The opener is this Sunday vs #16 Northwestern. Northwestern is actually really solid this year and should be favored by a good margin. They have studs at 125 and 157, and 7 starters ranked in the top 20. Wrestlestat has this as a 25-11 win for Northwestern.
The margin of error for a Bison win is thin, but there is a way. Wins at 133, 149, 165, 174, 184, and HWT is the best path IMO. 197 and 125 are within the realm of possibilities too. Fleetwood has beaten Sebastian Rivera both times they have wrestled, so perhaps he can do it again, but I'm very skeptical of it.
My prediction (rankings from FloWrestling):
125-#3 Rivera dec Fleetwood. Rivera is great and I think he gets on his offense easy enough to win by 4 or 5. 3-0 NU
133- #20 Sykora dec #15 Valdiviez. Valdiviez was literally the last NCAA tournament entrant last year, after he got into the tournament an hour before it started when Nebraska's Jason Renteria missed eight. He would up posting an impressive 2-2 mark at NCAAs. I still like Cam though. If Cam can get a takedown, I think he gets to his tilts and wins. 3-3
141- #20 Thomas dec Sutton. Thomas is really solid and only a rFr. I expect him to rise through the rankings and contend for an AA spot. Sutton looks solid, but I think Thomas is too much. 6-3 NU
149- Jaden Van Maanen dec Shayne Oster. JVM looks really solid and looks to score points in bunches. Oster is a veteran who is in his third year as Northwestern's starter. 6-6
157- #7 Deakin maj Knutson. Deakin is a junior world silver medalist and legitimate All American contender. He had a brutal path at last years NCAA tourney, and he wound up missing the podium. I expect him to overwhelm Knutson. 10-6 NU
165- #12 Fogarty tech Cody. No idea who Northwestern will throw out at 165, but assuming they don't burn a redshirt, they're going to be throwing out guys that really struggled to win a match. Fogarty should roll. 11-10 NDSU
174- #14 Sebastian dec De La Riva. De La Riva has beaten Sebastian in their only previous meeting, but Sebastian had the vastly superior year last year. Hopefully I'm wrong here. 13-11 NU
184- McNutt dec Morland. Veteran vs the youngster, and I'm going with the veteran. Morland had a solid redshirt season. I expect a close match here. 14-13 NDSU
197- #19 Chakonis dec Eaton. Even though Chakonis is ranked, this looks like a toss up to me. Hope I'm wrong on the result. 17-13 NU
HWT- Metz dec #10 Jennings. I think the youngster wins this one. I expect a low scoring match and just can't see Jennings getting a takedown. I'll bet on Metz getting the only takedown and the win. 17-16 NU.
This is a great opportunity for several NDSU guys to get a top 20 win and get some respect nationally. Should be a great one.
Also, if you use the code TTWR1, you can get a ticket to the match for $5 if you buy today. Hope to see a big crowd for what should be an exciting dual.