Penn State wrestling: True freshman falls out of top 5 in national polls

Penn State wrestling is now 10-0 on the season after taking down No. 14 Rutgers 35-3 on Monday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions have national title contenders all throughout the lineup as the postseason approaches. However, after weeks on the rise, true freshman Braeden Davis saw his ranking fall this week after a tough loss on Friday night in Iowa City.

Braeden Davis falls out of top 5 in national rankings

Braeden Davis entered the weekend ranked No. 2 at 125 pounds with a 14-0 record. The Nittany Lions’ true freshman had become somewhat of a sensation, rapidly ascending up the polls from unranked after a dominant month of January.

However, after going 1-1 on the weekend, Braeden Davis fell four spots to No. 6 in the latest InterMat Rankings at 125 pounds. It is the first time that the true freshman has fallen in the rankings this season.

Davis suffered the first loss of his collegiate career on Friday night when he fell by a 4-2 decision to Drake Ayala of Iowa. Davis never seemed to get his offense going in the dual. After giving up the first-period takedown, he couldn’t respond to stay unbeaten.

On Monday, Braeden Davis once found himself in a tight match, but escaped with a 4-1 decision in sudden victory.  This latest bout had controversy in its own right, with a lack of video review for a potential late score from Dean Peterson of Rutgers. Once again, Davis struggled to get his offense going, but was able to do enough to get the job done.

A worrisome trend for the Penn State true freshman?

Braeden Davis hit the ground running this season and was off to a blazing 13-0 start. The freshman looked to be a possible national title contender at 125 for Penn State wrestling. Then came the 4-3 close win against Ohio State, where a no-call on a potential takedown kept his undefeated record intact. The NCAA later came out and said that it should have been reversed and that Davis should have lost the dual.

Now after this weekend, Davis sits with a 15-1 record. That record is still really solid for a true freshman, but a lack of offensive success of late has been a worrisome trend.

It isn’t completely out of the question that Davis could be 13-3 right now with three consecutive losses. The competition has gotten harder these past two weeks, but it is also indicative of what the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments will bring.

Must win against Nebraska

Braeden Davis will face No. 12 Caleb Smith on Sunday when Nebraska makes the trip to Rec Hall to take on Penn State wrestling. It will be his last chance against a tough opponent before the unpredictability of the postseason. This could be a must-win for the young Nittany Lion in order to put him in a good position for both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament.

The true freshman is currently the fourth-highest Big Ten wrestler in rankings at 125, but Smith and two other wrestlers are right behind him. Anything can happen at 125 pounds this year, so Davis still does have time to get hot and make a deep postseason run. There might not be a better place to start than at Rec Hall this weekend.

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