Maxwell Smart

Great job on the mailbag, and your opinion pieces when you don't have enough wrestling questions is exactly what was missing. Thanks!

That didn't take long. The Jagger mailbag got ruined by non-wrestling topics, and the same thing is happening again. If there aren't enough wrestling questions, perhaps the coach can opine on a topic of his choice. It would make for better reading.

Perhaps outside of this forum, the public doesn't view the NDI as a big growing the sport event as it's made out to be.

Great tournament, win, and story. Two big, strong athletes going at it and watching the power and speed was impressive with both. He deserves more spot light.

And they'll fall further behind after day 1 and every day that follows. The competition has ballooned this year. So many teams (Lehigh, VT, Cornell, etc.) have studs ready to go. The wrestling we're about to be treated to will be awesome! The team race will be tighter than thought.

Tom Brands and the changes to the line up. Was interested in the thoughts of the forum on the additions.

I've ragged on Tom for years, but I can see why he's so popular with the fan base. His love for his wrestlers and passion for the sport is palpable, and he believes in his guys. Naming guys that don't score much as having a lot of firepower is coach speak; he does it well. He said they put out their best line up. Just curious as to the thoughts on these changes and expectations from the new line up. Will this improve their scoring and placement? It'll be fun to watch. Liked his take on the pre-seeds; sounds one and done.

Socrates was quite profound; SocraTease not so much. Don't make a lot of predictions, but this year, and future years, we will be treated to outstanding wrestlers from outside the Big Ten who are going to provide us with amazing matches. A direct product of 1 team being dominant; the others rise up and get better. Could be wrong, but don't need to be right.

Time will tee. Regardless, this year's conference and Natty will be awesome.

The Big Ten tourney will show this out, and the Nationals will be the same. Competition in every weight class is better than ever and the young wrestlers are ahead of their time, and they're in every conference. The scores will be tighter than the ranking prediction. Having your team prepared for the grind will be the key to the trophy. Buckle up, March madness is upon us.

Just going to watch and let it play out. It's guaranteed to be entertaining and discussed even more as time goes on. Fair or unfair, the chatter is getting louder. It also goes with the territory. 86ing on the subject.

Some Hawkeye fans just refuse to see it. There's no rebound coming, look at their roster for next year. Stay with the Brands, and the program keeps falling behind. Top recruits are going elsewhere. Watch this years Big and NCAA's.

You lost me at Carl, thank goodness.

That's very true and it's happening. After years of discussion on this forum, regular Iowa fans are jumping in. The chatter on the internet has picked up a lot, and it isn't going to end until there's a change at the top. The "Iowa wrestling room is so tough, no one can last 4 years." take has always sounded like another (questionable) reason for the program's falling behind the others. We all know coaching matters in all phases of life.

Drake isn't beaten up because of the Brands Brothers. That's an old take that just falls flat.

Good point. Perhaps Jax took everything out of him, and he looked stunned. 1st time he was beaten by tech fall in his career. Big fan who was hoping he would do well this year, but these young guns are special.

Drake hasn't wrestled well all year, and doesn't look like he's got any thing left. Very hard to watch, but just a mirror for the program. 133 is a competitive weight; he's not in the top 5.

These young cowboys look really good and will make noise at the NCAA's. They'll challenge for a title starting next year and beyond. This is what everyone wanted for the last 10 years, and between OK ST and OSU, and next year VA TECH, we got it. Unfortunately for the wrestling community and the majority of the forum posters, Iowa is losing swagger and sway.

If you're a bettor, take Oklahoma State and give the points. The place will be rocking and the Cowboys will roll 29-6.

Any team that dominates eventually makes other teams better and gets replaced. The key factor for a run is to keep the coaching in place, which PSU has done. The name calling and tearing down come after the success. Keep the same coaches and you'll have the same results.

It is what it is, not what it should be. What it should be is why this forum exists.

Jimmy - this post is from 12-1, do you still feel the same today?

Hawkeye fans are in a bad way mentally. Carrying the weight of being an Iowa super stud in an Iowa singlet is going very deep for reasons of not being as successful as expected. Super stud? Came in late to the post, wasn't sure which super stud on the team was being referenced. Perhaps thinking Hawkeye wrestlers are super studs carrying this big weight adds to the angst of a let down.

At least Tom and Terry schedule tougher out of conference opponents is laughable. What's Iowa State's record against Iowa over the last 25 years? Normally not close until the last couple of years and a big win this year because the Hawkeye program continues its decline since 2015. OK State was a shell of itself for years as they held on to a "hero" for way too long and they declined until they brought in a coach that has reinvigorated the program that will now beat the Hawkeyes every year starting next year and maybe even this year. These non-conference matches will become losses as other teams continue to pass the Hawkeyes. The decline is evident now and will be glaring next year.

Worked well for them? Worked well for the transfers? Don't agree.