This season's Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling program is doing its best not to be eclipsed by last season's record-smashing national championship squad. The program is 7-0 in dual meets and won the team trophy at the Black Knight Invitational back in November. The Lions travel to Nebraska for a Friday night dual that will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. 

It'll be a top five matchup according the Flo's tournament rankings. The latest NWCA coaches' poll has Nebraska at #7 and Penn State also at #1.

Nebraska will do what they can to slow down the rampaging juggernaut that is the Nittany Lion wrestling team. The Huskers certainly won't be conceding anything, but it's also no secret that PSU will be a heavy favorite to return to Happy Valley with another victory. 

First whistle in the Devaney Center is scheduled for 9:00 PM Eastern. 

Projected Lineups

125: #16 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State vs #6 Caleb Smith, Nebraska

133: #6 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs #16 Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska

141: #3 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs #6 Brock Hardy, Nebraska

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs #4 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

157: #3 Tyler Kasak, Penn State vs #5 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs #13 Christopher Minto, Nebraska

174: #2 Levi Haines, Penn State vs #13 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska

184: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs #7 Silas Allred, Nebraska

197: #4 Josh Barr, Penn State vs #26 Camden McDanel, Nebraska

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs #26 Harley Andrews, Nebraska

Only one Husker is ranked higher than their Nittany counterparts and that's at 125. However, the rankings are based on collegiate folkstyle matches, and true freshman Luke Lilledahl is still building his collegiate resume. 

Will We See Any Changes To The Linups?

We might! Penn State's probables include Alex Facundo at 157 and Luchas Cochran at 197. Both Facundo and Cochran are All-American contenders that would find a way onto most D1 starting lineups, but they also lost to teammates at the Black Knight Invite. Kasak beat Facundo 5-2 and Barr majored Cochran 10-1. 

That tournament appeared to have solidified the Nittany Lions lineup but it's likely that those roster battles are continuing. Plus sometimes guys sit matches, and when you have backups like that you don't lose much firepower when they do. 

Nebraska listed alternates at 125, 141, 165 & 184. The most continuous weight in the Husker lineup appears to be 165, at which Nebraska can boast of two contenders, Bubba Wilson and Christopher Minto. Wilson is a senior and two-time national qualifier who started the season ranked as high as #7. Minto is a redshirt freshman and has gotten the nod in Nebraska's first two duals of 2025, so if that trend continues, look for Minto to toe the line on Friday. 

Just How Good Is Penn State This Year?

Pretty good! Their ten projected starters have just two losses on the year. Two total! Lilledahl, Bartlett, Van Ness, Mesenbrink, Starocci, Barr and Kerkvliet are all undefeated. Davis' only loss was to #1 Ryan Crookham and Haines' only loss was to #1 Keegan O'Toole. 

Mesenbrink, Starroci and Kerkvliet have bonused 100% of their opponents this year.

Penn State has dropped just three matches total in all the duals they've wrestled this year. The last time they lost a dual meet was in 2020. 

They are quite good. 

Isn't Nebraska Also Good? 

Absolutely! Nebraska is really good! They also just beat a very tough Minnesota team 21-13 last weekend. They're a top 10 team with at least eight All-American contenders. Of course, Nebraska is good! 

What Will The Best Matchups Be?

I think even with the rankings pointing to Nebraska at 125, Penn State is still the favorite in every bout. However, several weights are arguably toss-ups and Nebraska will have opportunities to pick up several wins in this dual. 

157 Kasak vs Taylor

Tyle Kasak started his college career at 141 but then bumped up to 149 to fill in for Shayne Van Ness, who suffered a season-ending injury in November. Kasak went on to place third at NCAAs, earning the placement ‘ultimate road warrior’ style by dropping his first-round bout but then reeling off seven wins in a row on the backside of the bracket. Kasak moved up to 157 in the offseason and has yet to lose a match at the weight. 

The true sophomore Nittany Lion will be challenged by redshirt sophomore Antrell Taylor, who will be his toughest opponent of the season. The highest-ranked opponent Kasak has seen this season was #9 Peyten Kellar at the NWCA All-Star Classic. The next highest ranked opponent was #19 Jared Hill, although teammate Alex Facundo has a strong argument for a higher ranking if he were in the lineup. 

Antrell Taylor moved in the opposite direction as Kasak in the off-season in the weight department. Last year Taylor was up at 165, where he placed eighth at NCAAs, while his teammate and three-time All-American Peyton Robb finished his collegiate career as the Huskers' 157 pounder. Taylor has just one loss on the season, in overtime to Ryder Downey, though Taylor beat Downey earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 

Kasak and Taylor are now on a collision course at 157, the result of which will greatly inform the top of the weight class national rankings. 

