The Wisconsin Badgers and the Iowa State Cyclones have a showdown looming on November 5 in Jacksonville, Florida at the Battle of River City at 6:30 pm (ET). Not only is this a dual between two top 10 teams, but this has the potential to be the best dual in the opening weekend of the college season. Check out a full preview of all ten potential matches below, with predictions for each bout. 

Projected Matchups:

125: #6 Eric Barnett, Wisconsin vs #18 Kysen Terukina, Iowa State

133: #12 Taylor LaMont, Wisconsin vs #20 Ramazan Attasauov, Iowa State

141: #11 Joseph Zargo, Wisconsin vs Casey Swiderski, Iowa State

149: #3 Austin Gomez, Wisconsin vs Paniro Johnson, Iowa State

157: #19 Garrett Model, Wisconsin vs #24 Isaac Judge, Iowa State

165: #6 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin vs #4 David Carr, Iowa State

174: Graham Calhoun, Wisconsin vs #17 Joel Devine, Iowa State

184: Tyler Dow, Wisconsin vs #5 Marcus Coleman, Iowa State

197: #23 Braxton Amos, Wisconsin vs #7 Yonger Bastida, Iowa State

285: #11 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin vs #13 Sam Schuyler, Iowa State

If the above potential matches hold, we’re looking at 16 total ranked wrestlers in the dual with 6 of the 10 bouts featuring head-to-head ranked matchups. Take a look below as we dive deep into each match.

125: #6 Eric Barnett, Wisconsin vs #18 Kysen Terukina, Iowa State

As a two-time All-American, Eric Barnett is a clear favorite in this matchup against Terukina. Barnett placed 8th at the NCAA tournament in 2021 and moved one spot up the podium in 2022 with a 7th-place finish. While Terukina will be an underdog in this match, he’s proven to have the capability of defeating higher-ranked opponents. Last year, Terukina had notable wins over #9 Killian Cardinale and #14 Trevor Mastrogiovanni. Expect this to be a competitive bout and one Wisconsin needs to win if they hope to win this dual.

Eric Barnett's win in the 7th place bout at last year's NCAA Tournament over Brandon Kaylor:

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Prediction: Barnett by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 3, Iowa State 0

133: #12 Taylor LaMont, Wisconsin vs #20 Ramazan Attasauov, Iowa State

After spending six years at Utah Valley, Taylor LaMont will close out his college career at Wisconsin where he'll man the 133-pound spot for the Badgers. A 2021 All-American, LaMont finished 2 matches shy of All-American honors last year but is sure to be a threat to make the podium this season. The match against Attasauov will show just how much Badger fans can expect from LaMont this year. 

Attasauov is an underdog against LaMont but he’s a “tough out” for anyone in the country at 133-pounds. Attasauov was injured in his first match at NCAAs last year and was forced to forfeit out of the tournament. However, during the regular season, Attasauov had notable wins over Job Greenwood, Anthony Madrigal, Connor Brown, and Sidney Flores.

Prediction: LaMont by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 6, Iowa State 0

141: #11 Joe Zargo, Wisconsin vs Casey Swiderski, Iowa State

This one should be a good one and a great early test for the anticipated debut of Casey Swiderski for Cyclone fans. Swiderski was the #2 ranked wrestler coming out of high school in the class of 2022 and could prove to be worthy of that hype in this match against Zargo. A 2022 national qualifier, Zargo went 1-2 at the national tournament last year and recorded significant wins over Dylan Duncan, Cael Happel, and Parker Filius during the regular season. If Swiderski can take out Zargo, the true freshman should be considered a legitimate All-American threat.

Prediction: Swiderski by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 6, Iowa State 3

149: #3 Austin Gomez, Wisconsin vs Paniro Johnson, Iowa State

Austin Gomez was one of the most inspiring stories in college wrestling last season after spending two years off the mat and then coming back to win 4th place All-American honors at the NCAA Tournament. On top of his finish at NCAAs, Gomez has built a reputation for wrestling one of the most exciting styles in the country. Gomez is sure to be a heavy favorite against freshman Paniro Johnson and should push for bonus points. Johnson had a solid year wrestling in open tournaments but his role in this matchup is to make the bout competitive and keep the match to a decision.

