Preview of ILLINOIS versus Purdue

WHO:  Fighting ILLINI vs. Purdue Boilermakers

WHAT:  Dual

WHERE:  State Farm Center, Champaign, ILLINOIS

WHEN:  Saturday, January 14 at 7:00 pm (Central)

WHY:  Destroy the Boilermakers!

TV/STREAMING:  BTN+ (subscription service)

SPECIAL:  Youth Duals & Youth Clinic (email JKREIND@ILLINOIS.EDU)

TICKETS:  FREE ADMISSION

A DAY IN HISTORY

It was Sunday, February 5, 2017. 

Happy ILLINI Wrestling fans left Huff Hall to go home and watch eventual MVP Tom Brady lead the Patriots to a 34-28 Super Bowl LI victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Halftime fans enjoyed or did not enjoy Lady Gaga. The number one song in America was Bad And Boujee by Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert, while at the box office, A Dog's Purpose grossed $2,172,390 in 3,178 theaters.

Your kid brother was still awake playing Nintendo's Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, which was released the day before.

Those happy ILLINI Wrestling fans saw their team destroy the Purdue Boilermakers by the score of 30-6. Winners included Zane Richards, Mousa Jodeh, Eric Barone, Kyle Langenderfer (pin), Isaiah Martinez (tech), Zac Brunson (major), Emery Parker and Brooks Black.

Current ILLINI Coach IMAR recorded twelve takedowns against a very good two-time-Round-of-12er and Covid All American Dylan Lydy. Here's how that went down:

#11 Illinois 30, Purdue 6

125: Ben Thornton (PUR) dec. Travis Piotrowski (ILL), 4-0              PUR 3, ILL 0
133: #6 Zane Richards (ILL) dec. Luke Welch (PUR), 8-2                  ILL 3, PUR 3
141: Mousa Jodeh (ILL) dec. Kyle Ayersman (PUR), 2-1                     ILL 6, PUR 3
149: #20 Eric Barone (ILL) dec. Nate Limmex (PUR), 4-1                 ILL 9, PUR 3
157: #12 Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) fall Mario Leveille (PUR), 1:50       ILL 15, PUR 3
165: #1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall Dylan Lydy (PUR), 25-10        ILL 20, PUR 3
174: #12 Zac Brunson (ILL) maj. dec. Jacob Morrissey (PUR), 13-1    ILL 24, PUR 3
184: #12 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Tanner Lynde (PUR), 8-4              ILL 27, PUR 3
197: Christian Brunner (PUR) dec. Andre Lee (ILL), 2-0                    ILL 27, PUR 6
HWT: #15 Brooks Black (ILL) dec Tyler Kral (PUR), 2-0                    ILL 30, PUR 6

WHY WE HATE PURDUE

The Boilermaker mascot is creepier than Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers and Chucky combined. That's because those creatures aren't real, while Purdue Pete is real ...

... and it walks among us. 

That, that thing has frightened good Midwestern children since 1940, so I decided to do something about it. Go to Change.org and sign my petition to BAN THE PURDUE MASCOT! Think of the children. 

THE TEAMS

The University of ILLINOIS Wrestling team is now 3-3 in duals after a spectacular weekend which saw a close loss to #2 Iowa on the road and a big win over #13 Wisconsin at home. This led to a new top twenty-five ranking from Intermat.com. 

The ILLINI started off the year with a win over Buffalo (28-9), a loss to NC State (12-27), a win over Chattanooga (32-9), a loss to Pitt (6-30), a loss to Iowa (19-25) and finally a win over Wisconsin (18-17). 

Purdue, home to the creepiest mascot in all of sports, had a very successful year last season. This season, however, has been a bit of a disaster with losses to Drexel, Rider and Campbell. Their overall dual record is 4-4, but they're 0-1 in conference action.

