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101 T he University of Iowa wrestling team opened the month of November singing a new tune and closed the month with the same old song and dance. Never before had two wrestling powers competed outside in a Division I football stadium, but when top-ranked Oklahoma State hit the mat against Iowa inside Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 14, history was made and the NCAA dual attendance record returned to Iowa City. e "Grapple on the Gridiron" was new, fun, and successful — Iowa won the dual, 18-16. Fieen days later…new, fun, and successful became familiar, fun, and dominant. Iowa won for the 12th consecutive time against Iowa State on Nov. 29. e Hawkeyes won 8-of-10 bouts, scored bonus points in five, and le Ames, Iowa, with a 33-6 win. e Dan Gable Traveling Trophy will celebrate the holidays in Iowa City for the sixth year in a row (it was introduced in 2010). Will the attendance record stay that long? It stood for five years the last time Iowa owned it, and this time around many believe it's here to stay. HITTING THE JACKPOT e University of Iowa announced in August plans to host the "Grapple on the Gridiron" on Nov. 14. Oklahoma State agreed to be the opponent, Iowa agreed to the legwork, and both teams agreed only precipitation would force the event indoors. Weather was the only uncontrolled variable leading up to the event. It was also the biggest variable, the riskiest variable, and the most talked about variable. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Hawkeyes hit the jackpot. When Mother Nature reared its head on game day, she was wearing headgear and an ANF sticker. Temperatures reached 60 degrees, consecutive days of howling wind came to a halt, and more importantly, 42,287 wrestling fans stayed dry. It became a never-before-seen event that may someday be imitated, but never duplicated. It was a first, and everyone knew it. When tickets sales opened Oct. 1, 21,162 people were on board. By the end of business day Nov. 13, that number grew to 37,674. When the sun rose on Nov. 14, nearly 5,000 more got in line. Betting on weather is a good way to go broke, but for that one day, everything came up heads. HITTING THE GAS ere wasn't much Iowa did wrong in dismantling Iowa State. But it wasn't perfect either. "We want to own the third period. We want to own the second period. We want to own the first period. We're greedy." ose were the words of head coach Tom Brands in response to his team's third period dominance. Iowa outscored Iowa State 51-16 in the final period, but had just 11 first-period takedowns. "We've got to be able to do that in the first period. en it's really lopsided," Brands said. "You have to work hard and it's not easy to do. ere's no shortcut to get to guys in the first period. You have to realize it's hard work and you have to buy into it." UP NEXT e Hawkeyes' next test is Dec. 10 when Rutgers visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a 5 p.m. (CT) start. Iowa then chases its record 25th Midlands title from Dec. 29-30. DECEMBER SCHEDULE Dec. 4 South Dakota State Dec. 10 Rutgers Dec. 29-30 at Midlands (Evanston, Ill.)