No offense is offensive

HoustonHawk

Sophomore
Mar 26, 2024
29
147
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I hear we wrestle “the Iowa way” constantly, attacking, scoring points, etc. we do none of this outside maybe a couple of wrestlers, if this is being preached to these guys they are obviously not listening anymore. We hand fight the entire match and rarely shoot or score points, it is a boring style being put on the mat and I for one am tired of it.
HWC has done nothing in international competition for years outside of Spencer Lee. What is it going to take? Our recruiting reflects the product on the mat, it is boring and frankly hard to watch any longer. I don’t know what is going on in the room, but it just is not working.
 
Jan 28, 2019
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I hear we wrestle “the Iowa way” constantly, attacking, scoring points, etc. we do none of this outside maybe a couple of wrestlers, if this is being preached to these guys they are obviously not listening anymore. We hand fight the entire match and rarely shoot or score points, it is a boring style being put on the mat and I for one am tired of it.
HWC has done nothing in international competition for years outside of Spencer Lee. What is it going to take? Our recruiting reflects the product on the mat, it is boring and frankly hard to watch any longer. I don’t know what is going on in the room, but it just is not working.
This has been discussed ad nauseam in several threads. Did it need a new one?
 
Last edited:

HoustonHawk

Sophomore
Mar 26, 2024
29
147
28
This has been discussed ad nauseum in several threads. Did it need a new one?
I have been a Brands brothers super fan since they came out of high school, but the product in the may is borderline criminal at this point. No more quietly waiting for it to get fixed, I don’t believe it can get fixed without major changes to the program. New assistants would go a long way, Terry to HWC would be a huge benefit, and Morningstar and Telford finding new jobs should not even be up for debate. Tom is going down with the ship if he doesn’t see the light.
 

grapplefan

Junior
Oct 3, 2010
136
297
63
I have been a Brands brothers super fan since they came out of high school, but the product in the may is borderline criminal at this point. No more quietly waiting for it to get fixed, I don’t believe it can get fixed without major changes to the program. New assistants would go a long way, Terry to HWC would be a huge benefit, and Morningstar and Telford finding new jobs should not even be up for debate. Tom is going down with the ship if he doesn’t see the light.
AMEN brother.
 
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Nov 1, 2021
115
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I hear we wrestle “the Iowa way” constantly, attacking, scoring points, etc. we do none of this outside maybe a couple of wrestlers, if this is being preached to these guys they are obviously not listening anymore. We hand fight the entire match and rarely shoot or score points, it is a boring style being put on the mat and I for one am tired of it.
HWC has done nothing in international competition for years outside of Spencer Lee. What is it going to take? Our recruiting reflects the product on the mat, it is boring and frankly hard to watch any longer. I don’t know what is going on in the room, but it just is not working.
For some reason Iowa guys wrestle scared. They are afraid to shoot as if something horrible will happen if they do. It's one thing to shoot and not score; it's an entirely different thing to not even try to shoot. Unfortunately 90% of the lineup is the latter. You can count their shot attempts during a match on 1 hand and still have a few fingers left over.
 

heldyhawk606

Senior
Oct 10, 2001
154
434
63
I hear we wrestle “the Iowa way” constantly, attacking, scoring points, etc. we do none of this outside maybe a couple of wrestlers, if this is being preached to these guys they are obviously not listening anymore. We hand fight the entire match and rarely shoot or score points, it is a boring style being put on the mat and I for one am tired of it.
HWC has done nothing in international competition for years outside of Spencer Lee. What is it going to take? Our recruiting reflects the product on the mat, it is boring and frankly hard to watch any longer. I don’t know what is going on in the room, but it just is not working.
Askren is that you? j/k its true and he's been right for awhile. just becomes more apparent with every match.
 
May 21, 2023
89
301
53
Its sad when the only time you saw the Iowa style during that dual was when an opposing wrestler pushed for bonus against the most offensive wrestler on the Iowa roster. Could have coasted to a decision, but pushed till the end. Wanting bonus points when the dual was already decided. In Carver. Against the second best guy in your weight. Thats the old Iowa style.
 

sdvike

All-Conference
Feb 23, 2016
789
1,680
93
I have been a Brands brothers super fan since they came out of high school, but the product in the may is borderline criminal at this point. No more quietly waiting for it to get fixed, I don’t believe it can get fixed without major changes to the program. New assistants would go a long way, Terry to HWC would be a huge benefit, and Morningstar and Telford finding new jobs should not even be up for debate. Tom is going down with the ship if he doesn’t see the light.
People say Terry to HWC, which could be beneficial. He is very well compensated where he is at, much more than what HWC could offer. Why would he take a big cut in pay to move in there? If leaving Iowa U, more likely for a div 1 head coaching job but even most of those aren't going to even match what he is currently getting.
 
