Blue White Illustrated

WRESTLING The long journey begins Cael Sanderson has yet to finish a season undefeated at PSU. Is this the year? Penn State opens its Big Ten schedule Sunday when Ohio State invades Rec Hall for a noon dual meet. Early-season rankings place the Buckeyes as the fourth-best team in the conference, while the Nittany Lions are No. 1 But there are no guarantees that Penn State sends them back to Columbus with a loss. The conference – as usual – is loaded this season, and the dual-meet season will be a gauntlet for each team. What follows is an in-depth look at what the Nittany Lions face as they embark on another Big Ten season. LAST SEASON Under Cael Sanderson, Penn State has never finished a dual meet season undefeated. In fact, in each of the three previous seasons the Nittany Lions have lost one match (22-13 to Iowa in 2010-11; 23-14 to Minnesota in '11-12; and 22-16 to Iowa last year.) The Nittany Lions put little emphasis on winning dual meets – the end-of-theseason national tournament is their perpetual focus – so they haven't really discussed the importance of ending that one-loss streak. That doesn't mean they want two losses or more, obviously. This is the season they want to finish it undefeated. FAVORITES Surprise, surprise. It's the usual suspects once again. According to the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association/Amateur Wrestling News Division I Coaches Poll, which ranks teams based on dual meet performances, Penn State is the top team. The Nittany Lions have received nine of the 10 first-place votes as of Dec. 10. Conference foe Minnesota received one, while Iowa didn't receive any. The Hawkeyes, however, rank third, so the top three dual meet teams in the country reside in the Big Ten. Each fan base thinks their respective BIG TEN PREVIEW D E C E m b E r ANSWER THE CALL PSU has lost one dual meet in each of the past three seasons. Steve Manuel team is the favorite, so this will be settled on the wrestling mat. PSU draws Minnesota on the road Feb. 9, while it'll visit Iowa on Dec. 21. Its matchup vs. Iowa, however, is considered a nonconference competition date and will not count toward Big Ten standings. The Gophers and Hawkeyes meet at CarverHawkeye Arena Jan. 25. DARK HORSES Ohio State (No. 7), Nebraska (No. 9) and Illinois (No. 11) are all ranked among the top 12 dual meet teams in the country. Ohio State is young and dangerous, but head coach Tom Ryan is redshirting a few of his top wrestlers this season in preparation for an all-or-nothing championship run in 2014-15. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers won their first five dual meets, and Illinois was the preseason dark horse in the Big Ten, but they narrowly lost two early-season dual meets to Cornell and Wisconsin. The Badgers began the season unranked but had shot up the boards to No. 17 as of this writing. Although they won't challenge for a Big Ten title, the Badgers are expected to continue shaking up the rankings. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER CANDIDATES Penn State's 165-pound NCAA champ David 1 1 , 2 0 1 3 10 Taylor is one of the favorites, but surprisingly not the favorite. That acknowledgement goes to Ohio State's 141-pound NCAA champ Logan Stieber. FloWrestling.com ranks Stieber as the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the nation and Taylor No. 3. Penn State's 184-pound NCAA champ Ed Ruth, who returns to action this weekend after a one-month suspension following a DUI charge, is ranked as the second-best pound-for-pound wrestler as of this writing. Minnesota's MOW candidate is two-time NCAA champion heavyweight Tony Nelson, Iowa's candidate is 157-pound NCAA champ Derek St. John and Illinois' candidate is 125-pound NCAA champ Jesse Delgado. PENN STATE'S CHANCES It's going to be a long tough road toward an undefeated dual meet season, but such is life in the Big Ten, the nation's toughest wrestling conference. Making it even more difficult, Penn State saved its toughest nonconference opponent for last – No. 5 Oklahoma State. If the Nittany Lions get through their conference schedule unscathed, the Cowboys will provide the final – and perhaps most difficult – test. - TIM OWEN b L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O m

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