On Friday, January 24, the Sooners were handed an embarrassing 25-6 defeat by the Iowa State Cyclones. So they traveled to Cedar Falls the next day hoping to bounce back against the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Panthers, however, were not in the mood to let the Sooners mount a comeback on their home turf. Head Coach Roger Kish‘s strategies were ineffective against the Panthers who defeated the Sooners 26-13, taking the latter’s losing streak to three. It’s safe to say the Panthers were ruthless. Or were they?

Well, their wrestlers were. Their staff, however, were much kinder to the opponents as they offered their helping hand to a Sooner wrestler as a crisis unfolded during one of the bouts. The gesture, however, was met with rejection.

A post by FloWrestling from January 26 on X shared scenes that unfolded at the McLeod Center the day before. During his bout against the host’s Parker Keckeisen in the 184lb bracket, Oklahoma’s Eli Cordy broke his headgear. With the match being mid-way, the staff scurried to replace the item as soon as possible. However, it was the Panthers who came up with a solution first, amidst loud cheers from the fans at the arena. “Panther coaches offered a replacement,” the social media post notes.

However, the Sooners redshirt freshman rejected the white-and-blue headgear and instead waited a couple of more seconds for his own with the Oklahoma stripes. But the attending crowd felt irked by Cordy’s rejection and made their emotions felt with loud “booo” chants. But Eli took the entire encounter sportingly and the big smile on his face never faltered.

However, despite his nonchalance, Cordy couldn’t manage to reflect his composure on the mat. Keckeisen defeated the Oklahoma star by a hefty margin of 21-6 (tech fall), ensuing the Panthers bounced back from their last week’s misery. On the other hand, it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for the Sooners, who are suddenly sailing over troubled waters wherever they go.

Oklahoma Sooners looking to put its bad days behind them

Kish’s boys are currently riding on a disheartening 6-4 overall record (2-4 in the Big 12). But the season started off pretty well for the Sooners, who defeated Air Force in its first conference match and followed it up with another victory over Wyoming. The Oklahoma squad then finished in second place at the Roadrunner Open in November, before being handed its first loss of the season by David Taylor’s OSU in December. Three wins and a second-place finish at the Southern Scuffle later, the Sooners once again hit the wall against West Virginia and Iowa State in late January. And now, they had to cede ground to Northern Iowa as well.

The Panthers, on the other hand, have an impressive 10-1 overall record (4-1 in Big 12). With victories over NCAA powerhouses like Nebraska and boasting 10 medalists at the 2024 Soldier Salute, UNI is proving exactly why it is a force to be reckoned with within the collegiate wrestling circuit of the USA. But like OU, even they couldn’t manage to subdue the wrecking machine that is the Oklahoma State Cowboys, despite getting some aid from Taylor’s camp in other areas nonetheless.

The Sooners are slated to host Mizzou on February 1 at the McCasland Field House for their next Big 12 match-up. How do you think that will go? Tell us in a comment!