The Boilers do have some wins, though, as their complete dual schedule looks like this: Rider (L, 13-23), Cleveland State (W, 23-13), Northern ILLINOIS (W, 23-11), Chattanooga (W, 23-16), Drexel (L, 17-20), Utah Valley (W, 20-18), Campbell (L, 9-29), and Iowa (L, 6-37). 

Since Purdue's last match was against common opponent Iowa, we'll take a look at that box score:

Purdue 6 - #2 Iowa 37

125: #1 Spencer Lee (IOWA) over #9 Matt Ramos (PUR) (Fall 2:56)
133: Brody Teske (IOWA) over Dustin Norris (PUR) (MD 16-4)
141: Parker Filius (PUR) over #17 (133) Cullan Schriever (IOWA) (Dec 6-2)
149: #5 Max Murin (IOWA) over Trey Kruse (PUR) (TF 22-7 5:37)
157: #3 Kendall Coleman (PUR) over Caleb Rathjen (IOWA) (Dec 3-2)
165: Aiden Riggins (IOWA) over Stoney Buell (PUR) (Dec 9-4)
174: #16 Nelson Brands (IOWA) over Cooper Noehre (PUR) (Dec 4-0)
184: #8 Abe Assad (IOWA) over Ben Vanadia (PUR) (Fall 4:15)
197: #6 Jacob Warner (IOWA) over Hayden Filipovich (PUR) (MD 16-4)
285: IOWA won by medical forfeit. (For.)

THE WRESTLERS

Wrestlestat.com has this as a 28-7 win for the good guys with only Matt Ramos with a major and Kendall Coleman with a decision winning for Purdue.  This is if all of the starters for both teams wrestle, and that won't happen often. Below you have the individual matchups with some commentary. The rankings are from wrestlestat.com, and the records are against all divisions. 

125.  MAXIMO RENTERIA (#81, 3-5) vs. MATT RAMOS (#8, 19-3).

During the BTN broadcast of the ILLINI/Wisconsin dual, announcer Ray Flores quoted Coach Mike Poeta as saying that Renteria has as much talent as ILLINOIS legend Jesse Delgado. That's a mouthful, but I've seen it in his high school videos, and I've glimpsed it on the mat on occasion when he hasn't been sick or injured the past two years.  

That first-period duckunder against Wisconsin's Eric Barnett the other day was a beauty!

He needs to start putting whole matches together, and he will rise in the rankings like teammates Pucino and Connell (see below). It won't get much easier against Purdue's Matt Ramos, who has been a Cadet World Team member for USA. Renteria will need to avoid the Boilermaker's gimmicks and throws and finish his takedowns cleanly. 

Wrestlestat.com is predicting a 15-3 major decision for the bad guy. Maximo should take a page out of the book written by Campbell's unranked (#39 Wrestlestat) Anthony Molton, who was able to beat Ramos in a dual in sudden victory earlier this year even though he lost to him 3-9 in the finals of the US Open Freestyle Championships in 2022. 

133.  LUCAS BYRD (#7, 16-3) vs. DUSTIN NORRIS (#131, 9-9). 

As a sacrifice to the gods of wrestling, Purdue will offer up this redshirt Freshman. Norris has, almost completely without fail, lost to wrestlers ranked in the 70s and above and beaten wrestlers ranked in the 80s and below. For example, he lost by a 3-9 score to ILLINOIS schoolboy, #39 Domenic Zaccone, who is Campbell's starter at this weight. 

Against wrestlers ranked #31, #21 and #13, Norris has lost by major, pinfall and major, respectively. The wrestlestat.com algorithm is specifying a 15-2 major (but close to a tech) win for Lucas Byrd. 

It is possible that Purdue brings true Freshman Jacob Macatangay (Plainfield North) to the dual to wrestle one of his five freebies, and the ILLINI could do the same with Kole Brower. I guess that this would happen depending on whether Coach Poeta wants to give Lucas a break, and where in the dual timeline the 133 match falls. 

