Nebraska
Wrestling Preview: No. 1 Penn State at No. 6 Nebraska
Penn State wrestling is coming fresh off a record-tying utter domination of Michigan State, albeit with nearly half of the latter’s starting lineup not taking the mat. This week, they face a far more formidable opponent – the always tough Nebraska Cornhuskers, who are entering this matchup after a season-building win over then-#6 Minnesota (21-13). That win vaulted the Huskers back up the rankings, as they were the #9 ranked team after their first (and only) loss at the hands of Northern Iowa (24-9).
Nebraska is one of the few squads who, like Penn State, feature a ranked wrestler at every weight – but half of the Husker lineup is in the top ten, versus nine out of ten for PSU. Rankings aren’t everything, though, as the underdogs feature a number of bonafide studs who’ve had some impressive bouts in their NE careers.
It’s been five years since Penn State has wrestled in the Devaney Center, with none of the current roster having wrestled there before; the last time, a few weeks after the Lions lodged a narrow 20-18 win, the world shut down to a global pandemic. Let’s hope this year’s outcome doesn’t trigger similarly catastrophic consequences.
How To Watch
What: #1 Penn State vs #6 Nebraska*
Where: Devaney Center, Lincoln, NE
When: Friday, January 17, 9 PM EST
Audio: Free (via GoPSUSports)
Video: BTN
Lineup
| #1 Penn State | WT | #6 Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| #1 Penn State | WT | #6 Nebraska |
| #12 – Luke Lilledahl (Fr., St Charles, MO) | 125 | #6 – Caleb Smith (Gr.,, HIgh Point, NC) |
| #5 – Braeden Davis (So., Belleville, MI) | 133 | #16 – Jacob Van Dee (So., Union City, PA) |
| #3 – Beau Bartlett (Gr., Tempe, AZ) | 141 | #6 – Brock Hardy (Jr., Brigham City, UT) |
| #2 – Shayne Van Ness (So., Somerville, NJ) | 149 | #4 – Ridge Lovett (Sr., Post Falls, ID) |
| #3 – Tyler Kasak (So., Doylestown, PA) OR Alex Facundo (So., Essexville, MI) |
157 | #5 – Antrell Taylor (So., Millard, NE) |
| #1 – Mitchell Mesenbrink (So., Hartland, WI) | 165 | Christopher Minto (Fr., Cape Coral, FL) OR #7 – Bubba Wilson (Sr., Manhattan, KS) |
| #2 – Levi Haines (Jr., Arendtsville, PA) | 174 | #15 – Lenny Pinto (Jr., Stroudsburg, PA) |
| #1 – Carter Starocci (Gr., Erie, PA) | 184 | # 17 – Silas Allred (Jr., Anderson, IN) |
| #4 – Josh Barr (Fr, Davison, MI) OR Lucas Cochran (Jr., Perry UT) |
197 | #22 – Camden McDaniel (Fr., Circleville, OH) |
| #2 – Greg Kerkvliet (Gr., Grove Heights, MN) | 285 | #24 – Harley Andrews (So., Tuttle, OK) |
125 – Match of the Meet #1
I see Lightning Luke on the same trajectory as Mitchell Mesenbrink last year, with each week having him climb up the rankings after starting off the season far too low. This week will be a big test for Lilledahl, and he’s more than up to the task; Smith is a veteran wrestler and 2024 All-American, coming into this dual having split his last two bouts (a loss to #30 Anderson of UNI, and a win over #7 Flynn of Minnesota). All the pressure is on Smith, and Luke’s got the chance to show out.
Prediction: Lilledahl by decision
Score: PSU 3, UN 0
133 LBS
Davis isn’t coming out of nowhere this season – the reigning B1G champ at 125 is on everyone’s radar. He gets his third top ranked bout this year against the Nebraska grappler that teammate Aaron Nagao pinned in the conference tournament last year – but Van Dee is confident, coming off an upset over Minnesota’s Tyler Wells. I expect one takedown to make the difference here, and that three will be Braeden’s.
