UNIVERSITY PARK– No. 1 Penn State wrestling is competing Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, and as one could imagine, PSU is the favorite.
DraftKings has a betting line out for Penn State’s showdown with No. 2 Ohio State, and for most dual meets, 16.5 points would be rather high.
But considering Penn State has won its 13 dual meets by an average of 39 points, this spread speaks to how good Ohio State is.
From the time the Buckeyes won the National Duals Invitational in November, it was clear that they’d be Penn State’s biggest competition, and indeed, that’s been the case.
BOUT BY BOUT
Penn State wrestling will have all 10 of its regular starters ready to go, which coach Cael Sanderson confirmed Wednesday when he said Braeden Davis would be going at 141.
Penn State Wrestling: Cael Sanderson Gives Injury Update on Braeden Davis
Ohio State will have most of its starters good to go, per its projected lineup, but there’s one notable exception.
The top-ranked wrestler in the country at 157, Brandon Cannon, is not expected to wrestle against Penn State’s freshman sensation, No. 4 PJ Duke.
Penn State Wrestling: Top 5 Bout Unlikley for Ohio State Showdown
Duke is expected to take on either Landon Desselle or Daxton Chase, both of whom are unranked redshirt freshmen. So a match that would have been arguably Duke’s toughest challenge so far will now be one he’s expected to win in bonus point fashion.
Here are the full projected lineups.
125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Nic Bouzakis
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.133: No. 4 Marcus Blaze (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Ben Davino
141: No. 12 Braeden Davis (Penn State) vs. No. 1 Jesse Mendez
149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Ethan Stiles
157: No. 4 PJ Duke (Penn State) vs. Landin Desselle/Daxton Chase)
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. No. 16 Paddy Gallagher
174: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Carson Kharchla
184: No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Dylan Fishback
197: No. 1 Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Luke Geog
Heavyweight: No. 12 Cole Mirasola (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Nic Feldman
BIGGEST DUAL MEET SINCE…
With this being No. 1 vs. No. 2 and the Big Ten dual meet championship on the line, it’s fair to argue that this is Penn State’s biggest dual meet since the program started its 84-bout winning streak in 2020.
One could argue it’s the biggest dual meet in Happy Valley since Ohio State came to Rec Hall in 2018, famous for Penn State heavyweight Nick Nevills holding off Olympic Gold Medalist and future Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Kyle Snyder from a bonus point win, sealing the 19-18 triumph for Penn State.
For Penn State fans who won’t be in the Bryce Jordan Center Friday night, here’s more information on how to watch and listen to the megadual.
Time: 7:00
Channel: Big Ten Network
Streaming: Fox Sports App/Fubo TV
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Radio announcer: Jeff Byres
