PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling prepares to take on rival Ohio State in Rec Hall

Penn State wrestling has started 7-0 this season and now returns home to take on No. 17 Ohio State this weekend at Rec Hall. One of the better home duals of the year, we should have a much better sense of where Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions stand on several key issues after this weekend. What can we expect for this week’s rivalry matchup?

Penn State wrestling vs Ohio State preview

No. 1 Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) returns to Rec Hall off a dominant 42-6 win in College Park on Sunday against Maryland. No. 17 Ohio State (12-1, 4-0) enters off an exciting 20-19 win over rival Michigan last weekend that came down to a heavyweight upset by the Buckeyes’ Nick Feldman.

Penn State leads the all-time series 25-12 and has won eight straight duals. The Nittany Lions took down the Buckeyes 29-9 last season in Columbus. Penn State will be looking for its 52^nd consecutive dual win. Ohio State’s lone loss this season was a 21-13 defeat to Pitt back in early December.

While the series hasn’t been close in recent years, it has featured probably the most exciting dual during the Cael Sanderson era. In 2018, Penn State wrestling took down Ohio State 19-18 after rallying from a 10-point deficit.

This year, the dual features 10 ranked wrestlers for Penn State, with eight of them being inside the top five. Ohio State also has all 10 wrestlers ranked, including two inside the top 10. While this year’s matchup may seem more lopsided than in recent years, there is a reason it has developed into one of the best rivalries in college wrestling.

Match to watch

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett 13-0 (PSU) vs No. 3 Jesse Mendez 19-1 (OSU)

This is the only top-five matchup in the dual and could be a preview of a potential title match in both the Big Ten and the NCAA Tournament. Beau Bartlett is off to an undefeated 13-0 start and has a 53.85% bonus percentage. Mendez has been equally, if not more, dominant this season, posting an 18-1 record with an 85% bonus percentage.

Mendez’s lone loss was a 4-2 decision to No. 22 Cole Matthews of Pitt back in early December. Last week, he received a forfeit win over Michigan, but his last victory on the mat was a 21-5 tech fall win over Felix Lettini of Wisconsin. Bartlett picked up an 11-1 major decision over No. 17 Kal Miller of Maryland last week through his use of patience and wearing down his opponent.

The winner of this match will be in line to compete with Real Woods of Iowa for both the Big Ten and NCAA titles at 141. The loser isn’t out of the title picture by any stretch of the imagination, but the path will be more difficult based on seeding in future tournaments. I predict that Bartlett gets the win and uses the sold-out Rec Hall crowd to his advantage.

Projected lineups

125: No. 3 Braeden Davis 13-0 (PSU) vs No. 24 Brendan McCrone 15-8 (OSU)

133: No. 5 Aaron Nagao 8-2 (PSU) vs No. 12 Nick Bouzakis 19-6 (OSU)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett 13-0 (PSU) vs No. 3 Jesse Mendez 19-1 (OSU)

149: No. 12 Tyler Kasak 10-1/David Evans 12-3 (PSU) vs No. 9 Dylan D’Emilio 19-6 (OSU)

157: No. 1 Levi Haines 10-0 (PSU) vs No. 29 Isaac Wilcox 13-6 (OSU)

165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink 14-0 (PSU) vs No. 20 Bryce Hepner 9-2 (OSU)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci 8-0 (PSU) vs No. 11 Rocco Welsh 14-3 (OSU)

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax 8-1 (PSU) vs No. 31 Seth Shumate 5-3/Ryder Rogotzke 13-5 (OSU)

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks 9-0 (PSU) vs No. 22 Luke Geog 10-5 (OSU)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet 8-0 (PSU) vs No. 12 Nick Feldman 19-4 (OSU)

Penn State vs Ohio State predictions

125: No. 3 Braeden Davis (PSU) by decision

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

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

149: No. 9 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU) by decisión

157: No. Levi Haines (PSU) by major

165: No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by major

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by tech fall

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

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) by tech fall

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

FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Penn State 36 – No. 17 Ohio State 3

This matchup has been one of the most heated rivalries in college wrestling. There have been plenty of intense matches, like in 2018, and disgust from coaches about the location of the duals. However, this year, don’t expect it to be particularly close.

This Penn State wrestling team is a juggernaut and will have a shot to break the NCAA points record in March if all of its wrestlers stay healthy and make deep runs as expected. Ohio State has a lot of young talent, but isn’t necessarily at the point to compete in the Big Ten with Penn State and Iowa. Don’t be surprised if the Buckeyes are competitive in the next few years. It just isn’t going to happen in 2024, and that is why they are No. 17 instead of the normal top eight ranking.

This dual will most likely be a big Penn State win if it starts a full lineup. The only weight that Ohio State would be a slight favorite would be 149 pounds, regardless of whether it is Tyler Kasak or David Evans who gets the start for Penn State. The matchup between Bartlett and Mendez is the other possible Buckeye win at 141.

Outside of those two weight classes, any win would be a significant upset for the Buckeyes. There is a legitimate shot that Penn State wrestling takes both of those toss-up matches and shuts out Ohio State. Once again, Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions have a chance to show just how big the gap is between Penn State and the rest of college wrestling.

How to watch?

Date: February 2, 2024

Time: 6:30 pm ET

TV: Big Ten Network (BTN)

Location: Rec Hall

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