Thoughts from the dual:
125--Man Caleb Smith is wrestling at a high, high level. I think Davis from Penn State is starting to get figured out a bit. We also can't discount that Smith is a grad transfer going against a true frosh. Smith was able to use some horsepower there to get the reversal and NF. 125 is wide open so Smith has just as good of a shot as anyone for potential AA honors.
133--Would've liked to see Van Dee go neutral in the 2nd as he kind of got the starch taken out of him by the PSU backup with that ball and chain ride after dominating the 1st period. Was nice to see a ride out but I'd be lying if I wasn't thinking bonus points there for Van Dee.
141--Brutal call there against Hardy when he should've been given a TD with about 30 seconds left. Who knows if Hardy would've been able to hang on and erase the riding time point but I would've liked to see him have gotten the opportunity.
149--Didn't love what I saw from Ridge. Seemed a little tentative against Kasak but ultimately he did what the elite guys do whey they don't have their A game which is gut out wins.
157--Haines is on another level now and I don't think this version of Robb is going to be able to beat him sans Haines making a couple mistakes. I thought Robb honestly wrestled pretty well and defended like heck but when a dude is shooting bullets at you non stop for 7 minutes eventually you're going to get hit a couple times.
165--Incredible defense out of Taylor, need him to get his offense going. Messenbrink just brings it man, what a gas tank. I'll be excited to see how he does next year at 157 once Robb graduates. Taylor at 157 is going to be a huge PITA for a lot of dudes with how tough he is to score on. Hard to not be excited for the future with him.
174--Welp, what are you gonna do haha. Good Starroci showed up and that's what happens.
184--Man, I can't imagine coaching Pinto. He's got brute strength and is mega explosive and almost impossible to stop. I worry about his gas tank tho. He definitely seems to fade late in matches but shoot, he's tough to score on. Truax had him in a bad way when he hit that double into a bear hug on Pinto and Pinto just noped out of it.
197--Brooks is awesome and Allred has regressed a little bit. No notes. Just tip your cap to Brooks and move on. He and Hidlay from NC State are on a collision course and it should be a great finals match with those two.
HWT--It didn't matter who NU sent out here. Both guys were giving up bonus points. I understand why they had Nash go out there because he's just so much bigger and was less likely to give up a pin. Kerkvilet is going to be a really tough out for anyone and he appears to be on a mission this year.
All in all, Nebraska is firing on all cylinders right now, they've looked great for the better part of a month. I just hope they aren't peaking too soon. They close out with Arizona State next week who have a few top end guys before rolling into the Big Ten conference tourney which is always a total meat grinder.