141.  DANNY PUCINO (#18, 10-5) vs. Parker Filius (#15, 13-4).

One of the better wrestlers for Purdue is Parker Filius. He's a three-time National Qualifier and one-time Round of 16er. He sports a really nice 13-4 record so far this season with wins over Cullan Schriever (6-2) and Dylan D'Emilio (12-6). 

I've always thought of the Boilermaker as a true meat and potatoes Big Ten wrestler. Strong, hard-nosed, and not too fancy. This is his sixth year at Purdue and his fifth season starting, so he has a lot of experience in conference duals. 

This should be a fun match with contrasting styles, and it may well be the marque matchup of the dual, especially if Mikey Carr is not wrestling against the Boilermakers and Thomas Penola is not wrestling against the ILLINI. Wrestlestat.com is predicting an 8-6 win for the Orange and Blue. 

When you win a dual for the ILLINI, you deserve the official FightingILLINI.com promo poster for the next dual. And that's what Danny got:

149.  KEVON DAVENPORT (#63, 6-8) vs. Trey Kruse (#153, 6-11).

The ILLINI would like to get a win here and even a bonus point. Kruse has had a very rocky start to his wrestling career at Purdue. His best win in the last three years has been against the #95 wrestler at the weight. His next best win is against the #131 wrestler. That's probably why wrestlestat.com predicts a major decision for Davenport. 

The Boiler wrestlers on the bench at this weight are quite a bit worse. 

On the other hand, ILLINOIS may wrestle Jake Harrier here, as he's coming off a good match--though a loss--against the Badgers at this weight. 

157.  MIKEY CARR (#18, 1-0) vs. KENDALL COLEMAN (#9, 21-2). 

Coleman has some nice wins this year over #11 Will Lewan and #16 Jarret Jacques. His losses to #5 Jared Franek and #1 Peyton Robb are nothing to be ashamed of. Wrestlestat.com is going with an 8-5 win for the Boiler if Mikey Carr wrestles. 

But will he wrestle?

Almost as soon as Carr's hand was raised at the Iowa dual, I was thinking that Coach Poeta and Carr are probably giving lots of thought to the number of matches the brainy phenom wrestles during the regular season. At the time, I was thinking he should get two matches and pull the plug until conference tournament time. 

However, on second thought, maybe it would be wise to get the bare minimum number of matches for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament. Last year, it took eight matches to get a winning percentage and earn a qualification spot for the conference. Only five matches were necessary for a coaches' ranking, but fifteen were needed for an RPI. 

Balancing risk of injury versus likelihood of an NCAA tournament bid versus a heavy Medical School curriculum is a difficult equation. I would think that Carr would want a minimum of eight matches to ensure that he gets a coaches' ranking and a winning percentage, which is two of the three criteria needed for an at-large bid. (RPI being the third, but that requires fifteen matches). 

We could see Anthony Federico (#101, 5-8) at this weight for the ILLINI. He did a very good job to keep Wisconsin's Garrett Model to a regular decision in the last dual. The prediction in a Coleman versus Federico match, though, is for a major decision. 

Coleman has a famous snap and spin-behind. His double leg takedown might be better. If he's close to you, prepare for the snap. If there is distance between you, be ready to throw your shoulder into him and sprawl.  

165.  DANNY BRAUNAGEL (#15, 15-5) vs. COOPER NOEHRE (#87, 8-6). 

If the ILLINI were to give up a major decision at 157, they could get it right back at 165, as that is what wrestlestat.com predicts via a 14-3 win. Little Brawny has gone through the rough patch of his conference schedule and will now be favored in every B1G match until the conference tournament. 

He will have Iowa State's David Carr to deal with, though, but that's nonconference and a ways down the road. 

The major decision that wrestlestat prognosticates might be a little hyperbolic, as Noehre, in his last match, wrestled up at 174 and lost to Nelson Brands by the relatively close score of 0-4. He even took #24 Wyatt Sheets of Okie Light to ultimate tie breaks before losing. 

I think Brawlnagel is a very solid favorite here, but we'll see if he can get that major decision. 

