Hawkeye Beacon - Preview: No. 3 Iowa wrestling at No. 6 Nebraska (2024)

WHO: #6 Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0)
WHEN: 6:30 PM CT (Friday, January 12, 2024)
WHERE: Bob Devaney Sports Center (Lincoln, NE)
TV: BTN
RADIO: AM 800 KXIC (Steven Grace, Mark Ironside) | YouTube
MOBILE: foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @Hawks_Wrestling | @IowaonBTN

#6 Nebraska has had several good teams and had a lot of good moments since joining the Big Ten in 2011, but there's one thing the Cornhuskers have failed to do: beat Iowa. In fact, Nebraska has not defeated Iowa in a dual meet since a 24-13 win in the National Duals in 2005. Current Iowa head coach Tom Brands is 14-0 in dual meets against the Cornhuskers and most recently recorded a 34-6 win over Nebraska last season.

But this year's Nebraska team might have their best shot yet at knocking off the Hawkeyes. This Husker team could include up to eight ranked wrestlers (depending on which wrestlers get called on at a few weights), with five of those wrestlers being ranked in the Top 10 at their respective weights -- and three being ranked in the Top 3.

While this isn't Iowa's most loaded team, this Hawkeye squad has a fair amount of firepower of its own, with seven total ranked wrestlers in the projected lineup (per InterMat), including five ranked in the Top 10. Two of those five (Real Woods and Jared Franek) are ranked in the Top 2 at their respective weights.

This dual meet is set to feature some blockbuster matchups, with the potential for seven ranked vs ranked matches, including three Top 10 showdowns. The biggest showdown will be at 157, where Iowa's Jared Franek (#2) is set to face Nebraska's Peyton Robb (#3). But Top 10 showdowns at 125 and 141 will also be decisive in determining how this match goes -- and if Iowa is able to make it 15 wins in a row over Nebraska.

#3 Iowa vs #6 Nebraska

All rankings via InterMat.

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Looking at all ten weights, Iowa should probably be favored at four (133, 141, 165, and 174), Nebraska should be favored at three (149, 184, 197), and three others look a bit like toss-ups (125, 157, 285). It could make for a pretty unpredictable dual meet, with the lead in the team score bouncing back and forth between teams. That said, if the dual starts at 125, Iowa might also be able to build up an early lead at the lower weights and use that to ride to victory.

#5 Drake Ayala is fresh off a strong showing at Soldier Salute and beat #7 Caleb Smith, in their only prior meeting, a 5-2 decision win two years ago when Smith was at Appalachian State. Both of Smith's losses this season were against Wyoming's Jore Volk, but he also has a win over then-#1 Matt Ramos of Purdue. He's a dangerous opponent and Ayala will need to be sharp to get the win.

133 could feature a very recent rematch, as #7 Brody Teske just beat #30 Jacob Van Dee, 5-4, at the Soldier Salute event two weeks ago. Teske will need to repeat that effort if Van Dee is the guy for Nebraska here. #1 Real Woods is 3-0 against #7 Brock Hardy, but they have had some very close matches -- Woods won 6-4 at the dual last year and 2-1 at Big Tens. He did record an 11-1 major decision win over Hardy at the NCAA Tournament last year, but that result doesn't seem indicative of how close the matches between these two have tended to be.

#12 Caleb Rathjen has had a very nice season so far, highlighted by winning 149 at Soldier Salute two weeks ago, but #1 Ridge Lovett will be a whole new test for him. He's likely to see Lovett again down the road, so getting a feel for him now could be useful -- but getting the upset win here will be very difficult.

157 is the match of the night in terms of rankings and could be a swing match for the dual outcome. Robb and Franek are 1-1 against each other, with Robb beating him 7-4 in a dual almost two years ago and Franek beating him 3-1 in sudden victory at last year's NCAA Tournament. Whoever wins, this should be a tight, low-scoring match and probably won't be decided until the final seconds (or sudden victory).

165 and 174 will be two weights where Iowa will need to make some hay in order to win the dual meet. #7 Michael Caliendo has never wrestled #19 Antrell Taylor before but is in the midst of a strong season overall in his first year at Iowa. Patrick Kennedy beat #30 Bubba Wilson via 12-4 major decision last season when both men were at 165; we'll see how that success translates to 174 this season.

Iowa will need a win from Kennedy there, though, because 184 and 197 could be tough sledding. "Damage limitation" is likely to be the order of the day for Aiden Riggins at 184; don't let #3 Lenny Pinto pin you and try to limit the bonus points conceded as much as possible. 197 won't be as lopsided, but #11 Silas Allred is still likely to be a bit of a favorite over #16 Zach Glazier. Glazier has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season for Iowa so far -- but Allred also looks like one of the best wrestlers Glazier has faced thus far.

If the dual comes down to heavyweight, neither team has a ranked guy ready to take the mat. That could bode well for Iowa's Bradley Hill, who's 12-4 this season and been able to enjoy success against unranked and overmatched heavyweights this season.