State College— The biggest wrestling dual meet of the year is upon us, and yes, there is a betting spread for No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 2 Iowa.
Although this is a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, everybody— well, almost everybody,— expects Penn State to win and win big.
The betting odds reflect that.
Penn State is favored by a whopping 20.5 points over Iowa per BetOnline.
Odds are up on @BetOnline_ag for tonight's duals.
Penn State opened there -21.5, now 20.5.
If you're looking for the lines on their site, it's under Martial Arts. pic.twitter.com/Sqm8wRPPTE
— Justin Basch (@JustinJBasch) January 31, 2025
Amazingly, Penn State could cover that spread and still not beat Iowa by as much as it did last season in Iowa City, where it won 29-6.
Penn State Wrestling Gets HC Cael Sanderson his 200th Win, Steamrolls Iowa
Iowa has a better team this time around. But although Penn State won the national title by 100 points last season, it might be better, too.
CAEL’S BEST SQUAD?
Photo by Penn State Athletics: Cael Sanderson
Last season, people were talking about whether that year’s Penn State wrestling team could end up being Cael Sanderson’s best ever— which would have said a lot, considering Penn State had won 10 national titles under him (and made it 11 in emphatic fashion that March).
Penn State Wrestling Crowns 4 National Champions, Sets NCAA Records for Points, Margin of Victory
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This season, people are wondering the same. Through nine dual meets, Penn State has out scored its opponents 389 to 19.
You read that right. 389 to 19.
Granted, Penn State hasn’t faced the toughest opponents on its schedule yet, with Iowa and No. 4 Ohio State (in Columbus) still on the docket. But considering Penn State beat No. 7 Nebraska by 24 and No. 12 Rutgers by 32 on the road, it’s probably safe to say the team can handle it.
NOT EVERYBODY IS SO SURE
Photo by Iowa Athletics: Gabe Arnold
While most people believe Penn State wrestling will whip Iowa, Iowa star Gabe Arnold isn’t one of them.
“We have Penn State next week,” Arnold said after Saturday’s win over Ohio State, “and we didn’t get the job done last year and that kind of sucks. We’re going to get it done this year. This time, we’ll be in your home dojo, and I promise, your head is mine.”
Gabe Arnold calls his shot for next week vs Penn State pic.twitter.com/ZMiMeukCJj
— Ross Bartachek (@rossbchek) January 25, 2025
Arnold is projected to take on No. 1 and four-time national champ Carter Starocci Friday night. We’ll see how that goes.
Penn State-Iowa is scheduled to begin at 7 on the Big Ten Network.