Prediction: Davis by decision
Score: PSU 6, UN 0
141 LBS
Beau says he’s having the most fun wrestling this year, and who am I to discount that? This week, he takes on last year’s #3 finisher at this weight. Hardy, like Smith, has split his last two bouts (losing to #5 Happel of UNI and beating #8 Vombaur of Minnesota); it doesn’t come easier for him. The best bet on this one is a tie late into the third, if not extra wrestling, with Bartlett snagging a last-second TD and the victory.
Prediction: Bartlett by decision
Score: PSU 9, UN 0
149 LBS
Ridge Lovett was the internet’s favorite wrestler a few years ago, an exciting athlete with a high-scoring style that even the most cursory of wrestling fans would find exciting, culminating in an NCAA finals appearance as a true sophomore in 2022. We’re all used to his on-mat theatrics now, and he’s not taking anyone by surprise; neither is Shayne Van Ness, who seems better than ever coming back after last year’s medical redshirt. This one starts out close but some swipes in the third give the Nittany Lion enough points to be just shy of bonus.
Prediction: Van Ness by decision
Score: PSU 12, UN 0
157 LBS
Antrell Taylor’s another Husker who split his last two outings, losing to UNI’s #4 Downey and beating MInnesota’s #9 Askey. He’ll be a tough outing for Tyler Kasak, and the Nittany Lion’s first major test since the All-Star Classic. I’ve got a feeling that Nebraska pulls off one big upset this week, and though this one might not be big, it would definitely be an upset – one Tyler gets back in the postseason.
Prediction: Taylor by decision
Score: PSU 12, UN 3
165 LBS
Even though this is listed as an “or” in Penn State’s official match preview, that doesn’t mean one Nebraska wrestler will be decidedly easier for Mesenbrink than the other – if it weren’t for returning NCAA qualifier Wilson, MInto would likely be highly ranked as well. But this is Mitchell Mesenbrink we’re talking about, and even top ten guys will likely be fodder for him on his quest for a title this year.
Prediction: Mesenbrink by tech fall
Score: PSU 17, UN 3
174 LBS
Lenny Pinto is one of the few Huskers who is on a winning streak, beating back to back ranked wrestlers – but he’s never had to wrestle Levi Haines. This week, Levi’ll get a turn that us fans will call a pin but the refs won’t; he will get bonus, though.
Prediction: Levi by major decision
Score: PSU 21, UN 3
184 LBS
I was originally going to pick this one to be close, but then I saw the results from the last two weeks – Allred’s top ten, but he was pinned by Parker Keckeisen and majored by Minnesota’s McEnelly. Carter is the heel of college wrestling right now, and I wouldn’t be a fan of his if I didn’t recognize he’d take those results as a distinct challenge. I don’t think he’ll get quite the angle he’ll need to take Silas Allred to his back, but he’ll get enough swipes to be thisclose to a tech.
Prediction: Carter by major decision
Score: PSU 25, UN 3
197 LBS
Josh Barr had his best test in the Nittany Lions’ last road trip, and passed with flying colors. His ranking reflects that, though, and his might be the second best bet this week. He’s facing a fellow freshman, but one who’s fresh off a pair of losses. This could get bad pretty quickly.
Prediction: Barr by pin
Score: PSU 31, UN 3
285 LBS
Kerkvliet went first last week against the Spartans, and isn’t used to having to leave the anklets on the mat so accidentally left to go to the locker room with them on after his first-minute pin. That has nothing to do with this bout, but just makes me happy – and there’s not much I can say that will make this bout any closer. Andrews was tech falled by Steveson last week, and I expect similar this week, putting a capper on a successful business trip for the Lions.
Prediction: Kerk by tech fall
Score: PSU 36, UN 3
Overall score prediction: Penn State 36, Nebraska 3
*The Penn State athletic department, in its official capacity, uses Intermat’s Tournament Power Index in all its match literature; I’m using Intermat’s Dual Meet Rankings because this happens to be a dual. Penn State is #1 in both rankings; Nebraska is #6 in the dual rankings, and #4 in the tournament rankings.