Jagger's Friday Mailbag - 10/20/2023

It’s Super 32 week and that only means one thing. It’s the first step of your impending divorce. Unless your spouse is also a wrestling fan. If so, nice pull. But some of us take heat after about 20 hours of wrestling in one weekend. I literally only took this job, so I could mask my wrestling watching as research. Nah babe, the round of 256 is crucial to next week’s mailbag column. I must watch this. I also answered some very important questions. And you must read them. There’s a test next week. 

What non-NCAA Championships/qualifying tournament are you looking forward to the most this year? 

What dual meet is a must-watch? 

Who’s your darkhorse to win an individual title this year? Vinny Termini 

I'm big on the Cliff Keen. The first month can be a little start and stop and once the CKLV rolls around you start to really see the meat and potatoes. All the duals are a must-watch. You can never miss one. I’m partial to ACC duals. I find all the team colors pleasant to my color-blind eyes. Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison are a great duo, it’s just a vibe. You want a dark horse? I’ll give you Stevo Poulin. Because, why not? We know he’s talented. He made the blood round last year as a freshman. Is he ready to make the leap? Will he bring back the mohawk? Probably not. But he is a breakout candidate. 

New York has made it official and girls wrestling is going freestyle baby!! This now tips the scales in favor of New York over New Jersey. How will this decision trickle down to the rest of the country? Coach Matt Sganga 

Oh, you think you’re better than me? Maybe you are, I don’t know. It makes sense since the women wrestle freestyle in college. I can only imagine it helps the growth of women’s college wrestling since more wrestlers will now be acclimated to the style, thus, feeling more comfortable with competing at the next level. As we know, it’s a bit trickier to officiate a freestyle match than a folkstyle match. If New York proves that it can be done on such a large scale, I see no reason why it can’t catch on with other states. 

Is Penn State beatable in the NCAA tourney this year? Izman 

I doubt it. They’re carrying eight All-Americans as it is. Half of those guys have been in the finals. The other four have finished in the top five and are all finals contenders themselves now. March is a long way off but the numbers don’t lie. Iowa is clearly the closest contender and they will just have to try and beat them heads up. Or maybe Michigan has a better chance. Even though the Fightin’ Caels may run away with it, there are still plenty of good races to keep an eye on.

Now that the TV schedule has been released, need your thoughts across the board on best matches, broadcasters, and Jagger Night. Nick Kosko, Voice of Rutgers Wrestling 

You mean other than Rutgers getting the shaft by not getting any National broadcasts at home? I get that it’s a tight schedule but the best you could do for America’s Team is an away dual against Penn State? On a Monday night? At the Bryce Jordan Center? All I’m saying is, the Scarlet Knights continue to pack the sandwich arena and deserve a chance to showcase that in front of a National audience. But that just means more time for Nick and Matt Howe to shine! Here in the Garden State, we’re all about hospitality. We don’t give you two random students who don’t know the difference between a dual and a game or a player and a wrestler. We would never insult you like that. We will give you the finger on the highway if you do something stupid. You take the good with the bad. Other than that, it’s what you'd expect from a schedule. I like seeing Cornell get some love when they face Ohio State on January 5th. Nebraska is a fun team and they have five dates, so I can dig on that. 

Who could Jagger foresee having an LA Knight-like run to megastardom during the college season? Rhino 

We’re not doing LA Knight this week, ok. I don’t even know who LA Knight is. But don’t sleep on Jude Swisher. That I do know. 

Well, I’m about to swish on out here and try to finish this abysmal binge of Suits that’s been going on for weeks. Nine Seasons! Deadwood got three! There’s no justice in this world.