IOWA WEEK!

AgSurfer

Senior
Aug 9, 2013
322
876
92
After Gable, Iowa hired Zalesky who won 3 championships and then Brands who has won 4 championships. Zalesky and Brands were from the Gable tree. The Hawks should probably keep it in house and go to the Brands tree. Telford or Morningstar seem to be the logical choices.😄
Metcalf seems to me to be the best Hawkeye choice.
Yeah - I agree. Metcalf would probably be a one of the best options. The question is whether he would be willing to leave his current position at Iowa State. I'm sure Iowa would offer a nice carrot for him to jump ship and return to Iowa. And Slumlord Bob would probably chip in with some added incentive.
 

kingstown

Junior
Dec 7, 2025
127
380
63
Yeah - I agree. Metcalf would probably be a one of the best options. The question is whether he would be willing to leave his current position at Iowa State. I'm sure Iowa would offer a nice carrot for him to jump ship and return to Iowa. And Slumlord Bob would probably chip in with some added incentive.
Metcalf loves it in Ames and is probably the heir apparent, but money and prestige might be higher at Iowa. I think he would take Carr with him as the two are very close. That would suck.
 

Nitlion1986

All-Conference
Apr 13, 2024
591
1,674
93
Yeah - I agree. Metcalf would probably be a one of the best options. The question is whether he would be willing to leave his current position at Iowa State. I'm sure Iowa would offer a nice carrot for him to jump ship and return to Iowa. And Slumlord Bob would probably chip in with some added incentive.
I am not sure about Nicolls, he seems to be a Brands' fan boy.
 

kingstown

Junior
Dec 7, 2025
127
380
63
Metcalf may not want back in that bubble. I know Metcalf and he is a really great human, but I do see him as more of a hands on guy in the room rather than wanting to be the face of a program raising money and the like.
 
Jan 21, 2012
1,077
631
113
Try is the key word. Hard to slow Van Ness, mesenbrink, Haines and barr down. Maybe throw duke in that group.
It would be a disappointing night for PSU if they do not get at least 4 bonus point wins and a pleasant surprise for the Hawk fans if PSU gets less than 6 bonus point wins.

It is possible one of the Brands brothers will have to be admitted to a hospital after this. This may be a bigger piece of humble pie than either of them can digest.
 

NittanyChris

Senior
Dec 3, 2001
184
572
93
I have the feeling that Caliendo is going to beat MM at some point this season. Let's see if I am correct or a total moron.
I'll refrain from calling you a moron, but I'll disagree with this take strongly. The only way that Caliendo and has made it closer recently as he's shifted to wrestling purely defensively, not to lose. There's no way he can win in that style as Mitchell won't allow it to be a one TD match in the future. Caliendo is a very good wrestler but Mitchell will be an all-time great when all is said and done.
 

kingstown

Junior
Dec 7, 2025
127
380
63
I have the feeling that Caliendo is going to beat MM at some point this season. Let's see if I am correct or a total moron.
I don't think it is crazy simply because it is hard to keep beating a guy that good over and over. I do think Mitch is the very best college wrestler at any weight, so if anyone can keep it going it might just be MM. If there is a better guy active now it would be Levi imo.
 
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Nitlion1986

All-Conference
Apr 13, 2024
591
1,674
93
Caliendo is a very good 165 college wrestler. If he was close to Mesenbrink and the matches were always 1 or 2 point affairs, thinking he will eventually get a win would make sense. Having 1 out of 6 matches where he didn't get his *** beat into a pulp, combined with he did nothing in that single match but maintain a low and proximal adverse position and never attempted to secure an offensive point tells me thinking he is closing the gap and has a shot is a fool's appreciation for the situation.
 

Aardvark86

Senior
Oct 12, 2021
525
789
93
It would be a disappointing night for PSU if they do not get at least 4 bonus point wins and a pleasant surprise for the Hawk fans if PSU gets less than 6 bonus point wins.

It is possible one of the Brands brothers will have to be admitted to a hospital after this. This may be a bigger piece of humble pie than either of them can digest.
You know what would be kinda funny? If they made tom “ferentz” terry.
 
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Joejitsu

Sophomore
Jun 10, 2025
150
163
43
MM looks even better this season. Not sure Caliendo beats him. Maybe it's closer, but the way MM has been going after pins is saying something.
Agreed... I see Mitch still improving and his attacks are becoming more diverse... I really dont know that I see how Caliendo would score on Mitch with enough consistency to erase what Mitch will bring. I think defensively caliendo can slow the onslaught for a little but no enough offense to give himself a realistic chance at a victory
 

paleryder

Freshman
Apr 28, 2017
30
72
13
Gotta share this with you guys. I saw a Facebook post about how great Spencer Lee is. I wrote “If he had gone to Penn State he would have won 4 NCAA titles and his knees would still be healthy.”

Someone replied, You’re an idiot.”