Watch Taylor defeat Downey in the controversial CKLV finals: 

149 Van Ness vs Lovett

Like 157, we’ve got a top-five matchup at 149. 

Shayne Van Ness is in his fourth year at State College but only his second season on the varsity squad, as he took a regular redshirt in 2022 and then a medical redshirt in 2024. Van Ness has been healthy and lights out so far in the 2024-25 season. He’s undefeated and on a five-bout pinning streak. 

Ridge Lovett will be Van Ness’ highest ranked competition of the season, as Van Ness’ previous highest ranked opponent was either #14 Jordan William, who Van Ness pinned, or Ty Watters, who Van Ness beat at the NWCA All-Star Classic, however, we didn't see Watters compete after that event and he subsequently announced he was out for the season with an injury. 

Lovett was a 2023 NCAA finalist and a sixth placer last season. He only has one loss this season was a sudden victory defeat to 2024 NCAA champ Caleb Henson in the CKLV finals. Lovett has multiple ranked wins including a 4-0 decision over All-American Lachlan McNeil. 

Lovett also has a smothering offense in the top position that has given him a decisive edge in many matches. We could see an upset and a reshuffling of the top of the rankings if Lovett can stop Van Ness’ offense in neutral (which so far no one has been able to do) and gain an advantage in the later periods with superior mat wrestling. 

125 Lilledahl vs Smith

Smith is a 6th year senior coming off his best NCAA finish, placing sixth last season. He'll have the advantage of experience in his match against Lilledahl. 

True frosh Lightening Luke racked up quite a few credentials before he enrolled at Penn State. He has four medals at age-level world championships, including a U17 gold in 2022 and a U20 gold in 2024. He's 10-0 in his nascent college career, though he did win nine matches against D1 opponents in open tournaments while he was a junior in high school. 

This will be Lilledahl's toughest match of the season, though he's had close matches against Sheldon Seymour and Gage Walker. Smith, meanwhile, has three losses on the season, including a recent loss to #22 Trever Anderson. Smith did just beat #7 Cooper Flynn last week. This match is Lilledahl's best opportunity so far to leap frog his way into the top 10 of the national rankings.  

Watch Lilledahll defeat #17 Sheldon Seymour in a December dual:

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133 Davis vs Van Dee

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Van Dee had a rocky start to the season, losing his first two dual meet matches and then picking up three more losses at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He is a national and appears to have found his groove in the second semester notching ranked wins against #21 Julian Farber and #12 Tyler Wells in 2025. 

True sophomore Braeden Davis has adjusted well to moving up a weight class after making the round of 12 at last year's NCAAs. He’s only got one loss at the weight, the aforementioned defeat to Crookham. Davis will be the favorite but the Van Dee we’ve been seeing lately could provide the Huskers with another upset. 

141 Bartlett vs Hardy

Beau Bartlett has lost to only one wrestler over the last two seasons, and that’s Jesse Mendez, who will not be Beau's opponent on Friday. Bartlett’s last defeat to a college wrestler not named Jesse Mendez was in 2023 to Andrew Alirez, who is, like Mendez, an NCAA champ. Bartlett’s last collegiate loss before that, however? To none other than his Friday night opponent, Brock Hardy. 

Hardy’s victory over Bartlett was at the 2023 Big Tens, though Bartlett got revenge in a 2024 dual meet. Hardy brings a unique style to the mat, with otherworldly flexibility that has been known to confound many accomplished wrestlers. 

Bartlett has precise, quick-strike attacks in his arsenal, and if he can stay out of the scrambles (easier said than done against Hardy), he’ll be in good shape to repeat their last meeting. 

What Is The Series History?

The current all-time series sits at 11-8-1 in Penn State’s favor. Nebraska, however, has not beaten Penn State since 2010. 

The last time these two teams tussled, Penn State came out on top 22-13.

What Are Your Predictions For The Dual?

I think it’s going to be tough for Nebraska to pull off the upset on the team score but I think they have a good shot at winning one or more of the first five weights. I think one Nebraska win is probable, I would not be surprised at two wins, and I would only be mildly surprised at three Husker wins. 

Things get much more difficult for the Huskers in the upper weights, and I would be very surprised if Penn State lost any of the final five weight classes. 

I think we’ll see something like either a 34-3 or 30-6 win for Penn State, but I want to stress that this is still an incredibly good Nebraska team! What we are witnessing, however, is a historically good Penn State team. 

Will You Live Blog The Dual?

Yes I will! See everyone on Friday night!