Big Ten Wrestling power rankings: Can anyone derail Penn State train?

Dual Rank: NR
Record: 3-5 (1-5 B1G)
Ranked Wrestlers: 4
133 No. 6 Lucas Byrd
141 No. 4 Dylan Duncan
184 No. 21 Zac Braunagel
285 No. 16 Luke Luffman

Speaking of things not going the way they had hoped for, the Fighting Illini come into this edition of the Big Ten Wrestling Power Rankings down two spots to No. 12.

At one point in time this season, Illinois sported a lineup consisting of eight ranked wrestlers and they were possibly poised to make a push into the top half of the Big Ten.

Unfortunately for Illinois a combination of underperformance, injuries, and bad luck plagued their 2021-2022 season.

Following their strong start to the season where the Fighting Illini went 2-0 in dual meets and finished 4th out of 21 teams in the Matmen Open, Illinois promptly lost five straight Big Ten dual meets. Which is fine when facing powerhouses like Iowa and Minnesota.

But, when you get stomped by a combined score of 72-39 to Rutgers, Purdue, and Northwestern it’s not a really good sign you’re being competitive in the Big Ten. And I’m not saying Illinois should be beating these teams because they are all solid wrestling programs. I’m just saying the results should have been significantly closer than they were.

I highly doubt the remainder of the season is going to get any better for Illinois as they travel to Madison on Friday night (2/11) to take on Wisconsin at 8:00 p.m. and then hit the road against Nebraska on Sunday for a dual at noon.