My reply to them was, “Ha ha ha! Nothing better than when an Iowa fan bites down hard on the bait.” 😈

I don’t know how to post Facebook posts here, otherwise you guys could pile on, especially @johnstownsteel!
I saw that on FB just few minutes ago. Are your initials MS by any chance??
 

1995PSUGrad

All-Conference
Nov 16, 2019
735
1,088
93
I'll refrain from calling you a moron, but I'll disagree with this take strongly. The only way that Caliendo and has made it closer recently as he's shifted to wrestling purely defensively, not to lose. There's no way he can win in that style as Mitchell won't allow it to be a one TD match in the future. Caliendo is a very good wrestler but Mitchell will be an all-time great when all is said and done.
I am not an expert, but if I had to made confidence picks, I would put Mitchell being undefeated at the top of my list.
 
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railbirrd

Sophomore
Nov 1, 2003
62
100
18
I don't think it is crazy simply because it is hard to keep beating a guy that good over and over. I do think Mitch is the very best college wrestler at any weight, so if anyone can keep it going it might just be MM. If there is a better guy active now it would be Levi imo.
How many times did Tyler Berger (NEB) face Nolf, and each time he lost he became more and more determined to beat Nolf at least once. Towards the end of Berger's final year his social media reflected the frustration he felt in being winless vs Nolf.
 

a_mshaffer

Junior
Dec 8, 2014
174
216
43
How many times did Tyler Berger (NEB) face Nolf, and each time he lost he became more and more determined to beat Nolf at least once. Towards the end of Berger's final year his social media reflected the frustration he felt in being winless vs Nolf.
sorenson and zain... MM is going to end up with only 1 loss in his college career!
 
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Lil Nicky Scarfo

All-Conference
Jul 1, 2025
883
2,123
93
How many times did Tyler Berger (NEB) face Nolf, and each time he lost he became more and more determined to beat Nolf at least once. Towards the end of Berger's final year his social media reflected the frustration he felt in being winless vs Nolf.
How frustrated did you think Taylor became after getting clowned on by Dake continually
 

mcpat

All-Conference
Mar 12, 2021
1,149
3,606
113
I think folks lose sight of how DT ran a training center and had proven he could coach 17-18 year olds that gave up their 12th grade wrestling seasons into immediate national title contenders as true freshman.

The closest I can come up with to DT would be Askren and I don’t know that he could do the Iowa job now after the lung transplant.
 

Goggles Paisano

All-Conference
Feb 6, 2018
514
1,236
93
Let's face it. Coaching talent like Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson only comes around once in a generation. If there is anyone who might match this level of competency in the newest generation of wrestlers, it would be DT and he's already taken by Ok State....
Monopolies don't last and right now Cael is a generational unicorn, maybe the very last one in our sport.

I think once Cael retires, NCAA wrestling will return to more resemble Football, or Basketball. I suspect you will see short periods where one program exerts some dominance, but probably not more than 2-3 years at a time, and for the most part you will see 3, 4, 5 programs go through cycles of dominance as they capture and develop strong waves of talent while maintaining a consistent top 5ish status.

The Portal, NIL and 30 scholys are all equalizers. All the big schools now have world class facilities. The strength of the RTC might actually be as big a factor as anything in terms of recruiting. Granted elite guys can go to whatever RTC they want post graduation, having access to that talent for training while an undergraduate is a pretty attractive lure.

Is anyone capable of offering the exceptionally unique vision, approach and persona of a Cael Sanderson? I think this is highly highly unlikely. DT, Dake, JB, Mitchell will all have fantastic resumes, but the Cael zen master mystique goes far deeper than a resume and I don't think we will see anything close anytime soon, anywhere.
 

BaccaFarmer

Junior
Aug 20, 2018
127
324
63
1) Which Iowa wrestler is a lock to win? I don't see any.
2) They can't do it. Gable's hand-picked successors can't be fired as long as Gable is around.
Franklin. Baltimore Harbaugh. Tomlin!!
Beth Goetz knows the end is near. She’s probably classy enough to give TNT the word this month and give them a dignified burial at the end of March. Next coach?
 

Joejitsu

Sophomore
Jun 10, 2025
150
163
43
There are some great early BIG 10 tests for us here:
125
#2 Luke dec #6 Dean Peterson (luke gets his revenge) 3-0 PSU
133
#4 Marcus dec # 8 Drake Ayala (this will be a close one) 6-0 PSU
141
#7 Scooter dec #10 Nasir Bailey (his first big test at 141) 9-0 PSU
149
#1 SVN dec #12 Ryder Block (SVN will win it late) 12-0 PSU
157
#4 PJ maj dec Victor Vonivich (will dec if Williams) 15-0 PSU
165
#1 Mitch dec over #3 Mikey Caliendo (will pull away in 3rd) 18-0 PSU
174
#1 Levi dec over # 3 Patrick Kennedy (close to maj dec) 21-0 PSU
184
#4 Rocco drops one in SV to #1 Angelo Ferrari 21-3 PSU
197
#1 Barr dec #3 Massamo Endene (if Arnold maj dec) 24-3 PSU
HVY
#12 Cole drops a 7-2 dec to # 5 Ben Kueter 24-6 PSU

