The University of Iowa is favored to win a third consecutive team title at the NCAA Div. I Championships this week in Omaha, Neb., but don't tell that to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands or any of the coaches or athletes at the other top programs in the nation.

As far as everyone is concerned, the 10 individual and one team title are up for grabs once the competition begins Thursday morning at 11 a.m.

"This is the time of year where you want to be at your best. We've done what we set out to do at the beginning of this year and we have to continue that," Brands said Wednesday afternoon at a press conference with a handful of the top wrestlers and coaches in Div. I. "If we have them ready to go when they step onto the mat, then I feel good. If we see some funny things going on, then I don't feel so good. It's zero hour. It's time to go.

"We want everybody to be at the top of the stand. That's what you're here for. This is the one that you're about. We have to get 10 guys ready to go. We have to get individuals ready to go and individuals are getting themselves ready to go."

Iowa State may be Iowa's biggest threat to the three-peat and first-year head coach Kevin Jackson said he likes his team's chances heading into Nationals.

"We're excited to be here. This is the spot where you're supposed to wrestle your best matches and have your best tournament. We've pointed to this all year," Jackson said. "Our guys have to take care of business the first round. Our guys have come to scrap and get the job done. Our expectations are high.

"Our expectations are the same as everyone here. And that's to wrestle our best and try and win a National Championship. I think our guys are ready and our potential is great. We expect our guys to perform at a high level. We just hope our guys go out and perform the way they're capable of wrestling and we'll walk away feeling good about ourselves."

Iowa and Iowa State both brought all 10 wrestlers into the tournament.

"We brought 10 to the tournament with opportunities to shine, "Jackson said. "You base your year on what happens at this tournament and that's the bottom line."

Two other coaches who expect to see their teams in the thick of the team race are Tom Ryan of Ohio State and John Smith of Oklahoma State.

"We're here to win a championship. We're looking forward to a great weekend," Ryan said.

Smith said he still hasn't seen the best his team has to offer and hopes that occurs this week.

"It's been a fun year for us from where we finished last year to where we brought this team. The one thing we realize is the things you remember are what happens here, not during the regular season," he said. "I do believe our best wrestling is still ahead of us."

Another team that should contend for the title is Cornell University. Returning 125-pound NCAA champ Troy Nickerson is one reason why the squad is seen as a very legitimate title threat.

"I feel our team is coming in pretty strong. We come in with a lot of high seeds and a lot of potential All-Americans. Hopefully we can get three or four guys in the finals and that should put pressure on a lot of other teams," he said. "I really believe we can come away with eight All-Americans and if we can do that, we'll be right there."

Two of the biggest questions for Iowa are the health of 165-pounder Ryan Morningstar and the mindset of 149-pounder Brent Metcalf, who lost just his third career match in the Big 10 finals.

Brands gave vague answers when asked about both wrestlers.

"We like where he's at in the most important place and that's his head. We feel good about it," he said of Morningstar.

About Metcalf's ability to focus after his first loss of the season, Brands said, "It's not business as usual, there's an urgency there. The applecart was upset. He's overcome a lot more than a loss in a wrestling match. And he's overcome big losses in wrestling matches before. He's fine."

Lance Palmer of Ohio State, who defeated Metcalf in the Big 10 Tournament and is seeded first, said he can't think about another possible meeting with the Hawkeye right now.

"I'm not really think ahead. I'm think about the first match of the tournament. You have to take it one match at a time," Palmer said. "If we are to face again in the finals, my style won't change at all. I wrestle him the same every time. Just small things change."

When asked if it bothered him that Metcalf is still considered the favorite to win the 149-pound title by many, Palmer replied, "I don't really feed off of that. That's something for Saturday night. I'm just focused on Thursday morning. Every other tournament that I've been in with Metcalf, he's been predicated to win it. You can't really go off what people think. You just have to go out and do the job every match."

One wrestler in the field who has done the job every match this season and for most of his career is Jake Varner of Iowa State. The returning 197-pound NCAA Champion and three-time finalist said past experience doesn't help much once the tournament begins.

"It's just another tournament. Nobody has won it yet. Everything that's happened in the past is in the past. It's not a factor now," Varner said. "I really don't feel any added pressure. It's just one match at a time and I'm looking forward to my first match tomorrow."

Many people expect a rematch of the Big 12 finals and last year's NCAA title match between Varner and Craig Brester of Nebraska. Varner said thinking that far ahead can get you in trouble.

"If you're worried about who you're going to wrestle in the finals, you're probably not going to make the finals," he said. "Everybody is probably gunning for everybody, in my opinion."

Jackson has said all season he feels Varner is the best wrestler in college and he made that statement again on Wednesday. But he also realizes everyone still has to show up and wrestle, no matter how good they have been up to this point.

"His career and his credentials speak for themselves. Being a three-time finalist and trying to go for the fourth time as a finalist and trying to get a second title out of this thing. Being a World Team member," Jackson said. "Just the way he goes out and performs each and every match. He's trying to score points. He's trying to be active. He's not trying to leave the match in the third period where a mistake can cost you a match. He's out to completely dominate.

"That's put him in the position to be the best guy. But the best guy at this tournament doesn't always win. You have to have the best tournament. So he still needs to go out and perform at a high level to get the job done."