Season Opener

[IowaBison]

I can’t wait to be in Fargo next weekend for the opener. Come out and support the Bison.

[56BISON73]

Where you from in IA?

[IowaBison]

Where you from in IA?

Council Bluffs area. My name is Keith Midkiff, I am McGwire’s father.

[Big Bird]

Could be a competitive dual too.

I was surprised by the 141 and 174 results, but I would suspect Degen and Noel to get the call Sunday. I think these two weights in particular are far from settled and I still expect Droegemuller and De La Riva to be the guys, but they'd likely have to wait until after the Bison Open.

[56BISON73]

Council Bluffs area. My name is Keith Midkiff, I am McGwire’s father.

I used to live in Ottumwa and Davenport as a kid and spent two years in IC beore coming to NDSU. Have an uncle and aunt over in Sargents Bluff. He retired from hyvee.

[Big Bird]

Season kicks off today. Depending on our lineup, this has the potential to be a close matchup against former NDSU head assistant Manny Rivera and CSU Bakersfield. WrestleStat has this as 20-12 for NDSU.

197 is the matchup I'm most looking forward to, as Cordell Eaton takes on Dom Ducharme. They're both guys that should be in the mix for NCAA berths at the end of the year and a win would help earn another spot for their respective conferences.

CSUB took on a top 10 ranked Minnesota on Friday and came away with wins at 133, 197, and HWT.

My guess:
125- Midkiff major Hernandez-Figueroa, 4-0 NDSU
133- Sykora dec Rich, 7-0 NDSU
141- Martinoni dec Degen, 7-3 NDSU (If Droegemuller gets the start, I think he'd win)
149- Rohlfing dec Van Maanen, 7-6 NDSU (JVM has a chance)
157- Franek dec Gerl, 10-6 NDSU (Gerl lost in OT against NCAA qualifier Brolsma on Friday)
165- Fogarty major Thalin, 14-6 NDSU
174- Noel dec Annis, 17-6 NDSU (Toss up but if De La Riva is in the lineup, I like him to win by major decision)
184- Pottinger dec Loomer, 20-6 NDSU (I'm higher on Pottinger than most but Loomer could win this)
197- Eaton dec Ducharme, 23-6 NDSU (I'll take Cordell's size and stamina in this one)
HWT- Metz fall Snyder, 29-6 NDSU (Snyder isn't bad, but I think the big fella will execute a good throw)

This prediction is most definitely overly optimistic, but it could get even better. NDSU has a chance to win every single match and the only time it would be a true "upset" would be if Van Maanen beat Rohlfing. On the flip side, it really wouldn't surprise me to see CSUB get wins at any of 157, 174, 184, 197, or HWT.

[Big Bird]

I was close on final score, but missed a few matches. Overall thoughts:
125- Midkiff looked solid. Excited to see him against some better competition and wrestle multiple times in a day. If he is comfortable at 125 weight wise, he should do great.
133- Cam looked fantastic. He looked focused and explosive. If he can keep this intensity, explosiveness, and focus, he'll AA. His second takedown was beautiful.
141- Maybe I'm underestimating Degen. He looked slightly better on his feet than last year and is still tough on the mat and to finish takedowns. I still think Droegemuller and his offense will factor into this weight, but good win for Degen.
149- JVM took on their best wrestler and got dinged up. Glad to see he was able to finish the match and he had a nice re-attack to score a td in the third.
157- I have high expectations for this weight and Franek, and I was a bit underwhelmed in this one. Gerl went to OT with Carson Brolsma on Friday, who is a borderine top 20 guy and an NCAA qualifier from a year ago. Franek got the win but left a lot of points on the mat and didn't look super comfortable in some positions that he'll see a lot more of. It'll be interesting to see how Weber and Franek do at the Bison Open.
165- Fogarty had some very poor leg defense in this one. Thalin was all over his legs and that needs to get corrected if Fogarty is going to AA.
174- Great start for Noel, but an awful final 5 minutes. Beautifully timed double right away. Big concern for me is that the effort and work levels waned as the match went on. If De La Riva is healthy and engaged, he'd put up the best results.
184- Pottinger got the win and showed some good shots. Needs to improve quite a bit on finishing some of those shots. I think he'll have some growing pains at times, but I like him going forward.
197- Cordell just needs to finish better. Close match and Ducharme got it late. Cordell had multiple opportunities in the first two periods and couldn't convert.
HWT- Although it was low scoring, I liked what Metz showed. He controlled all of the ties, initiated all of the offense for the first 6 1/2 minutes, and perhaps most importantly, didn't force a throw. I'd like to see a few more shots from him, but I took this match as a big positive for him.

Overall, nice to start the year out with a comfortable win. This team is very young with 3 redshirt freshman starting, 4 redshirt sophomores starting alongside 3 seniors. Bison Open should be a good barometer of what we can reasonably expect from some of the youngsters.