Wrestling: Michigan Falls Five Spots in NWCA Coaches Poll, Ohio State Steady in Second

By Andy Vance on November 21, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Kyle Snyder
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Ohio State maintained its standing as the No. 2 team in the country, behind unanimous top-ranked Penn State in the weekly USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. After a shocking loss to then-tenth-ranked Lehigh Sunday, Michigan fell five spots, clocking in at No. 9, just behind Iowa and Minnesota.

The Mountain Hawks (3-0) were this week’s biggest mover, jumping five spots from No. 10 to No. 5 after their 27-8 upset of the Wolverines. Lehigh also beat No. 24 Edinboro 27-14 over the weekend; the last time Lehigh was in the top five was on February 23, 2005.

Penn State walloped an unranked Binghamton team 40-2, while Ohio State is in action Tuesday night in the annual Thanksgiving Throwdown tri-dual at St. John Arena.

Third-ranked Oklahoma State (2-0) earned an early-season statement victory, crushing then-No. 6 Minnesota 30-3 on Sunday in Stillwater. The Golden Gophers dropped two spots to No. 8.

Iowa moved up a spot to No. 7 after going 3-0 at the Iowa City Duals, beating Buffalo 33-6, North Dakota State 38-6 and Iowa Central Community College 48-0. Wisconsin went 2-0, heading west to beat then-No. 25 Pittsburgh 26-6 and getting past pesky CSU Bakersfield 22-18, and check in at No. 19 in the poll.

Rutgers, Nebraska, Illinois and Purdue all rank in the Top 25, making 10 Big Ten teams in the rankings. Ohio State will face six of them during the course of the dual-meet season, along with No. 6 NC State.

Buckeye opponents Maryland, Kent State and Chattanooga all received votes in this week's poll.

DIVISION I USA TODAY/NWCA RANKINGS
Rank Team (First) Record Points Conference Previous
1 Penn State 3-0 400 Big Ten 1
2 Ohio State 1-0 384 Big Ten 2
3 Oklahoma State 2-0 368 Big 12 3
4 Missouri 4-0 345 MAC 5
5 Lehigh 3-0 319 EIWA 10
6 NC State 6-0 312 ACC 7
7 Iowa 3-0 299 Big Ten 8
8 Minnesota 2-1 292 Big Ten 6
9 Michigan 1-1 286 Big Ten 4
10 Virginia Tech 3-0 267 ACC 9
11 Rutgers 3-0 235 Big Ten 11
12 Arizona State 1-2 213 Pac-12 12
13 Nebraska 1-0 191 Big Ten 15
14 Illinois 1-1 190 Big Ten 14
15 Cornell 1-0 187 EIWA 19
16 South Dakota State 0-1 153 Big 12 16
17 Northern Iowa 1-1 146 Big 12 13
18 Central Michigan 1-1 130 MAC 17
19 Wisconsin 2-0 129 Big Ten 18
20 Purdue 3-0 92 Big Ten 22
21 Oklahoma 1-2 85 Big 12 20
22 Rider 0-0 53 EWL 23
23 Edinboro 2-1 48 EWL 24
24 (tie) Pittsburgh 1-2 13 ACC 25
24 (tie) Stanford 2-2 13 Pac-12 21

*Others receiving votes: Maryland 11, Drexel 10, Navy 6, Appalachian State 5, Kent State 5, Chattanooga 4, North Dakota State 4, North Carolina 2, Northwestern 2, Lock Haven 1

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