Cael Sanderson offers opinion on controversial replay ‘error’ in Penn State wrestling win at BJC

No. 1 Penn State wrestling ran away from No. 14 Rutgers in a 35-3 win at this year’s BJC Dual on Monday night. The Nittany Lions‘ 1,000th program win wasn’t without issue, however, as there was yet another controversial ending to a bout at 125 in as many weeks. This time, a Scarlet Knights review was called off due to a problem with the replay equipment in the Bryce Jordan Center. Following the dual, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson commented on the “error” that occurred early on in the highly anticipated match.

Braeden Davis wins on yet another controversial ending

In the first match of Monday evening’s dual, Braeden Davis and the Scarlet Knights’ Dean Peterson were tied 1-1 when Peterson appeared to possibly get a takedown as time was expiring. The Rutgers coaching staff went through the challenge brick to take a look at the final few seconds.

I have never seen this before…

“We don’t have it”, referring to video replay. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/PD5zhK9seK

— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) February 13, 2024

However, the officials informed the Rutgers staff that the video replay in the Bryce Jordan Center was not available. Scarlet Knights coach Scott Goodale spiked the brick down in disgust. It appeared that Rutgers was unaware of the issue with the replay equipment at the start of the dual. Of course, having replay is standard for the Big Ten.

Braeden Davis ended up securing a 4-1 win via a takedown in sudden victory. Ultimately, we will never know if the bout should have even gotten to the overtime period or not.

The Big Ten Network broadcast later confirmed that there would be no video replay at the Bryce Jordan Center for any of the matches on Monday. This effectively eliminated any of the coaches’ challenges and put more pressure on the officials to make the correct calls on the mat. The rest of the dual proceeded with very little controversy, as Penn State wrestling cruised to a blowout win.

Cael Sanderson comments on “error” with replay equipment at the Bryce Jordan Center

Much like two weeks ago when Braeden Davis won on a controversial ending versus Ohio State, the issues with the replay equipment were front and center for Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson following the dual.

When asked if the Rutgers coaches were aware of the situation, Sanderson began to say, “I think we just didn’t have it available,” before being interrupted by a staffer off-camera who noted that the Scarlet Knights were informed of the issue and that it was being worked on.

“Yeah, so that was just an error,” Sanderson stated. “[It] just happens every once in a while, unfortunately. It’s not good, but we just didn’t have video or review available.”

While a generic response, it was pretty standard for what the media has come to expect from the Penn State wrestling coach. It seems fair for Cael Sanderson to downplay the whole ordeal, as it likely was inconsequential in the match’s ultimate outcome.

Penn State wrestling will return to its typical venue of Rec Hall on Sunday afternoon, when the Nittany Lions take on Nebraska in the final Big Ten dual of the regular season.

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