Wrestleknownothing

That's Mr. National Champion Scrub QB to you.

I clearly have no idea what I am doing.

This is an especially interesting dual given how close these two teams are in expected points at the NCAA tournament. They are both on the short list for the fourth, and final, podium spot.

Intermat's new rankings for the week just dropped. There are no real surprises at the top as we had #1 wrestle #2 this past week. The results of that dual meant there would be some separation this week. And there is. In addition to PSU solidifying its hold on the top spot, Iowa and Oklahoma State are looking pretty locked in for second and third. With their upcoming dual at the end of the month we will get a lot more information on that front soon enough. But the more interesting race (as it has been for years) is the race for the fourth and final podium spot. Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and Northern Iowa all have realistic shots. Meanwhile, earlier candidates Cornell and Illinois have faded from the picture. On the AA front, just because a wrestler is ranked in the top 8 does not mean they will finish in the top 8. When it comes to seeds (first cousin of ranks) a 9 seed and an 8 seed have very similar chances of AAing. Of course PSU leads the pack with 8.3 expected AAs. They also improved their chances of 10 AAs to 11.75%, a season (and probably all-time) high.

Good point. Hey @Husker_Du, I read The Athletic a lot. They do a lot of re-ranking articles where they revisit old rankings. Today they have an article re-ranking the 2022 college QB class, for example. Would you re-rank any of the classes listed above? If so, which? And how?

The assumption in these arguments is that the recruiting class rankers got it right and the coaches either lived up to the rank or not. There is always the possibility the recruiting class ranks were wrong. Looking at 2013 ranks certainly offers support for that view.

I am curious about all those things too

No doubt. And it worked. I am just surprised there aren't more crumbs for a sport where they have recently won a national championship.

It is wild that they can not compete financially at a school that is believed to spend more on sports than any other. "Ohio State spent $274.9 million on athletics in 2022-23, according to data in Sportico’s college finance database, by far the most among all public schools. Before the start of the season, Bjork told Yahoo Sports that the football team’s players were promised “around $20 million” via NIL deals from the Buckeyes’ donor-led collective and its affiliates."

I have no notes

Things are setting up nicely for Duke.

You specifically excluded that one from your comments with the word "rest" And you got the Ferrari score wrong.

You are doing that thing you like to do. When challenged you like to change the subject. Those are examples of what happens when he does not open up. And yes they are all wins. Funny, that. Your claim was that when he opens up it will turn out like the first college match he ever wrestled attached. That is not what happens. There are many examples of matches where he opens up and wins by major, tech fall, or pinfall against highly ranked opponents. There is even a pinfall in the 2023 NCAA final. A very rare accomplishment.

no apologies necessary. I thought it was funny.

Turns out we agree on a lot. Starocci's third period was definitely an exercise in low risk shots, manage the clock, manage the ref. I also think by then Ferrari realized that he was not as out-gunned as perhaps he thought he was at the beginning, when his overly cautious approach cost him. He grew into the match and demonstrated his own elite defensive skills throughout. I would love to see a rematch with a new approach, but sadly I do not think that ever happens.

That is for you to decide. I do know that bringing up a guy's first ever match, that has been twice avenged since, once in major fashion, as the example of what happens when he opens up is lame at best.

Yeah, they smarted him right into a loss.

Not similar at all. Again. Not the sick burn you think it is.

If you think Starocci did not try to take a single offensive shot then you are being hypocritical. If you think Ferrari's constant dropping to the knee and positioning himself out of bounds, even after being told to return to center multiple times, wasn't designed to limit Starocci's ability to take an offensive shot then you are being hypocritical.

It feels like the Brands' are not very good at the administrative details of coaching. In addition to burning Estrada's shirt for no discernible gain to either the program or Estrada, they also messed up Brody Teske's Big 10 seeds two years in a row.

Not the sick burn you were hoping it would be

you do not know that to be true

You may have misread, I said Ferrari earned them, not Starocci.

To paraphrase one of the greatest philosophers of our time, Meatloaf, three out of four aint bad.

I will go one step further. Getting emotionally worked up over the innocuous actions of a teenager is comical.