25/26 Preseason Optimist - Pessimist crystal ball

Feb 6, 2018
229
455
63
Optimist:
1). 3rd year in a row setting a new team points record
2). 7 finalist and at least 4 champs
3). 10 AAs
4). PSU has the top 3 Hodge placers
5). Before the 26/27 season a big name portals from OSU to PSU
6). The consecutive duals record is broken and fades into the rear view mirror as we charge forward into 26/27 and beyond
7). The team sets a duals shutout record @ 6). The team sets a season record for 3 of 4 of the following: Pins, Techs, Majors, and total bonus wins.

Pessimist:
1). Zach Ryder has a better career from here forward than Rocco. :-/
2). Hwt is a notable weakness, if you consider a 6-8 place AA as a weakness
3). Both Ono and Blaze redshirt, bummer
4). Before the 26/27 season at least one big name portals out
5). Even with a well polished crystal ball, starters at 141 and 157 remain elusive
6). Iowa wins three matches
7/. tOSU wins three matches
 

El_Jefe

All-Conference
Oct 11, 2021
1,629
4,739
113
Pessimist:
1). Zach Ryder has a better career from here forward than Rocco. :-/
2). Hwt is a notable weakness, if you consider a 6-8 place AA as a weakness
3). Both Ono and Blaze redshirt, bummer
4). Before the 26/27 season at least one big name portals out
5). Even with a well polished crystal ball, starters at 141 and 157 remain elusive
6). Iowa wins three matches
7/. tOSU wins three matches
I'm not sure these are pessimistic:
4. If 1 big name portals out, it's probably because a bigger name stayed or came in. Either way, we'll be OK. It might cause us to win 2027 NCAAs by only 55 pts.
6 and 7 aren't optimistic or pessimistic, they're reasonable scenarios. Kueter, Mendez, and Feldman would be favored. Bailey beat Davis last year. Davino, Ayala, and Ferrari are capable of winning -- those will all be highly competitive matches.

Beyond pessimistic:
2. 6th-8th AA is a notable weakness: the rest of the team would have to crater for this to be some kind of weakness.
5. The 157 part of this. We have 2 national title-level starting candidates.
 

RBOld

Redshirt
Jul 13, 2022
17
26
13
How is this for optimism:
Barring injury I wouldn't be surprised if they have 9 finalists. Actually they could have an injury at 157 and still have nine finalists.

Obviously they're favored to have finalists at 125, 149, 157, 165, 174 and 197. Then you have a guy who has literally made the finals before at 184 so that's hardly a stretch. The so-called "stretches" are Ono who has been ranked by some to be the #1 P4P wrestler in the world so that's not really a stretch and Blaze who has beaten guys who have won titles.

I just don't see a world where Ono doesn't crush Mendez on their feet and I also don't see a world where a world-class athlete like him hasn't become capable of getting out from bottom after training with PSU for an entire year. As for Blaze, he just seems to be "that guy." Every time I see him being interviewed his attitude seems perfect for being another all-timer. He's humble, he genuinely appreciates the situation he's in and he just oozes confidence.
 

Joejitsu

Freshman
Jun 10, 2025
57
52
18
Pessimist....
1. Barr is not healthy
2. Zach Ryder is better than Rocco
3. Both Blaze and Ono redshirt
4. PJ Duke redshirts
5. Cole is not Kerk

Realist....
1. we still AA at 197 with Connor
2. We still have a finalist at 84 with Rocco
3. We still have AAs at 33 and 41 with some combo of Nagao and Davis
4. We still have a finalist at 57 with Kasak
5. Cole still finishes as an AA (or someone would have portaled in)
6. We still run away with another NC and still have a chance to break the points record again!
 
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Reiterate

Sophomore
Dec 27, 2016
102
124
43
I agree on showing Jax some love here, let's just adopt him. It's inevitable. The weekend posts prove this.