National Duals?

The National Duals were so much fun last year, but this year will not be anything close to resembling the madness that transpired in Iowa City. Missouri won the 2015 National Duals that was a bracket of eight teams. This year we have a "BCS" style selection where eight Big Ten teams will face the seven conference champions and one wild card in eight different locations. 

The 2015-16 season has not been a great one for fans of duals and the National Duals will be a final kick in the pants. We don't get to see Iowa face Penn State, Michigan, or Ohio State. So they'll likely finish undefeated in duals with their biggest win coming in November over Oklahoma State. So the Big Ten scheduling this year makes this "BCS" format without a chance to really claim a true dual meet champion. Penn State & Iowa will likely beat Missouri & NC State and we will all quickly turn our attention towards the upcoming conference tournaments. Sad, but probably the way all the conference schedules shape this thing. 

We may get a couple interesting duals out of the bargain. Oklahoma State at Michigan would be fun, but I'm not certain how this thing will shake out. Would McFarland and Smith go all out for a meaningless dual just two weeks before conference tournaments? 

You can read about the format here. 

http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/Events/national-duals_di_duals_series

Looking at the current standings and doing some basic projections, here's what we can expect. Again, I'm not incredibly sure about the concept. Of course, some matches like Oklahoma State hosting Missouri this weekend would change things. 

National Dual Championship: Missouri @ Penn State

North Carolina State @ Iowa

Oklahoma State @ Michigan

Edinboro @ Nebraska

Cornell @ Illinois

Oregon State @ Rutgers

Appalachian State (or Chattanooga) @ Minnesota