174.  EDMOND RUTH (#12, 20-1) vs. MACARTNEY PARKINSON (#129, 5-10). 

While the wrestlestat.com algorithm may have been overly-enthusiastic regarding Danny Braunagel's match, it seems perhaps a little too conservative on the subject of Edmond Ruth. It predicts an 8-4 win for the good guy. I get that Ruth wrestles calculated matches, but Parkinson has been majored this season by folks who Ruth has already beaten. 

For example, Parkinson lost by major to Rocky Jordan, a guy who Ruth beat in the Chattanooga dual. Parkinson lost by tech fall to Peyton Mocco, a guy who Ruth beat at the Tiger Style Invite. I'm going to suggest that if the ILLINI need a major in this match, they will get one courtesy of Edmond Ruth. 

184.  DYLAN CONNELL (#24, 13-10) vs. BEN VANADIA (#103, 9-9). 

You may have noticed Danny Pucino's wrestlestat.com rating has skyrocketed due to recent events. So has Connell's. Now, Conspiracy Greg says that any time you have a good result against a Hawkeye, that that automatically equals twenty rating places. But that's just the conspiracy speaking. 

In any event, Dylan Connell is where we hoped he would be, which is on the rise. He has performed in an exemplary manner in a close loss to a highly-ranked Hawkeye in Carver, and he got the job done at home against his Badger opponent. 

Vanadia has lost his last three by pinfall or tech fall, including an Abe Assad pin at the 4:15 mark. Wrestlestat.com predicts a 9-3 win for the good guy, and I can believe that. 

197.  ZAC BRAUNAGEL (#14, 15-3) vs. HAYDEN FILIPOVICH (#128, 5-13). 

Filipovich is 2-13 in his last fifteen matches, including a 4-16 major decision loss to Jacob Warner in his last outing. This is his second year on the team and his first year starting. He doesn't have any big wins, and he's not very likely to get one against Zac Braunagel, who was the NCAA Wrestler of the Week this past week. 

It looks like Filipovich has wrestled all the duals for the Boilermakers, including the last one against Iowa. 

Thomas Penola has been out with an injury so far this season and has wrestled zero matches. I would dearly love to see the Brawlnagel beat him, as I don't like the fellow, but it looks like a medical redshirt for him. Penola is #17 at wrestlestat.com, and their algorithm predicts a two-point win for Big Brawny if the two were to tangle. 

285.  MATT WROBLEWSKI (#90, 10-9) vs. TRISTAN RUHLMAN (#89, 12-7).

The Boilermakers medical forfeited at heavyweight against Iowa in their dual. In five of their prior duals, Ruhlman has been on the mat. Wrestlestat.com predicts a two-point win for the ILLINI. 

Ruhlman is a very large specimen, a Nick Wilham-style body, so WroboCop will need to use his speed and experience advantages to win this one--if the match happens. 

Could Ersland decide to wrestle ILLINOIS schoolboy Hayden Copass (Westville)? Was the Iowa forfeit an actual medical issue or a duck? I guess we'll find out. 

CONCLUSION

The Boilermakers beat the ILLINI last year. That hurt real bad. They've won two of the last three! Now that's blasphemy! You see, ILLINOIS has owned Purdue on the wrestling mat for decades. Even counting those two recent wins, the Orange and Blue has won sixteen of the last nineteen duals. 

This ILLINI team will resume the annual tradition of beating Purdue. 

Because there is no wrestling in Indiana, the Boilers have to poach talent from ILLINOIS. They have on their roster the following ILLINOIS schoolboys: Kendall Coleman went to Mt. Carmel, while redshirting Freshman Hayden Copass attended Westville, Mitch Hutmacher graduated from Glenwood, Michael Leveille from Marist, Kooper Loehr from Mt. Zion, Jacob Macatangay from Plainfield North and Matt Ramos from Lockport. That's a lotta meatball! You can tell that the folks in Indiana only play with their balls. 

The ILLINI are on the rise, and I see it continuing with a wonderful beatdown of Purdue.