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grasshawk40

Senior
Iowa Swarm member
Dec 16, 2022
417
931
93
Im tired of hearing him talk about it in pressers. It would be like hearing KF constantly talk about being more aggressive on offense after every game.
I don't think he even knows what offense is. Dude just thinks charging forward is offense. This coaching staff cant fix what is broken and we have to just be fine with it because of the candy asses who are to afraid to change... The fans and wrestlers deserve better. They can love TnT all they want but it is only hurting thier wrestling futures.
 

Drimple

Redshirt
Jun 6, 2025
11
40
13
You’re right it probably didn’t… BUT, It’s because it’s been the norm more times than not the last 15 years.
I think it's the norm for college wrestling now. The days of guys like Tony Ramos that rack up 10+ takedowns per match is long gone. Everyone seems to be content to get the one shot that's going to win.

Look at both sides of the Iowa - Penn State duel. For as much talk as there is about Iowa's lack of takedowns, what about Penn State?

Five of the matches had a single takedown (4 by Penn State, 1 by Iowa). One match had no takedowns. Sure, some of it was Iowa wrestling defensively, but it seems like across the board wrestlers only open up if there is a large skill difference between them and their opponent.
 

mvattivo

All-Conference
Jun 23, 2005
331
1,520
93
I think it's the norm for college wrestling now. The days of guys like Tony Ramos that rack up 10+ takedowns per match is long gone. Everyone seems to be content to get the one shot that's going to win.

Look at both sides of the Iowa - Penn State duel. For as much talk as there is about Iowa's lack of takedowns, what about Penn State?

Five of the matches had a single takedown (4 by Penn State, 1 by Iowa). One match had no takedowns. Sure, some of it was Iowa wrestling defensively, but it seems like across the board wrestlers only open up if there is a large skill difference between them and their opponent.

I think you should take a look at the PSU bonus rate since Cael has taken over.
 

98lberEating2Lunches

All-Conference
Feb 11, 2018
765
1,334
93
I think it's the norm for college wrestling now. The days of guys like Tony Ramos that rack up 10+ takedowns per match is long gone. Everyone seems to be content to get the one shot that's going to win.

Look at both sides of the Iowa - Penn State duel. For as much talk as there is about Iowa's lack of takedowns, what about Penn State?

Five of the matches had a single takedown (4 by Penn State, 1 by Iowa). One match had no takedowns. Sure, some of it was Iowa wrestling defensively, but it seems like across the board wrestlers only open up if there is a large skill difference between them and their opponent.
I saw a lot of defensive posturing with one arm extended to hand fight with fingers locked while giving ground. Few PSU wrestlers could get to control ties to work opponents heads to create shots. PJ seemed annoyed by this, which resulted in his 'trying to yank Williams' arm out of its shoulder socket' as one poster put it (paraphrased).

Fairly sure this wasn't a concern for either team. No real motivation to give anything away in a dual. Some will meet again in B1G and NCAA tournaments.
 
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Sir Pin Alot

Senior
Jun 25, 2025
310
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Near the bottom of this page: https://wrestling.guru/ncaa-d1-championship-team-leaderboards/

Penn State holds the top 3 places for bonus points scored at the NCAA tournament. And have 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9, all time. The most recent Iowa team is in 6th place (2018).
Even after all these years of PSU success, Iowa and OSU are way out in front in several categories that Cael and company will probably never reach. A testament to their storied histories. Crazy stats in there.
 

WhiteDog125

Senior
Dec 13, 2023
245
569
93
I think it's the norm for college wrestling now. The days of guys like Tony Ramos that rack up 10+ takedowns per match is long gone. Everyone seems to be content to get the one shot that's going to win.

Look at both sides of the Iowa - Penn State duel. For as much talk as there is about Iowa's lack of takedowns, what about Penn State?

Five of the matches had a single takedown (4 by Penn State, 1 by Iowa). One match had no takedowns. Sure, some of it was Iowa wrestling defensively, but it seems like across the board wrestlers only open up if there is a large skill difference between them and their opponent.
uh. ok
 
Jan 10, 2005
134
460
63
Cali is about it on this team. SL was obviously a hammer but he did his work on top. Desanto was Iowa style thru and thru. Kem had a motor. The bull at least pushed guys around controlling the center. The Iowa style is watched from wrestlers outside the black and gold
 

JoeBagobagels

Senior
Jun 24, 2025
740
856
92
I think it's the norm for college wrestling now. The days of guys like Tony Ramos that rack up 10+ takedowns per match is long gone. Everyone seems to be content to get the one shot that's going to win.

Look at both sides of the Iowa - Penn State duel. For as much talk as there is about Iowa's lack of takedowns, what about Penn State?

Five of the matches had a single takedown (4 by Penn State, 1 by Iowa). One match had no takedowns. Sure, some of it was Iowa wrestling defensively, but it seems like across the board wrestlers only open up if there is a large skill difference between them and their opponent.

The takedown advantage was 15-2 FWIW. That's a big difference but I will agree when skill level is closer the matches will be tighter. Not everyone is Dave Taylor, Tony Romas, Nickal, etc. I'd say it pretty normal when the wrestlers are close to even. Rutgers was obviously a bigger spread than with Iowa.