Worst
case scenario 18- 12
Best
case scenario Rocco and Cole pull off a victory and we shut them out 30-0 (i dont think a shutout is likely as we peak in March)
I am confident that Rocco can win this one but he will see Angelo now and learn and beat Angelo in the post season when it counts regardless of the outcome Friday
so realistically 24-6 maybe 21-9
 

McScoreley

All-Conference
Oct 31, 2021
256
1,285
93
I personally don't think Brands seat is remotely warm. The time to have moved on from him was in 2024 when David Taylor was available as a coach. He has a huge haul coming Class of 27, 28. The wrestlers love him. Moneybags Bob basically will cease donations if he was fired (not to mention I imagine Brands contract is fully guaranteed so they'd be double paying a coach for a non-revenue sport.

Then every year people will say, he won 4 titles (then Iowa fans will say it's really 5) and always finishes in the Top 5 and you can't hold him to Cael's standard because PSU is cheating anyways!
 
Jun 23, 2025
153
392
63
Monopolies don't last and right now Cael is a generational unicorn, maybe the very last one in our sport.

I think once Cael retires, NCAA wrestling will return to more resemble Football, or Basketball. I suspect you will see short periods where one program exerts some dominance, but probably not more than 2-3 years at a time, and for the most part you will see 3, 4, 5 programs go through cycles of dominance as they capture and develop strong waves of talent while maintaining a consistent top 5ish status.

The Portal, NIL and 30 scholys are all equalizers. All the big schools now have world class facilities. The strength of the RTC might actually be as big a factor as anything in terms of recruiting. Granted elite guys can go to whatever RTC they want post graduation, having access to that talent for training while an undergraduate is a pretty attractive lure.

Is anyone capable of offering the exceptionally unique vision, approach and persona of a Cael Sanderson? I think this is highly highly unlikely. DT, Dake, JB, Mitchell will all have fantastic resumes, but the Cael zen master mystique goes far deeper than a resume and I don't think we will see anything close anytime soon, anywhere.
To hit on two topics in this thread: I don’t think Iowa has any good answers post TnT, certainly not from their tree. No one is worried about Spencer Lee as a head coach, I’d offer Gilman before that route. Playing field will definitely level after Cael but I think our guy should and will be Dake. Maniacal winner, enjoys helping others, has an aura and probably the only thing that keeps DT up at night despite being bffffs.
 
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WV lion

All-Conference
Oct 17, 2021
1,038
1,227
113
Psu
There are some great early BIG 10 tests for us here:
125
#2 Luke dec #6 Dean Peterson (luke gets his revenge) 3-0 PSU
133
#4 Marcus dec # 8 Drake Ayala (this will be a close one) 6-0 PSU
141
#7 Scooter dec #10 Nasir Bailey (his first big test at 141) 9-0 PSU
149
#1 SVN dec #12 Ryder Block (SVN will win it late) 12-0 PSU
157
#4 PJ maj dec Victor Vonivich (will dec if Williams) 15-0 PSU
165
#1 Mitch dec over #3 Mikey Caliendo (will pull away in 3rd) 18-0 PSU
174
#1 Levi dec over # 3 Patrick Kennedy (close to maj dec) 21-0 PSU
184
#4 Rocco drops one in SV to #1 Angelo Ferrari 21-3 PSU
197
#1 Barr dec #3 Massamo Endene (if Arnold maj dec) 24-3 PSU
HVY
#12 Cole drops a 7-2 dec to # 5 Ben Kueter 24-6 PSU

Worst
case scenario 18- 12
Best
case scenario Rocco and Cole pull off a victory and we shut them out 30-0 (i dont think a shutout is likely as we peak in March)
I am confident that Rocco can win this one but he will see Angelo now and learn and beat Angelo in the post season when it counts regardless of the outcome Friday
so realistically 24-6 maybe 21-9
4-5 bonus wins. Haines and mesenbrink jumped yet another level.
 

Fatwoodchuck

Junior
Oct 19, 2023
247
348
63
Blaze is a guy that studies his opponents and knows their tendencies very well. I am very interested to see how he approaches the one-knee defense. Nobody has really figured out a great offensive response to the defensive tactic yet. I hope to see on Friday that the PSU coaches have developed a roadmap to counter it.
Bouzakis is one that wtestles on his knees alot more than any iowa wrestler but he uses it to get to his offense and honestly I dont hate it at all.

He drops to his knees ties up and uses it to go behind not stall out. He must not like taking shots and found an alternitive.