From Drew King at our Missouri site, PowerMizzou.com - who breaks down tonight's matchup between Missouri and Minnesota

Will be interesting to see if Pharrel Payne will be available for Minnesota tonight. Head coach Ben Johnson said he's been practicing, but will be a game time decision. On the flip side, Missouri will add some size to their roster tonight with the return of Connor Vanover, a transfer center who's had previous stints at Cal, Arkansas, and Oral Roberts. Vanover was the nation's second-leading shot-blocker last season.

Info on the Buckeyes ahead of Saturday's matchup:

Interim head coach David Braun doing a helluva job in Evanston under tough circumstances. Wisconsin could only muster 10 points against the Wildcats.

Floyd of Rosedale and Paul Bunyan's Axe in the trophy case but a final record of 6-6? 😲
PJ needs to get the team's head straight after the Ohio State game and keep the axe. Go to a low level bowl and re-group for next year.
Tremendous amount of disappointment this season. Keep the Axe next to the pig and at least we got that going for us to help with the pain of NW, Illini, and Boiler losses. C'mon defense...c'mon Rossi...let's go!

@drew_toennies with more on Isaiah White, who visited for a game earlier this season

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- Some of their best players are out on defense
- Inconsistencies with who is out there
- Roster, depth, and where they are falls on the coaching staff
- Tough position last week against Purdue, tough sledding with some of the linebackers and safeties
- Playing people ahead of when they should play
- Brought him back to the 2018 Maryland game (mentions Jordan Howden having a bad game)

- Really excited for what's coming in the next 12 days and next year
- Haven't played complimentary football all season, hoping they can do it this week
- Showed flashes in each aspect of the game
- Thought DL played hard against Purdue, some players out of gap here and there, lack of detail

- Thinks AK is getting more consistent, more comfort in the pocket, and situational football
- Says Lindenberg is one of the best players in the Big Ten, he's working hard to get back on the field
- Lindenberg was one the one guy on defense they couldn't afford to lose in any games this season

- Says drops on two of their first three possessions of the second half against Purdue, killed drives
- Were not in the best positions and weren't as sound as they needed to be on offense

- Says Marvin Harrison, Jr. is one of the best players in college football
- What he does when he doesn't have the ball in his hands is what makes him great

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Harbaugh throwing out some heaters today

Tigers defeated SIU-Edwardsville 68-50 to improve to 2-1 on the season. Their other win was their season opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff (101-79) and a loss to Memphis (70-55) where they went ice-cold in the second half.

This will be Minnesota's toughest non-conference test on Thursday

Post your pregame, in-game, and postgame thoughts here

STORYLINES TO WATCH VS. PURDUE
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOILERMAKERS
KALIAKMANIS DISCUSSES RECENT SUCCESS AND NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS

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- Says they are not a deep team right now at certain positions
- Specifically mentioned at the LB spot
- Injuries to Maverick Baranowski, Tre'Von Jones, and Zach Evans hurt them
- Mentions Lindenberg didn't play as well
- Said they were down to just Jordan Nubin at RB and he was banged up towards the end of the game
- Playing younger guys on their roster due to injuries led to mistakes all-around
- Thinks Matt Kingsbury will be a good player, but shouldn't be playing right now but had to due to injuries
- Said he saw some good things they can work on moving forward. Just have to be more consistent
- They weren't good enough for a lot of reasons, they'll examine those on Sunday, work on them throughout the week, and go play Ohio State

OFFENSE


DEFENSE

I don’t get our injury situation. If they are dinged up a little do they trainers say he is out. I mean how times have guys come back for a game and then they’re out the next week. When did lindenburg get hurt again? What is the Taylor situation? What ended up happening with barakowski? It looked like he was on sideline in full uniform wanting to go in!

We’ll hear they were 0-1 in the Purdue championship season, they have to change their best, and this is all on Fleck because he needs to do a better job of coaching.

