So, wrestling fans, has the gut punch that was Friday evening’s loss to Penn State subsided yet? As may be the case with some of you, I’m less angry about the dual after taking a step back and thinking how close the Hawkeyes were to making things very interesting at the finish. Then again, that performance was close to the best shot Iowa can realistically give against the Nittany Lions and likely won’t get the job done come March.
Of course, the loss of heavyweight Sam Stoll to an ACL tear is a big factor in this admittedly defeatist thinking — even before the injury a lot was going to have to fall in Iowa’s favor to win a national title.