Add Pitt to the ILLINI Schedule

 


THE SACCHARINE OF LOATHSOME?

Thanks to Significant ACC Bias for alerting the ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond to a new foe for the ILLINI this upcoming season. In a display of humble gratitude for this, I will not call Significant ACC Bias loathsome like everybody else on the East Coast. 

Quasi Loathsome? The Saccharine of Loathsome? Just kidding. 

As you can see, this will be a big-time home dual for the ILLINI. I know Pitt has always been good at wrestling, but they've got a damn fine team this season. So, mark your calendars for December 3, 2022 at the Assembly Hall. You will be treated to a fantastic dual. 





WHY WE HATE PITT

Pitt is short for Pittsburgh, and that means Dan Marino and his Greg Brady haircut and sandwiches that are as lame as any you'd find in England, except they melted the cheese! They added a pepper! Wooo! These are New Jersey people with a poor sense of direction. I hate Pittsburgh. 


THE ILLINI SCHEDULE SO FAR

We know about the mid-conference-season dual against nonconference opponent Iowa State. We know about the early-season matches against Buffalo and North Carolina State. Now we can add Pitt. That's three out of four top-notch teams. This is what we currently have:

11/18/22 Buffalo

11/18/22 NC State

12/3/22 Pitt

2/12/23 Iowa State


THE PITT DUAL

Seriously, though, Pittsburgh is best known for a guy who caught a pass that wasn't even meant for him. Haha, stupid Cowboys. But, like I said, their wrestling team is very strong. Our full award-winning preview will come out during dual week. 

For now, some random thoughts. 

The Panthers have no real holes in their lineup. If you go by Wrestlestat.com, their lowest rated guy is at #56, then the next lowest is at #40. They have four wrestlers in the top ten, including #1 Cole Matthews. 

A fifth is rated #15. 

Andre at Wrestlestat has an early prediction of 16-15 for the bad guys. That's with Joe Roberts and Luke Luffman in the lineup, and Matt Wroblewski wrestling at 197. That may not be the case this season. 

The matches that I'm looking forward to are #3 Byrd versus #7 Phillippi, the Brawlnagels versus the Heller boys, WroboCop (if he's at 197) versus #9 Nino Bonaccorsi, and #54 Danny Pucino versus #1 Cole Matthews. That last one's my Masterlock Kryptonite Cheesesteak upset special. 

Wager all your Bitcoin on it!


THE ASSEMBLY HALL

This is a home dual, which means it will be held at the Assembly Hall. Some people call it the State Farm Center. Every ILLINOIS high school wrestler dreamed of winning their state championships in this building. This season, ILLINI home duals will be held in this iconic structure (Emery Parker not included):



 



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