Purdue is a bad team, and they stomped all over Minnesota.

A dumpster fire performance. Zero physicality on defense. Mass confusion in the secondary (again). Atrocious linebacker play (again). Bad tackling (again).

Just imagine playing this bad defensively against those conference newcomers from the west coast that are coming in.

Fleck’s got some serious soul searching to do. They’re in a very bad place.

Today’s performance in a word would be disgusting.

Gopher Wrestling added six excellent wrestlers yesterday, with a couple more to sign soon!!

AT THE VERY TOP is #4 ranked 2024 Koy Hopke, who will continue our elite tradition at HWT!!!

Then following that are #23 ranked Charlie Millard, #88 Wyatt Duchateau, #108 ranked Jack Nelson, and #181 Jed Wester.

This should be a very strong recruiting class, which will help us improve over the next four years!!


Here is the article on National Signing Day from Gophersports.com:

Minnesota Wrestling Adds Six on Signing Day​

Gophersports.com
11/9/2023
Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota wrestling program added six members on National Signing Day as Silas Dailey, Wyatt Duchateau, Koy Hopke, Charlie Millard, Jack Nelson and Jed Wester have all signed National Letters of Intent, head coach Brandon Eggum announced.

"Our coaching staff is excited to announce a big chunk of our 2024 recruiting class," Eggum said. "Building off of last year's class, this local crew from Minnesota and Wisconsin is coming into their time at the 'U' with big expectations. This is a top-5 recruiting class that is full of young men who love the sport of wrestling and are looking to develop into the best wrestlers and people they can be.

"Their accomplishments on the mat and in the classroom are incredibly impressive. We have a couple of 4.0 students, a world champ, multiple All-Americans and many state championships in this group. They are like-minded in the way they wrestle with an aggressive attacking style and with their ability to beat top opponents throughout the country. This group has done that consistently throughout their careers and are eager to do it here, as well."

"We will also be adding some other guys in our later signing period to really complete this top-ranked class," Eggum added.

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Dailey is a native of Cascade, Wis., and attends Plymouth High School. He won the 2023 Wisconsin Division II State Championship at 170 pounds after taking third place the previous season. As a freshman, he claimed third place at 145 pounds. Dailey finished his junior campaign with a record of 48-2 and improved his three-year mark to 102-7. WisconsinGrappler ranks Dailey as the No. 1 wrestler in Division II at 175 pounds, while WIWrestle has him as the No. 12 pound-for-pound wrestler in the state. He was a past All-American at Cadet Fargo Nationals.

"Silas was our latest commitment from Wisconsin," Eggum said. "He is club teammates with Charlie Millard and Wyatt Duchateau, as well as current Gopher Ethan Riddle. He is tough on top and has an incredible grip. Silas comes from a tight-knit family and we are excited that he'll be able to add to our family atmosphere here in Minnesota.

"We anticipate him to come in and develop his already great skills. With the coaching and training partners he'll be surrounded with, you're going to see Silas do big things throughout his time here. We are thankful he is a Gopher."

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Duchateau joins the Gophers from Hartland, Wis., and Arrowhead High School. Duchateau is a two-time Wisconsin state champion as he won at 145 pounds for Division I last year thanks to a pin in under a minute, while in 2022 he captured the crown at 132 pounds as a sophomore. MatScouts puts Duchateau at No. 88 on its 2024 Big Board, while he is the top-ranked Division I wrestler at 150 pounds according to WisconsinGrappler. WIWrestle tabs him eighth in the pound-for-pound rankings in Wisconsin.

"We feel that Wyatt is one of the best kept secrets throughout the nation in this class," Eggum said. "He is a scramble and cradle master who has won back-to-back state titles in Wisconsin. Wyatt has battled through some injuries throughout his high school career but has attacked rehab and is as healthy as ever entering his senior season. Wyatt will be a staple in the middle of our lineup for years to come."

