Subs backfiring...Iowa & Mizzou

[RawDog]

7 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Fired because it is possible that he didn't start someone because of off the mat issues, and he owes one "RawDog" an explanation?

I think he owes the fans an explanation. Brands always claims he puts his best team on the mat every single year.  That is obviously not the case here.  If it is an off the mat issue then a brief comment stating that would explain his decision to not wrestle his best line up.  

Brands has fumbled this entire season, starting with losing the basset family as recruits.  Ayala, Caliendo and Kennedy are all going to end up having a worse season than last year and Iowa doesn't look to be a trophy team this season.  Williams could have contributed meaningful points at NCAAs.

[MIZ-DPT]

The Mendoza situation is essentially; he came in with plans to to start at 141. Got in a college weight room and quickly got too big to make the cut but wasn't established until after first few competitions. Coaches didn't have Edmond certify at 141 so he was locked in at 149. At that point if you pull Mendoza's redshirt you're benching a senior who has rarely missed time over his career, competed through injuries, and is well loved by the team. Ironically a good comparison is Teague, who wrestled with Robideau preseason and lost, and didn't compete first semester so he could transfer.

I think if the season started with the expectations of Mendoza wrestling off at 149 and potentially starting and giving Edmond a chance to portal at semester if he wanted I would understand. Could have been handled better early on in some spots, but I think people are very much underrating the larger effect of something like that for a team like Mizzou. Some people may not care about that idea and only want results, but they don't have the same interpersonal relationships that the coaches/athletes do in the room and the overall effect that may have. The coaches would prefer to not have situations like that but have this season (recruiting Evan Bates over Hawks, benching Conway at 157/165 for Travis/Mayfield) so I don't think it's going to be an always thing for them. 

[Pablo]

On 3/11/2026 at 5:02 AM, MidwestMan said:

Travis obviously didn't wrestle up to his ability at Big 12's. 

 

Who did he lose to that he should have beaten?

Weren't the two guys who beat him ranked pretty high?

[Show_Me]

46 minutes ago, Pablo said:

Who did he lose to that he should have beaten?

Weren't the two guys who beat him ranked pretty high?

He went 1-7 against NCAA qualifiers with his only win being against #30 Seed Root (N. Carolina)... and had a .600 Win Pct. 

His resume wasn't good enough to get a B12 Allocation so he really needed a Win against an Allocated wrestler or a finish in the Top 5. 

Edited March 12 by Show_Me

[BAC]

10 hours ago, RawDog said:

 

Williams is without a doubt a better wrestler than VV.  The decision to start VV seems extremely stupid to me.  If Brands decided to start VV over Williams due to some off the mat issues then Brands needs to make some kind of comment on that.  Otherwise I think Brands should be fired.  And I say that as a long time fan of Brands.

This was my feeling too.  From the matches I saw pre-B1Gs, Williams was a significantly better wrestler. He beat Mendoza, Travis, Conway, and only lost 4-2 to Duke and in SV to Taylor.  VV had zero wins over anyone ranked in the top 50.  As someone who roots against Iowa, I was thrilled when they put in VV, though felt bad for Williams, as he strikes me as a blood-round type who might've broken through.

The decision seemed so colossally stupid that I honestly thought Williams must have gotten hurt, or maybe there was a discipline issue.  But Brands actually answered this question directly when asked about this decision in an interview:  He said it came down to VV having more "fight" than Williams.  I don't know what's going on in practice, but I'd say the opposite is true in the actual matches.  He dropped his last few, but they were all competitive and all against some of the best guys in the country.

I wonder how Williams feels about Brands' comments.  After being passed over and then publicly slighted like that, will Williams be back next year?  Maybe a 4th school?  Will Nasir go with him?

[MizzouFan01]

43 minutes ago, BAC said:

This was my feeling too.  From the matches I saw pre-B1Gs, Williams was a significantly better wrestler. He beat Mendoza, Travis, Conway, and only lost 4-2 to Duke and in SV to Taylor.  VV had zero wins over anyone ranked in the top 50.  As someone who roots against Iowa, I was thrilled when they put in VV, though felt bad for Williams, as he strikes me as a blood-round type who might've broken through.

The decision seemed so colossally stupid that I honestly thought Williams must have gotten hurt, or maybe there was a discipline issue.  But Brands actually answered this question directly when asked about this decision in an interview:  He said it came down to VV having more "fight" than Williams.  I don't know what's going on in practice, but I'd say the opposite is true in the actual matches.  He dropped his last few, but they were all competitive and all against some of the best guys in the country.

