Penn State vs. Nebraska Wrestling: Tale of the Tape

The top-ranked Nittany Lions host Nebraska in a highly anticipated Big Ten wrestling match.

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler PJ Duke works for control against the Iowa Hawkeyes' Jordan Williams during a Big Ten wrestling match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team hosts Nebraska on Friday night in its second marquee match of the Big Ten wrestling season. The Nittany Lions so far have been untested in conference action, with a 49-1 individual record in their five Big Ten matches.

Can the Cornhuskers challenge Penn State on its home mat in prime time? Here's a look at some of the top bouts when Penn State faces Nebraska. All rankings are courtesy InterMat.

RELATED: At age 46, Penn State's Cael Sanderson still gets on the mat with a purpose

133 Pounds: No. 4 Marcus Blaze (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Jacob Van Dee

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Marcus Blaze, right, goes for the takedown against Iowa’s Drake Ayala at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Blaze, the Penn State freshman who won gold at the U20 World Championships in August, has ascended into the national conversation at 133. Blaze (15-0) has wins over eight ranked wrestlers, including a 4-2 decision over NCAA finalist Drake Ayala of Iowa. He also has scored bonus points in 11 of his 14 victories.

Van Dee, a 2025 NCAA All-American, enters the bout with a 12-3 record that includes a recent 12-6 loss to Ayala. Blaze also has a 15-3 major decision over Maryland's Braxton Brown, who defeated Van Dee last March.

141 Pounds: No. 12 Braeden Davis (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Brock Hardy

Braeden Davis of Penn State wrestles Big Ten champion Lucas Byrd of Illinois during the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Hardy, who recently won his 100th career bout, is among the top wrestlers at 141, a three-time All-American who was the top seed for the 2025 NCAA Championships and ultimately placed second. He's 0-4 this season against Ohio State's Jesse Mendez and Oklahoma State's Sergio Vega, ranked first and second respectively, and 13-0 against the rest of his schedule.

For Davis, this match is another ranked test. Hardy has a 1-0 win over Iowa's Nasir Bailey, who handed Davis his only defeat at 141 this season.

157 Pounds: No. 3 PJ Duke (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Antrell Taylor

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler PJ Duke, left, competes against the Iowa Hawkeyes' Jordan Williams in a Big Ten match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This should be the premier bout Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, pitting Nebraska's returning national champion against Penn State's dazzling freshman. It's also a compelling rematch.

Last May, Duke defeated Taylor 9-6 in the 70 kg freestyle quarterfinals at the U.S. World Team Trials. The win served as Duke's introduction to the national scene, and he went on to make three U.S. World teams and win a U20 title.

Since then, no Nittany Lion has made a bigger climb in the rankings than Duke, who went from unranked to No. 3 after dominating his schedule with wins over six ranked wrestlers.

Duke (13-0) is tied for the team lead in falls with seven and has 10 bonus-point wins. Taylor, meanwhile, went on an epic run to win the 157-pound title at NCAAs last season, defeating Purdue's Joey Blaze (Marcus' brother) in the final.

Taylor (15-2) labored a bit at the National Invitational Duals, losing a pair of major decisions, but has rebounded with nine straight wins. An interesting comparison: Lehigh's Logan Rozynski majored Taylor 9-1 at the duals in mid-November, and Duke led Rozynski 14-3 three weeks later before the Lehigh wrestler was forced to take an injury default.

"Obviously PJ is an incredible competitor and has an opportunity to wrestle the defending NCAA champion at his weight," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "I think it's a great opportunity for PJ to really see where he is."

184 Pounds: No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Silas Allred

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Roco Welsh drives for control against the Iowa Hawkeyes' Angelo Ferrari during a Big Ten match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State's recently minted No. 1 has been unstoppable since his 2-1 tiebreaker over former No. 1 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa. Welsh (13-0) is 3-0 since with a technical fall, a decision over Indiana's ranked Sam Goin and a pin. Welsh has four technical falls this season.

Allred, the 2023 Big Ten champ at 197 pounds, has wrestled 184 the past two seasons. He has struggled in duals this season, going 8-5 with recent losses to Gabe Arnold of Iowa and Minnesota's Mac McEnelly. But Allred has won some big matches in his career and will make Welsh work for the decision.

285 Pounds: No. 12 Cole Mirasola (Penn State) vs. No. 4 AJ Ferrari

Penn State Nittany Lion Cole Mirasola (285) wrestles Iowa Hawkeyes Ben Kueter (285) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Nebraska's entertaining heavyweight is a 2021 NCAA champ at 197 who placed third at 285 last season. He's "very tactical" and "very tricky," according to Sanderson, who added that Ferrari (8-2) will be a "fun challenge" for Mirasola. Ferrari's two losses this season were to Ohio State's third-ranked Nick Feldman, including one on a sudden-victory takedown last weekend.

Penn State's redshirt freshman has met his challenges recently. Mirasola (12-2) has won seven straight after consecutive losses in December to top-10 wrestlers. Since then, Mirasola has wins over two ranked wrestlers, including former No. 5 Ben Kueter of Iowa. Mirasola has scored two technical falls and a pin in his last three matches.

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