It's brutal when you have a guy that would be a national champion if only it weren't for that one guy year after year. Sorenson (Zain), DSJ (Taylor until he graduated), Palmer (Metcalf)... etc
When Brands took over the HC job, he brought Gable on staff as an assistant. Many will say that's a big reason why Iowa was able to get back on its feet so quickly after Zalesky. I think Brands is about as close to Gable as you can get. Unfortunately, I think doing things the Gable way will only get you so far today. The game has changed.
Folks on the tOSU boards may be projecting their frustration. I can't remember the last time Tom Ryan had such a rough tournament. Caught everyone by surprise.
Reforming the challenge & review process would go a long way. There was one consi match in particular that held things up forever because of the lengthy review. The finals would also be much more interesting if a decent chunk of it wasn't a bunch of officials looking at tape over and over again.
How about first year transfers? Hendrickson, Cardenas, Bearclaw, Hamiti are up there. Biggest surprise, Nijenhuis? I thought he'd make some noise in the Pac. TBD, Caleb Fish?
This is true. Rock Harrison spends a lot of time explaining stuff like riding time, the implications of stall warnings, basic technique, etc. which might drive hardcore fans up a wall but is probably perfect for your average ESPN viewer.
What was Hendrickson's injury? Looked like something hand or arm related, but nothing apparent in the instant replay, and he was also holding his sternum. Happened late, but it did seem to affect him for the remainder of the match.
Did we ever hear from Hamiti what happened during his match with Mesenbrink at Big Tens last year? Some thought he gassed out while MM put his foot on the pedal. Others saw him limp off the mat. Either way, he was right there with Mesenbrink and coulda shoulda woulda won.
I was thinking the reverse, that Hamiti's length and flexibility would limit Haines' scrambling, and Haines is comfortable with letting opponents get to his legs and working from spaghetti positions. KOT really had to work for those takedowns.