#2 Iowa at #4 Nebraska Preview

No. 2 Iowa has maintained their spot in the dual rankings so far this year with victories over Cal Baptist, No. 16 Oregon State, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 20 Penn, and Columbia. This Friday, they will take on their toughest test of the season to date in their Big Ten opener against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are also undefeated in duals after sneaking out an 18-17 victory over Northern Iowa last weekend. The match between the Hawkeyes and the Cornhuskers could feature as many as 16 ranked wrestlers. The following is a match-by-match preview of the event.

125: No. 7 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Drake Ayala (Iowa)

If the dual starts at 125 pounds, it could begin with one of the key swing matches. Smith and Ayala wrestled previously at the 2022 Southern Scuffle. In that bout, Ayala scored the only two takedowns of the contest and walked away with a 5-2 score.

So far this season, Smith has gone 14-2 with both of his losses coming against No. 6 Jore Volk (Wyoming). However, he has secured himself a spot in the top 10 of the wild 125-pound rankings due to a victory over No. 2 Matt Ramos (Purdue). 

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