Foley: Predictions gone south

The collegiate wrestling season is a grind. Many of the nation's best wrestlers will miss twenty five percent of their season due to injury. Most coaches will have gone batty from stress by the start of the conference schedule. Like the competitors they love to write about, wrestling journalists can also suffer the strain of a tough season on the mat.

We start the year with such promise. Witty criticisms and prognostications we hope will make us seem clairvoyant come March. But by December the reality starts creeping in that we are fallible, too. Though journalists typically don't like to admit mistakes, I think there should be some level of corrective behavior among our profession, just as there is with any good wrestler or coach. It's the least I can do seeing that it's always been much easier to write a column than it is to strap on the boots and take a whipping six days a week.

Joe McFarland (Michigan)

"McFarland, who recently helped raise the money for and plan the massive stand-alone Bahna Wrestling Center in Ann Arbor, is likely on a short leash if he doesn't improve the team's showing at Big Tens and NCAAs." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 15, 2010

Joe McFarland (Photo, Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)

My biggest dork-up of the season was thinking McFarland should be worried about the performance of his team after the 52nd-place finish last year at NCAAs. While there were indicators of trouble, I didn't take into account that McFarland and his staff have always developed wrestlers and that his big recruits were still young. The 11th-ranked Michigan squad has shown growth across the weight classes, with solid performances from No. 9 heavyweight Ben Apland to No. 18 Zac Stevens. Oh yeah, he's also coaching the No.1 ranked 141-pound wrestler in Kellen Russell, who many predicted (not me) would be bested by Penn State upstart Andrew Alton.

Rande Stottlemyer (Pittsburgh)

"There is no area of America with more folkstyle wrestling talent than Western Pennsylvania and Rande Stottlemyer is responsible for holding onto that talent." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 15, 2010

While Pitt should still be concerned about losing recruits to Penn State, the Hall of Fame coach's conference title was well-earned and rather than a flash of brilliance, might be the indicator of new energy in the program. The 26th-ranked Panthers are actually healthier than that paltry ranking with redshirting 197-pounder Matthew Wilps recently winning Midlands. The team has swagger and should be in the running to repeat their conference topping run of 2010.

Anthony Robles (Arizona State)

"If Sanders can stay off bottom and avoid getting underneath Robles he should pull off a close decision." -- T.R. Foley, Nov. 19, 2010

Anthony Robles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)

I stand by the prediction insomuch as the Sun Devil senior had lost to Minnesota's Zach Sanders in a close match last season. However, what I couldn't have realized was that Robles somehow went from good to silly good on top. I don't want to hear any bull crap from critics who claim having only one leg is an advantage. There is no room in the discussion for that narrow-minded bastardization of Robles' accomplishments. Instead, the real discussion should be whether or not an undefeated NCAA title run will be enough to secure him the Hodge. His domination of opponents is possibly the most complete in the country, even better than David Taylor. Basically, I missed the memo on how much the Arizona native had improved over the summer. Brandon Precin and Matt McDonough beware.

Germane Lindsey (Ohio)

"Lindsey is talented and will again be an All-American, but in a matchup with Bailey he's short on experience and practice room competition. Assuming a healthy and motivated Bailey (and why not?), this won't be very close." -- T.R. Foley, Nov. 19, 2010

I was overzealous in my endorsement of Oklahoma Sooner Zack Bailey heading into his NWCA All-Star Classic matchup with the Ohio stud. While I did think that Bailey would prevail, a fall was highly unlikely. Lindsey is a hard worker with good work on his feet and bottom work that would make it difficult for any opponent to wrangle their way into a fall, much less Bailey who is not much of a pinner. Best of luck to the always-entertaining Lindsey.

Penn State Freshmen (David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Andrew Alton)

"Top 10 Impact Freshmen: (1) Logan Stieber (Ohio State), (2) Chris Perry (Oklahoma State), (3) David Taylor (Penn State), (4) Chris Villalonga (Cornell), (5) Ed Ruth (Penn State), (6) Jake Deitchler (Minnesota), (7) Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State), (8) Jake Swartz (Boise State), (9) Derek St. John (Iowa), (10) Marshall Peppelman (Cornell). Honorable Mention: Eric Grajales (Michigan), Mike McMullen (Northwestern), David Thorn (Minnesota), Jon Fausey (Virginia), Andrew Alton/Dylan Alton (Penn State)." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 5, 2010

David Taylor (Photo/Cliff Fretwell)

David Taylor, Ed Ruth and Andrew Alton should have been 1-2-3. With only two losses between the three wrestlers as of Jan. 1, there are no freshmen candidates more dominant than this trio. Their success has been the catalyst for the message boards and prognosticators to speculate about the chances of Penn State competing for the NCAA team title in 2011. I was hesitant to list all Penn State freshmen in the top five, a feeling I now regret as they are ripping through their competition with a bevy of falls and tech falls.

I guess it makes me wonder: Could this Penn State team finish with three NCAA champion freshmen? What would that mean for legacy of Coach Cael? Is this along with Cornell indicative of a shift in talent eastward? Are we witnessing the apocalypse?

For now I'm tapped of predictions. There's too much wrestling to be wrong about and I don't like recycling column ideas.

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Foley: Predictions gone south

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