I wonder how Williams feels about Brands' comments.  After being passed over and then publicly slighted like that, will Williams be back next year?  Maybe a 4th school?  Will Nasir go with him?

No inside information, but I wager Williams isn’t back next year at Iowa. Folks on the Iowa board said he was downtown partying the weekend of B10s. Not that he can’t do that, he is a college student after all. However with his past incident you would think he wouldn’t do those things. 

[BAC]

3 hours ago, MizzouFan01 said:

No inside information, but I wager Williams isn’t back next year at Iowa. Folks on the Iowa board said he was downtown partying the weekend of B10s. Not that he can’t do that, he is a college student after all. However with his past incident you would think he wouldn’t do those things. 

But his season was over.  What's the big deal?  I don't get it.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

14 hours ago, BAC said:

 

I wonder how Williams feels about Brands' comments.  After being passed over and then publicly slighted like that, will Williams be back next year?  Maybe a 4th school?  Will Nasir go with him?

It really shouldn't matter how Williams feels; Since Brands gave an explanation, it seems as if "RawDog" must be satisfied.

Also, did VV leave Oklahoma State in the first place due to the arrival of Williams?

[Pablo]

16 hours ago, Show_Me said:

He went 1-7 against NCAA qualifiers with his only win being against #30 Seed Root (N. Carolina)... and had a .600 Win Pct. 

His resume wasn't good enough to get a B12 Allocation so he really needed a Win against an Allocated wrestler or a finish in the Top 5. 

You claimed he "obviously didn't wrestle up to his ability at Big 12s."  That was what I was referring to.  I even quoted it in my response, so that you could see what I was asking about.

I don't know what that has to do with his record against NCAA qualifiers or his overall winning percentage.

Let me re-state my question:  on what basis do you conclude that Teague did not wrestle up to his ability in the Big 12 championships?  Did he lose to anyone he wasn't expected to?  Maybe he underperformed in the matches he did win?  I don't know, I didn't pay attention.

But presumably you did, and that's why you said he "obviously" did not perform up to his ability.

To be honest, I don't care about Travis Teague, and until probably 2 days ago, I had never heard of him.  Just another wrestler.  What I do care about is assessing wrestler performance, and if someone claims there was some "obvious" thing that I could not identify I'd want to know about it.

My position is that losing to wrestlers you are expected to lose to is not "underperforming."  Now, you could claim that he shouldn't be expected to lose to those wrestlers, but given his performance over the course of the season, I see no reason to say that, either.  As you note, he has not shown an ability to beat any top 10 wrestlers over the course of the season, so I don't know why you'd think he should start doing it at the Big 12s, and why failure to beat top 10 wrestlers at Big 12s is somehow underperforming.

 

[JWC]

39 minutes ago, Pablo said:

 

My position is that losing to wrestlers you are expected to lose to is not "underperforming."  

 

That's something I lose in the fog of fandom often.   

[Show_Me]

5 hours ago, Pablo said:

You claimed he "obviously didn't wrestle up to his ability at Big 12s."  That was what I was referring to.  I even quoted it in my response, so that you could see what I was asking about.

Where did I claim that he "obviously didn't wrestle up to his ability at Big 12s." ????  I didn't state that.  Don't attribute other posters responses to me.  That is sloppy.  Read what I posted.

I stated "His resume wasn't good enough to get a B12 Allocation so he really needed a Win against an Allocated wrestler or a finish in the Top 5".  I stand by that.

If you want to say that he deserved a B12 Allocation, that is entirely a different discussion.

Edited March 13 by Show_Me

[MidwestMan]

On 3/12/2026 at 3:31 PM, Pablo said:

Who did he lose to that he should have beaten?

Weren't the two guys who beat him ranked pretty high?

My apologies for not responding sooner.  Busy weekend, and as much as I enjoy the banter on this forum, sometimes I just take a break and turn off my phone.

My biased opinion about Travis was based on what I thought was an underwhelming performance compared to what "I" thought was his potential.  I'm a Missouri native and have followed several of these athletes from kids wrestling forward.  Seeds had nothing to do with my assessment.  More gut.

If you have followed some of my ranting, although I am a Tiger wrestling supporter, I have been vocal about my feeling that Mizzou has fallen short of maximizing potential in recent years.  Once again, my opinion.  

I understand you are looking at measurable statistics, thus your comment.  

Logos vs Pathos

My apologies to Show_Me for somehow getting dragged into this.