.

Gravina is the only tough guy I've seen him tilt.

He gets to double unders a lot and rarely scores.

Haven't seen him toss a top 20 guy in quite some time(I could be wrong).

Inside trip is nice but can't finish it vs high level guys(see tonight).

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying but tonight wasn't at all representative of Sammy's wrestling. I've never seen him look remotely close to this bad, ever. He got flat-out pummeled by a guy he beat just a couple of months ago. Something was off tonight.

 

[Omahahawk86]

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying but tonight wasn't at all representative of Sammy's wrestling. I've never seen him look remotely close to this bad, ever. He got flat-out pummeled by a guy he beat just a couple of months ago. Something was off tonight.

Agree. He's better then that and not as good as we/this board think. I hope he can get back to hand fighting and being tough before big tens. Those two things can take you a long ways.

 

[HawkFT]

This time of year is typically the most intense training period for these guys and settling down the week before Big Tens. For whatever reason these past few teams have not been able to answer the bell and forge through that training period at the HIGHEST level (see last night and Missouri) but finish strong and have come up just short.

In a "typical" IOWA championship year we would like to see Gilman, Clark and Sorensen actually FINISH with national titles and 3-4 other all americans. This WOULD get it done. We really need those top guys to close out like they can and 3-4 guys all american. Easier said than done and really hard to see that after last night, but those top guys are that close, just need the next 3-4 to get it done (ie. Dan Erekson, Jessie Whitmer, Fiser, etc). I remember posting an eerily similar post last year as I SLOWLY stepped away from the ledge following Missouri! Last year finished respectable but not what we wanted. Hopefully mental toughness, "feeling better" prevails and last night was a reflection of the intense training period prior to a championship run. Let's hope Stoll and Brooks can get healthy quickly and we see 6-7 all americans with 2-3 champions. This is possible with a healthier Brooks and Stoll. I felt the sky was falling, but I am seeing that through goggles of (1985-86, 1991-92, 1997, 2010 Hawkeye teams).