PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling eyeing third straight road win vs. No. 27 Maryland

Penn State wrestling is 6-0 on the season, with eight wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes. The Nittany Lions now head to College Park on Sunday to take on No. 27 Maryland. What can we expect to see this weekend as Penn State rolls toward another undefeated regular season?

Penn State wrestling vs Maryland preview

No. 1 Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) enters off a successful sweep last weekend over No. 5 Michigan and Michigan State. No. 27 Maryland (3-4, 1-3) fell to No. 16 Ohio State 38-4 and Indiana 21-15 over the weekend.

This series hasn’t been close historically, even before Cael Sanderson arrived in Happy Valley. Penn State leads the all-time series 41-6-2. The Nittany Lions took down the Terrapins 44-3 last season in Rec Hall.

Maryland has six wrestlers ranked, with the highest being No. 5 Jaxon Smith at 197. Penn State has all 10 wrestlers in the top 12, including eight wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes. The Nittany Lions will be looking for their 51^st consecutive dual win.

Match to watch

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks 8-0 (PSU) vs No. 5 Jaxon Smith 12-2 (UMD)

Aaron Brooks has been cruising so far this season, with an undefeated record and bonus points in all eight of his wins. Last weekend, Brooks picked up a 20-5 tech fall victory over Bobby Striggow (Michigan) on Friday and a 21-6 tech fall over No. 29 Kael Wisler (Michigan State) on Sunday.

Jaxon Smith advanced to day two of the NCAA Tournament last season and has seemingly taken the next step during his sophomore season with a solid 12-2 record. Smith has a bonus percentage of 35.71%. Last weekend, he took down Gavin Bell (Ohio State) with a 16-4 major decision, as well as a 4-1 sudden victory over No. 33 Gabe Sollars (Indiana)

Although a top five matchup, this one could be lopsided. Aaron Brooks has shown throughout the year how dominant he can be. Against Smith, I feel that it could be another chance to prove why he is No.1 at 197. I predict Brooks gets the major decision, but it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility that he manages to get a tech fall win.

Projected lineups

125: No. 4 Braeden Davis 12-0 (PSU) vs Tommy Capul 3-7 (UMD)

133: No. 5 Aaron Nagao 8-2 (PSU) vs No. 21 Braxton Brown 13-6 (UMD)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett 12-0 (PSU) vs No. 17 Kal Miller 11-2 (UMD)

149: No. 12 Tyler Kasak 6-1 (PSU) vs No. 14 Ethan Miller 10-5 (UMD)

157: No. 1 Levi Haines 9-0 (PSU) vs No. 33 Michael North 15-8 (UMD)

165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink 13-0 (PSU) vs AJ Rodrigues 6-9 (UMD)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci 7-0 (PSU) vs Dominic Solis 5-5 (UMD)

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax 7-1 (PSU) vs Chase Mielnik 6-12 (UMD)

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks 8-0 (PSU) vs No. 5 Jaxon Smith 12-2 (UMD)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerklvliet 7-0 (PSU) vs No. 25 Seth Nevills 10-6 (UMD)

Penn State vs Maryland predictions

125: No. 4 Braeden Davis (PSU) by major

133: No. 5 Aaron Nagao (PSU) by major

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) by decision

149: No. 12 Tyler Kasak (PSU) by decision

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) by decision

165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by tech fall

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by pin

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax (PSU) by tech fall

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) by major

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) by major

FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Penn State 41 – No. 27 Maryland 0

It feels repetitive at this point, but this dual will be as ugly as Penn State wrestling wants it to be. The Nittany Lions have the higher ranked wrestler at every single weight class. The only dual that will most likely be a toss-up is at 149 between Tyler Kasak and Ethan Miller. As previously mentioned, Brooks and Smith will be one to watch, but I don’t think it will be close.

The other interesting thing to watch is which Penn State starting wrestlers don’t get the green light on Sunday. We saw last week that Carter Starocci and Tyler Kasak missed both matches, while Greg Kerkvliet was scratched on Sunday. Cael Sanderson has already said that all three should be returning this week from the illness that had set them back.

At this point in the season, resting wrestlers usually isn’t as much of a factor. That doesn’t mean Sanderson won’t keep a guy out who is dealing with a minor injury. Maryland doesn’t have a lot of depth in its lineup, and we have already seen just how good the Penn State wrestling room is with the success of both David Evans and Terrell Barraclough.

How to watch?

Date: January 28, 2024

Time: 12:00 pm ET

TV: Big Ten Network (BTN)

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