Austin Gomez shares his decision to come back to college wrestling and how he ended up at Wisconsin:

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Prediction: Gomez by major decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 10, Iowa State 3

157: #19 Garrett Model, Wisconsin vs #24 Isaac Judge, Iowa State

The match between Model and Judge might not be the highest profile match in the dual, but there’s a chance the outcome of this match could decide the outcome of the dual. The two have never met in their college careers and had similar years last season. Model had a slightly better year as an NCAA qualifier and even secured a win over #5 Brayton Lee. Because of that, Model comes into this match as a slight favorite, but this one could go either way.

Prediction: Model by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 13, Iowa State 3

165: #6 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin vs #4 David Carr, Iowa State

Here it is - the main event of the dual! David Carr vs Dean Hamiti should be an incredible match and feels like a bout we could see in the quarters or semis at the 2023 NCAA tournament. Carr is moving up to 165-pounds after winning NCAAs in 2021 and finishing 3rd last year - both at 157 pounds. Hamiti had a breakout true freshman year finishing in 6th place at NCAAs with a 28-4 record and 20 bonus point wins - 8 pins, 6 techs, and 8 majors. 

Who has the edge in this bout? Carr has more ways to score on his feet and might be the better overall wrestler. However, Hamiti is a prolific scrambler and is able to secure near-fall points at a much higher rate than Carr. Their clash of styles makes this a very challenging match to predict but one thing’s for sure - we should expect an exciting match from start to finish.

Highlights of David Carr's win in the 3rd place bout at the NCAA tournament over Peyton Robb:

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Highlights of Hamiti's wild win over Peyton Hall at last year's NCAA Tournament:

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Prediction: Carr by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 13, Iowa State 6

174: Graham Calhoun, Wisconsin vs #17 Joel Devine, Iowa State

Like at 157, the bout between Calhoun and Devine at 174 should be highly competitive and could be an all-important swing match for either team. Devine is the favorite as a returning national qualifier. On top of that, Calhoun failed to have any notable wins during his redshirt campaign. If Iowa State wants to win this dual, they need Devine to come out on top. 

Prediction: Devine by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 13, Iowa State 9

184: Tyler Dow, Wisconsin vs #5 Marcus Coleman, Iowa State

Marcus Coleman might be the biggest favorite of any cyclone in this dual and Iowa State needs bonus points out of Coleman to support their team efforts. Coleman put together the best year of his college career last season with a 7th place finish at the NCAA tournament along with notable head-to-head wins over #7 Jonathan Loew, #6 Trey Munoz, Dakota Geer, #14 Keegan Moore, #15 Tate Samuelson, Max Lyon, and Taylor Venz. Wisconsin will need Tyler Dow to keep this match from ending early and avoid giving up big bonus points. 

Highlights of Coleman's win in the 7th place bout at the NCAA Tournament over Jonathan Loew:

Prediction: Coleman by tech fall

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 13, Iowa State 14

197: #23 Braxton Amos, Wisconsin vs #7 Yonger Bastida, Iowa State

Yonger Bastida and Braxton Amos met in the opening round of last year’s NCAA tournament where Bastida came out on top. In that match, Bastida secured an early takedown and was able to hold that narrow lead all the way to a tight, 3-2 decision. Bastida would go on to take 5th at NCAAs while Amos won a match in consolations before losing to Cam Caffey in the round of 24. We should expect a similar, close match in Jacksonville with Bastida as the slight favorite. 

Bastida's win over Amos at last year's NCAA Tournament:

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Prediction: Bastida by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 13, Iowa State 17

285: #11 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin vs #13 Sam Schuyler, Iowa State

Heavyweight marks another head-to-head ranked matchup and another bout that could swing the dual for either team. Trent Hillger and Sam Schuyler are two seniors looking to close out their college careers with All-American honors. Hillger is the favorite in this match as a two-time All-American but failed to reach the podium last year after going just 1-2 at the NCAA tournament. Hillger is one of the more athletic heavyweights in the country and should use that athleticism to his favor in this matchup against Schuyler. 

Prediction: Hillger by decision

Team Score Prediction: Wisconsin 16, Iowa State 17

Though I’ve predicted Iowa State to win a 1-point battle, there are a number of matches that could swing the final outcome in favor of the Badgers. 141, 165, and 174 are all matches I predicted for the Cyclones that are within the margins for Wisconsin to win. Regardless of how this dual plays out, it’s one to watch from start to finish and should be highly entertaining for any college wrestling fan!