Tournament Bigger Picture

[JAY45]

It seems like if we are able to take a step back from the OSU perspective (there are problems to be sure), the bigger picture looks like its still the B1G and everyone else...which is bad for and hurting OSU.

For one thing, the arena feels flooded with Hawkeye Fans...followed closely by Penn State, Minnesota, and Ohio State.

Mid-Pack B1G have looked solid. Nebraska is having a strong showing. Whereas the B1G has hurt them in football, it seems to have helped in wresting. It feels like there been several strong Boilermaker performances.

The Bottom Line: There are 6 B1G Teams in the Top 10. The next closest conference is the ACC with 2. 1 each for the Big 12 and the EIWA.

Team Standings After Session II (Top 8)
1. Penn State - 26.0
2. Iowa - 21.5
3. Missouri - 17.5
4. Minnesota - 16.5
NC State - 16.5
6. Cornell - 15.5
Nebraska - 15.5
8. Michigan - 14.5
Ohio State - 14.5

Takeaways:
*The B1G is the Conference to Beat...it is the B1G and everyone else.
*Pat Popolizio is a Program builder. It feels clear he should be the #1 Candidate OSU should target when a change is made. It seems there is an interesting debate to be had as far as how entrenched Pop is in Raleigh. Its an incredible area, he has a recruiting pipeline built, and it's HIS Program. I believe he would come. Is it a guarantee?
*This is Missouri near their peak...the Big 12's best is still far behind the B1G's best. OSU is not elite right now...they did beat the Big 12's Top Program, meaning they are far from mediocre.
*There have been some knocks on Cornell in other places - if you don't follow wrestling you likely don't know what a strong program they have.

 

[Harleycowboy]

It seems like if we are able to take a step back from the OSU perspective (there are problems to be sure), the bigger picture looks like its still the B1G and everyone else...which is bad for and hurting OSU.

For one thing, the arena feels flooded with Hawkeye Fans...followed closely by Penn State, Minnesota, and Ohio State.

Mid-Pack B1G have looked solid. Nebraska is having a strong showing. Whereas the B1G has hurt them in football, it seems to have helped in wresting. It feels like there been several strong Boilermaker performances.

The Bottom Line: There are 6 B1G Teams in the Top 10. The next closest conference is the ACC with 2. 1 each for the Big 12 and the EIWA.

Team Standings After Session II (Top 8)
1. Penn State - 26.0
2. Iowa - 21.5
3. Missouri - 17.5
4. Minnesota - 16.5
NC State - 16.5
6. Cornell - 15.5
Nebraska - 15.5
8. Michigan - 14.5
Ohio State - 14.5

Takeaways:
*The B1G is the Conference to Beat...it is the B1G and everyone else.
*Pat Popolizio is a Program builder. It feels clear he should be the #1 Candidate OSU should target when a change is made. It seems there is an interesting debate to be had as far as how entrenched Pop is in Raleigh. Its an incredible area, he has a recruiting pipeline built, and it's HIS Program. I believe he would come. Is it a guarantee?
*This is Missouri near their peak...the Big 12's best is still far behind the B1G's best. OSU is not elite right now...they did beat the Big 12's Top Program, meaning they are far from mediocre.
*There have been some knocks on Cornell in other places - if you don't follow wrestling you likely don't know what a strong program they have.

The Big 12 would look a lot better as a conference if we were performing like we should be. Our great recruiting has not turned out at all for us because of bad luck, bad decisions and wrestling development not being what it should. 2023 recruiting class looks great but 2024 class doesn't look good. Penn. St. jumped all over this 24 class getting Sealy rated 3rd, Ryder 6th, Gibson 7th, Mirasola 11th, Mirasola 21st plus 3 top recruits in the 2023 class. We better get a a top 2024 guy or really hit it big with 2025 recruits. Also the 2020 class got wrecked and 2021 class has been a disappointment. 2022 class we lost Anthony Ferrari, and Williams was disappointing so far and Blankenship had major injuries so we don't have a clue what we got yet.

 

[Mrgrapple]

Gee didn't we just win the Co - Championship of the dual season and finished conference runner-up in the tournament. Sure we are not doing good at the national tournament but we were not seeded to do good at it with only two wrestlers seeded to AA. I am a former letterman at OSU and still support our wrestlers and coaches. Are we where we want to be, definitely not. We made great improvements this season as a dual team and smaller tournament team but need some top individuals to regain our national tournament strength.

 

[topc22blue]

Remember days when we only had 2 out during blood rds, not 2 left

 

[JAY45]

Gee didn't we just win the Co - Championship of the dual season and finished conference runner-up in the tournament. Sure we are not doing good at the national tournament but we were not seeded to do good at it with only two wrestlers seeded to AA. I am a former letterman at OSU and still support our wrestlers and coaches. Are we where we want to be, definitely not. We made great improvements this season as a dual team and smaller tournament team but need some top individuals to regain our national tournament strength.

I’m sorry that’s what you took from it.
Multiple things can be true at once.
This has been a disaster for OSU and substantial changes need to be made.
AND it’s the rest of the world vs the B1G, which is also hurting OSU.

Obviously the standard at OSU is Championship. It doesn’t mean there are not positives when the Team fails to live up to the Standard.

 

[Okie_Pat]

Gee didn't we just win the Co - Championship of the dual season and finished conference runner-up in the tournament. Sure we are not doing good at the national tournament but we were not seeded to do good at it with only two wrestlers seeded to AA. I am a former letterman at OSU and still support our wrestlers and coaches. Are we where we want to be, definitely not. We made great improvements this season as a dual team and smaller tournament team but need some top individuals to regain our national tournament strength.

There isn’t a dual championship anymore unfortunately so your dual record doesn’t really mean much. We were Big12 runner up which is acceptable due to the fact that Mizz is at their peak right now, but it’s nothing to be super happy about.

Regardless of how our regular season looked the only thing that really matters is how you preform at nationals. And we have been on a downward spiral with less and less guys AA’ing and winning championships.