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What We Learned From Penn State Wrestling's Dominant Win Over Ohio State

The Nittany Lions punctuated a superb Big Ten wrestling season before a record crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State's Rocco Welsh escapes Ohio State's Dylan Fishback at 184 pounds during a Big Ten wrestling dual inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State's Rocco Welsh escapes Ohio State's Dylan Fishback at 184 pounds during a Big Ten wrestling dual inside the Bryce Jordan Center. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State concluded one of the most remarkable Big Ten wrestling seasons in its history Friday with its most dominant performance of the year. The top-ranked Nittany Lions overwhelmed second-ranked Ohio State 35-6 in front of a record crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center. Yet as he usually does, coach Cael Sanderson trained his gaze ahead.

"We have a ton of respect for them as a program and what they do," Sanderson said of the Buckeyes. "Even coming into this match, you’re thinking, 'Hey, this is just round 1. We’re going to see them in a couple of weeks and again a couple weeks after that.' It’s all preparation and practice and just trying to get better as we move along here."

Before moving along to the postseason, let's recap an emphatic night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State breaks an attendance record

Before Friday, Penn State had never put 16,000 fans into the Bryce Jordan Center for a wrestling match. The Nittany Lions finally reached that threshold in their Big Ten finale, hosting a record 16,006 fans for the win over Ohio State.

The attendance was the largest ever for an NCAA wrestling match indoors. The top two college wrestling crowds were for outdoor matches: 42,287 for the 2015 Iowa-Oklahoma State match at Kinnick Stadium, and 16,178 for the 2016 Princeton-Rutgers match in Piscataway, N.J.

The crowd for Friday's Penn State-Ohio State match was the third-largest in college wrestling history. It also gave Penn State the top 10 all-time indoor crowds for college wrestling matches. Penn State had hosted three crowds of 15,998 before finally topping 16,000 against the Buckeyes.

Penn State completes an utterly dominant Big Ten season

Penn State has been the Big Ten's most dominant team for more than a decade. The Nittany Lions have won 12 conference regular-season titles in Sanderson's 17 seasons, including the past six straight. The Nittany Lions haven't dropped a Big Ten match (or any match, for that matter) since a January 2020 loss to Iowa. They have won an NCAA-record 85 consecutive matches.

But the Nittany Lions somehow managed to deliver an upgrade this season. Penn State went 8-0 against Big Ten teams, outscoring their opponents by a combined 328-23. Penn State beat second-ranked Ohio State by 31 points, fifth-ranked Iowa by 29 and sixth-ranked Nebraska by 14.

Penn State's lineup went a combined 74-6 against Big Ten opponents for a winning percentage of 92.5 percent. Its average Big Ten margin of victory was an astonishing 38.1 points.

The Nittany Lions shut out four Big Ten opponents, and no team won more than three bouts against them. Ohio State and Iowa won one apiece. Simply, Penn State is performing on a plane far higher than anyone in college wrestling.

The Nittany Lions are prepping for the postseason

Penn State didn't get Ohio State's best lineup. The Buckeyes were without three starters ranked in the top 10, including top-ranked Brandon Cannon at 157 pounds. However, the Nittany Lions also won all three bouts that went to overtime, including an upset at 285.

Top-ranked Luke Lilledahl (16-0 at 125) began the match with a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over second-ranked Nic Bouzakis, hitting the bout's only takedown midway through the extra period. Lilledahl delivered a constant attack late in the bout, nearly scoring as time expired in the third period. He didn't miss in sudden victory.

Fourth-ranked Marcus Blaze (18-0 at 133) followed with an electric 3-2 tiebreaker win over No. 2 Ben Davino. Blaze was in a tough spot in the second tiebreaker, having accumulated just 9 seconds of riding time in the first tiebreaker. But the freshman countered by reversing Davino in a bold winning move.

Then heavyweight Cole Mirasola finished the match with an aggressive takedown in sudden victory for a 4-1 win over third-ranked Nick Feldman. Mirasola, weighed in nine pounds lighter than Feldman, wrestled more offensively and made an aggressive counter move for the winner.

All three Nittany Lions followed their coaching staff's attacking ethos to the end. It's a strategy that Sanderson has made the bedrock of his program; Iowa coach Tom Brands once lamented that Penn State too often gets the last takedown. And it's a strategy that translates incredibly well to the postseason.

"It really just comes down, in a lot of those types of situations, that you've just got to find a way," Sanderson said.

Sanderson was particularly impressed with Mirasola, who ended a two-bout losing streak to ranked opponents.

"He just wrestled hard and smart obviously against one of the best heavyweights in the country over the last couple years," Sanderson said. "It will be a big confidence boost for him. ... He showed that he has a ton of potential and he's just starting to figure that out, too."

Rocco Welsh proves his grit

Penn State's top-ranked 184-pounder was in a tough spot against his former team. The Buckeyes' eighth-ranked Dylan Fishback led 4-1 in the third period with riding time secured, meaning Welsh needed four points to force overtime.

Welsh didn't bother with that, scoring a pair of takedowns in the back half of the third period for a 7-6 win to remain unbeaten. Welsh clinched the decision with a bulldog finish in which tried to circle Fishback from one direction before securing the takedown from the other.

Welsh was a 2024 NCAA runnerup at Ohio State, losing to former Nittany Lion Carter Starocci. With three straight wins over top-8 wrestlers, Welsh is proving his mettle as a title favorite this season. He also proved something else to Sanderson.

"He just stepped it up a notch, I think," Sanderdson said. "... It's just the heart and the determination and seeing that it’s OK if you fall behind that you can still come back and win those matches. I think that's really important. I like seeing that more than even the win."

Up next

Penn State hosts Princeton on Feb. 20 at Rec Hall to conclude the regular season. The Nittany Lions then will host the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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