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Hopke comes to the Gophers as one of the top recruits in the country. A native of Amery, Wis., and Amery High School, Hopke is ranked fourth overall on MatScouts' 2024 Big Board. He is also WIWrestle's top pound-for-pound wrestler in the state of Wisconsin. Hopke is a three-time Division II State Champion in Wisconsin at 220 pounds and finished his junior season at a perfect 53-0 to leave his prep record at an unblemished 126-0. He won his most recent title behind three pins and a total of just 1:05 on the mat. On the national scene, Hopke won the triple crown in 2021 as he was the 16U champion in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman. In addition, Hopke was the 2022 Under-17 freestyle world champion, and he followed that this past July by winning the freestyle heavyweight title at the 2023 Junior Nationals Championships.

"Koy Hopke is coming to Minneapolis with the aim of continuing our unmatched tradition of producing the best heavyweights in the world," Eggum said. "He is already a world champ and the best high school heavyweight in the country, his accomplishments on the mat speak for themselves, but Gopher Nation also should know Koy is an amazing person and an incredible student. He will be a leader on and off the mat for us. We are extremely excited to pair him with our already talented upper weights to make the back end of our lineup a nightmare for our Big Ten opponents."

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Millard is the fourth Wisconsin native to join Minnesota for the 2024-25 season. He hails from Mequon and attends Homestead High School. Millard is ranked 23rd on MatScouts' Big Board, sixth on the pound-for-pound rankings from WIWrestle and No. 1 at 165 pounds for WisconsinGrappler. As a freshman he placed fourth at the Wisconsin Division I State Tournament at 138 pounds, moved up to 152 pounds as a sophomore and claimed second place then broke through with a state title last season at 160 pounds. Millard is a multi-time All-American at Fargo Nationals.

"One of the best wrestlers to come out of a great 2024 Wisconsin class, Charlie Millard is a foundational part of our top-ranked group," Eggum said. "We love everything about Charlie Millard. He wrestles an attacking and aggressive style, he can ride and turn and is a great scrambler. Charlie has an amazing personality and absolutely loves the sport of wrestling. He's improved so much as a wrestler, we believe that development will continue here and help Charlie accomplish great things at the U."

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A product of Mound Westonka High School, Nelson calls Minnetrista, Minn., home. Ranked 108th on MatScouts' Big Bard, he is a three-time state champion and a four-time state qualifier. He won the Class AA 126-pound title as a junior this past year after taking the crown at 120 pounds as a sophomore and the 106-pound title as a freshman in 2021. He also reached state as an eighth grader in 2020. Nelson entered his senior year with a prep record of 143-19.

"Jack was one of our first commitments in this class," Eggum said. "He is already a three-time Minnesota state champion and will be going for his fourth this season. Jack is a three-sport athlete who also has trained year round in wrestling. He is long and great on top. We are impressed by his work ethic and commitment to the sport of wrestling. Jack loves Gopher Wrestling, there's something to be said about guys who grow up wanting to be a Gopher. It is fun to help that dream come true and then to prepare them to get their hands raised in the Pav."

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Rounding out the class is Wester from Annandale, Minn., and St. Michael-Albertville High School. Ranked 181st overall by MatScouts in the 2024 class, he is the defending state champion at 160 pounds in Class AAA, while he also came in second as a sophomore at the same weight, second as a freshman at 145 pounds and fifth at 120 pounds as an eighth grader. Through his junior season, he held a high school record of 181-32.

"Jed hails from Minnesota powerhouse Saint Michael, Minn.," Eggum said. "He has some great accomplishments and some big time wins. Jed's athleticism and ability to scramble are at an elite level. He is a student of the sport who is constantly looking to evolve and grow as a wrestler and person. Jed is a strong wrestler in many positions who will come in and grow into a tough Big Ten wrestler. We are extremely thankful to have him part of this class."

Boilermakers run all over Minnesota's defense for 604 yards of total offense and averaging 8.8 yards per play