3 reasons No. 1 Penn State Wrestling will beat No. 3 Iowa
By Chris Snyder
No. 1 Penn State Wrestling faces a difficult task in defeating No. 3 Iowa in Iowa City this Friday, but here are three reasons why they’ll return to Happy Valley victorious
We are drawing ever so close to what is bound to be an epic clash between the No. 1 Nittany Lions and the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes this Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Below are some historical stats for both wrestling squads:
Penn State
-Won 24 straight dual meets
-Last loss was at Iowa on 1/31/20 19-17
-Cael Sanderson has a 4-5 record against Iowa (2-3 in Iowa City) as Penn State’s head coach
Iowa
-Won 29 straight dual meets
-Last loss was at Oklahoma State on 2/24/19 27-12
-Tom Brands has a 7-5 record against Penn State (4-2 in Iowa City) as Iowa’s head coach
As you can see, Penn State Wrestling, as well as every other team in college wrestling, has had a difficult time when matched up against Iowa. And obviously, it doesn’t make it any easier for the Nittany Lions when they travel to Iowa City.
But as the headline states, I believe Penn State Wrestling will finish the night victorious, and here are my three reasons why!
No. 1 – Spencer Lee injury
It would be disingenuous of me not to lead this article off with this one.
Because it’s a massive blow to Iowa’s hopes of repeating as National Champions and it’s going to factor into the dual this Friday.
I for one would love to see the 2021 Dan Hodge Trophy co-winner out on the mat this season wrestling 100% healthy. But this simply isn’t the case as Spencer Lee doesn’t have a functional ACL in his body at the moment.
In regards to the dual meet, Lee’s absence is anywhere from a six to eight-point swing in favor of Penn State Wrestling. While the young Drake Ayala is a competitive grappler who has seen some success this year, he will face someone on a different level than him in various areas.
For starters, Drew Hildebrandt was wrapping up his fifth year at Central Michigan last season where he finished 4th overall in the NCAA’s at 125. Last year Ayala was finishing up his senior year of high school.
Assuming my math is correct that would make this year Hildebrandt’s sixth season as a collegiate grappler. And in his career, he has faced a who’s-who list of top wrestlers at 125.
And while Ayala has strapped on the Iowa singlet in 17 matches this season, gaining experience in each match, he owns a 4-4 record against ranked opponents. However he has not faced a single wrestler as experienced and as talented as Hildebrandt.
But I can see this being a fun match to watch. However in the end Hildebrandt’s hand will be raised thus giving Penn State team points that would have been almost impossible to win against a healthy Lee.