I'm really pumped for Okie State to come to town and square off with the Bison. It's not everyday you get a perennial top 5 team guided by arguably the greatest American wrestler of all time to come to Fargo. If you're a wrestling novice and have been curious to come check a match out, you won't find better opponents than the Cowboys to watch.
With that said, the dual will be pretty lopsided. Oklahoma state won 9 of ten matches vs a top 10 Minnesota team last week, and we match up even worse vs the Cowboys. Using Andegre's/WrestleStats rankings and the press release for potential matchups, here is what I expect:
125- Nick Piccininni dec Bianchi, 3-0 OkSt. Pretty foolish of me to mark this down as only a decision, with how well Pich has wrestled early this year and the lackluster results Bianchi has shown thus far, buuuuut, I still have faith in Bianchi wrestling at an elite level on his feet and keeping this to a decision. Pich already has a win over the reigning 125lb national champ and is coming off a backbreaking loss to reigning 125lb runner up Ethan Lizak where he blew an 8-1 lead (which was awesome). WrestleStat has this as a 10-4 dec and I think that sounds about right as long as Paul doesn't get turned. OkSt is redshirting Daton Fix, who IMO, would win the NCAA title this year and crushed Bianchi in freestyle this summer.
133- Kaid Brock maj Midkiff/Sykora, 7-0 OkSt. I would be very interested to see Cam square off vs Brock, as Cam's former SDSU teammate Seth Gross has had great success tilting Brock. That is how Cam makes his money too. Brock is an AA who looked great vs top 10 Mitch McKee last week. I hope Midkiff (and NDSU as a whole) is better prepared for some slide bys than McKee and MN were last week. Brock made a great wrestler (competing in the U23 World championships for the USA this week) look mediocre. WrestleStat has Brock winning 16-3 over Midkiff and 13-5 over Sykora.
141- Dean Heil maj Hampton, 11-0 OkSt. Heil is a 2 time NCAA champion who doesn't break many matches wide open. He does have the ability to do it though and I think he will on Sunday. WrestleStat has Heil winning by decision 10-3.
149- Geo Martinez dec Gliva, 14-0 OkSt. Martinez is an AA for Boise State and the current starter for OkSt. I don't think he'll be their starter 2nd semester,a s I think Boo Lewallen is even better...and that's how good OkSt is. They are 2 deep with multiple AA threats at a couple weights. If Bengston is in here, I'd expect a closer decision, simply due to his strength and defensive style. When Martinez is on, he can roll up points in a hurry, but I expect Kyle to slow him down some. WrestleStat has this as a 12-3 major for Geo.
157- Ream dec Jonce Blaylock, 14-3 OkSt. Clay has been wrestling well this year and Blaylock is pretty inconsistent. Blaylock has mixed some very solid wins in with some puzzling losses throughout his career and this year too. He is coming off an overtime win over an injured Jake Short, but Clay has looked better than him this year, IMO. OkSt is redshirting Jo Smith, who is head coach John Smith's son and he is a 2x AA. WrestleStat has this as a 7-6 win for Clay.
165- Chandler Rodgers dec Fogarty, 17-3 OkSt. Rodgers is probably the most under appreciated guy in the OkSt lineup, but he is an absolute hammer. He has tons of big move potential and is a pinner. He AA'd last year and pinned Fogarty at the NCAA tourney. Rodgers is coming off of a very nice win over Nick Wanzek and I expect a 3-4 point margin of victory here. WrestleStat has this as a 14-4 major for Rodgers.
174- Jacobe Smith maj Urbach, 21-3 OkSt. Smith is a former JUCO national champ and an active 174 pounder. I expect him to roll through Urbach, who is coming off a terrible performance. I'd love to see NDSU give someone else a shot here. WrestleStat has it as a 14-3 major for Smith.
184- Keegan Moore dec McNutt, 24-3 OkSt. Moore is a former Jackson County Central MN football and wrestling stud. I actually think this match will be a lot closer than anybody on the outside thinks. While Moore is very good, if McNutt can avoid the big moves, keep it close though 1 period, and close like he has been, he can win this. Moore has shown no conditioning problems yet, but he hasn't been known for having a great gas tank. 184 and 197 are the two matches I'm most eager to see. WrestleStat has this as a 11-5 decision for Moore.
197- Eaton dec Andrew Marsden, 24-7 OkSt. This may be wishful thinking, as Marsden in a picture of consistency at 197, but I'm going with it. Eaton has looked solid this season, and while Marsden dominated former blue chipper Bobby Steveson last week, I'm not a believer in his yet. He essentially has no bad losses in his career at Okie State, but he doesn't have earth shattering wins either. Marsden is solid, but he's not a world beater and I think Cordell is due for a quality win like this. WrestleStat has this as a 14-5 major for Marsden.
HWT- Derek White dec Stibral, 27-7 OkSt. Big Dan is coming off of his best career win, but White has been really good early on this year too. White is a former 197 pounder who will enjoy a significant speed and agility advantage in this one. WrestleStat has this as a 8-3 decision for White, and that sounds about right.
Regardless of the final outcome, I hope to see some great wrestlers out there doing some awesome things, in front of thousands of people. If you're on the fence about going, just go. If you have a large group of young kids who you'd like to introduce to the sport, get ahold of Coach Garnett and I'm sure he'll hook you up with a great deal.
