Go Iowa Awesome - Preview: No. 3 Iowa wrestling vs Purdue (2024)

After opening Big Ten competition with a pair of dual meets against Top 10 opponents -- #6 Nebraska and #10 Minnesota -- the schedule eases up a bit for #3 Iowa wrestling this week. The Hawkeyes have just one dual meet on tap, a home date with unranked Purdue on Friday night. The Boilermakers are 5-4 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play, coming off a loss to #13 Rutgers in their Big Ten opener last weekend.

The Boilermakers are a very young team in the midst of a rebuild at this point. based on their probable lineup information, the Boilermakers could send out freshmen or sophom*ores at nine of ten weights on Friday night. Some of those young wrestlers have shown a lot of promise, like Greyson Clark, #32 and 13-3 at 141, or Joey Blaze, #16 and 13-4 at 157.

But they also have five projected starters with losing records; this is a young team that's been taking its lumps this season. Against an Iowa team with seven ranked wrestlers in the probable starters, including five ranked in the Top 10 at their respective weights, odds are good that these young Boilermakers will be taking a lot more lumps on Friday night.

#3 Iowa vs Purdue

All rankings via InterMat.

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That Purdue has more probable starters with losing records (5) than ranked wrestlers (3) does not bode well for the competitiveness of this dual. This should definitely be a dual meet that Iowa dominates; any fewer than nine wins here would likely be a big disappointment. This dual meet should also be an opportunity for Iowa to work on something that hasn't been on display as much this season: scoring bonus points. There should be chances to dominate in these matches and the Iowa wrestlers need to seize on those chances.

The match of the night -- if it happens -- is clearly at 125, which could feature the #1 and #2 ranked wrestlers at the weight. 125 has been one of the most chaotic and unpredictable weights of the college season, with upsets aplenty upending the rankings week after week.

Drake Ayala has been on a barnstorming tour up the rankings this season and after a weekend that featured wins over then-#7 Caleb Smith and then-#18 Pat McKee, he's found himself atop the weight this week. He could face Purdue's Matt Ramos, #2 at the weight, although the probable lineups also list true freshman Ashton Jackson (6-7) as an option for Purdue at this weight as well.

Iowa fans are likely most familiar with Ramos as the wrestler who shocked the wrestling world and upset Spencer Lee in the NCAA Tournament semifinals last March, denying Lee a chance to become Iowa's first four-time NCAA champion. Ramos finished as runner-up at the NCAA Tournament last season and his 2023-24 season has had its ups and downs.

He's won 15 matches, but his bonus rate of 48% is good-not-great. He's also already lost four matches this season, to high school junior (!) Marcus Blaze, NC State's Jakob Camacho, Nebraska's Caleb Smith, and Stanford's Nico Provo. Ramos certainly has the ability to beat Ayala -- anyone who can beat Spencer Lee is certainly capable of beating anyone else at 125 lbs -- but the inconsistency in his results this season is noteworthy.

This should be a rout. If Ayala beats Ramos -- and Ayala seems to be wrestling better than Ramos at this point in the season -- then a shutout seems very much within reach for Iowa. I like Iowa to get bonus points in at least five weights (141, 149, 174, 197, and 285 seem like the best bets) and for Iowa to get at least one pin.

Iowa 37-0