The Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to State College on Friday, February 2 to take on rivals Penn State in one of the best duals of the weekend. The dual is set to begin at 6:30 pm (ET) and you can watch it live on Big Ten Network. Before this premier dual goes down, check out a full preview with predictions for every match in the below article. 

Probable Lineups

125: #2 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs #12 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

133: #5 Aaron Nagao, Penn State vs #10 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State

141: #2 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs #3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

149: #19 Tyler Kasak/Dylan Evans, Penn State vs #7 Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State

157: #1 Levi Haines, Penn State vs #23 Isaac Wilcox, Ohio State

165: #7 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs #12 Bryce Hepner, Ohio State

174: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs #14 Rocco Welsh, Ohio State

184: #4 Bernie Truax, Penn State vs Ryder Rogotzke/#26 Seth Shumate, Ohio State

197: #1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs #24 Luke Geog, Ohio State

285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs #13 Nick Feldman, Ohio State

125: #2 Braeden Davis vs #12 Brendan McCrone

A battle between two freshmen - Braeden Davis a true freshman and Brendan McCrone a redshirt freshman. I think few people would have predicted this matchup to be a #2 vs #12 coming into the season, but here we are. Davis is now 13-0 on the year and looking really impressive. He’s the favorite, but McCrone shouldn’t be taken lightly. That being said, I think Davis controls this match from start to finish and gets things started for the Nittany Lions.

Prediction: Davis by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 3, Ohio State 0

133: #5 Aaron Nagao vs #10 Nic Bouzakis

133 has the potential to be the most exciting match of the night. These two are going to get into some funky scrambles on the feet. Aaron Nagao isn’t afraid to use unconventional defensive techniques and Nic Bouzakis loves to go big both from upper body and with shot finishes. If Bouzakis can avoid the leg riding of Nagao, he could put himself in a good position to pull off the upset. 

Prediction: Nagao by decision 

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 6, Ohio State 0

141: #2 Beau Bartlett vs #3 Jesse Mendez

This is the match I’m looking forward to the most all night. The dynamic and tenacious Jesse Mendez vs the disciplined tactician Beau Bartlett. Can Mendez open Bartlett up and score or will he expose himself to a go behind or reattack from Barlett? This is a potential Big Ten and NCAA semifinal and/or final preview. With Penn State wrestling Iowa, who has #1 Real Woods at 141, and Ohio State not seeing them until Big Tens, this could have a big impact on seeding.

Prediction: Mendez by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 6, Ohio State 3

149: #19 Tyler Kasak/Dylan Evans vs #7 Dylan D’Emilio

Tyler Kasak defeated teammate Dylan Evans at the Mat Town Open last weekend, but this would be his sixth competition this season meaning his redshirt would have to be pulled. So, I’m not sure who the Nittany Lions will be sending out. Personally, I hope we see Kasak. In addition to defeating Evans, he’s undefeated on the year outside of a loss to teammate Beau Bartlett (which doesn’t even go on his official record), and was the #10 overall recruit coming out of high school last spring. Dylan D’Emilio is a favorite against Evans, but it becomes more of a toss-up match if Kasak is out there. Given the fact I think there’s a decent chance we see Evans and it’s a toss-up between Kasak and D’Emilio, I’ll take D’Emilio.

Prediction: D’Emilio by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 6, Ohio State 6

157: #1 Levi Haines vs #23 Isaac Wilcox

At 10-0, Levi Haines hasn’t slipped up this year, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been pushed. He had a 2-1 match with Will Lewan and contrarily a 7-6 match with Chase Saldate in what was maybe the craziest match of the year. Isaac Wilcox started out the season at 165 and even spent some time at 174 last season, but has dropped down to take over the starting spot at 157. He dropped a tough one in overtime to Will Lewan last week. Both Haines and Wilcox are big for the weight, but I don’t see gassing being an issue. This match will come down to skill, and in that battle, I favor Haines.

Prediction: Haines by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 9, Ohio State 6

165: #7 Mitchell Mesenbrink vs #12 Bryce Hepner

Mitchell Mesenbrink has burst onto the college scene in a big way this season going 14-0 with an 85% bonus rate. Two weekends ago he majored both #8 Cam Amine and #10 Caleb Fish. I don’t think those matches are going to be outliers. Mesenbrink wrestles at an insane pace and I don’t have a solution for how to slow him down for Bryce Hepener.

Prediction: Mesenbrink by major

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6

174: #1 Carter Starocci vs #14 Rocco Welsh

With original 174 lb starter Carson Kharchla going down with a season-ending injury, Rocco Welsh has had to step up and take over the starting spot. Still just a true freshman, Welsh has really impressed me. He’s 12-2 with his only two losses coming to #3 Shane Griffith and #7 Edmond Ruth. He was right there to beat Griffith but got ridden out the entire third period to lose. That being said, Carter Starocci is a different animal. The question for me here is does Starocci get bonus points? And my answer, I think, is yes.

Prediction: Starocci by major

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 17, Ohio State 6

184: #4 Bernie Truax vs Ryder Rogotzke/#26 Seth Shumate

Ohio State has interchangeably used Ryder Rogotzke and Seth Shumate this season. One hasn’t gone out and really taken the spot yet. Rogotzke did beat Shumate at the Clarion Open at the beginning of the season and picked up a big tech fall win over Jaden Bullock last week, so my guess is we’ll see him. Either Rogotzke or Shumate is going to be a sizable underdog against 3X All-American Bernie Truax, however. Truax’s lone loss this year came to #4 Trey Munoz. While Rogotzke is incredibly funky and has big move and pinning potential, I’m not sure if he can get it done against a seasoned vet like Truax.

Prediction: Truax by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 20, Ohio State 6

197: #1 Aaron Brooks vs #24 Luke Geog

At 9-0 with a 100% bonus rate, Aaron Brooks looks unstoppable this season. He’s making a strong push for the Dan Hodge Trophy Award. Luke Geog is off to a decent start to his Buckeye career. 10-5 with some decent wins, but I expect this to look like a normal Aaron Brooks match. He’s just too big, too strong, and too technical for 95% of his opponents.

Match Prediction: Brooks by tech fall

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 25, Ohio State 6

285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs #13 Nick Feldman, Ohio State

Nick Feldman has already been the savior for the Buckeyes in multiple duals this season, but if things go as I have predicted, the redshirt freshman won’t have a chance to save the day on Friday. While winning the dual for Ohio State last Friday over Michigan, Feldman picked up the biggest win of his wrestling career over then #4 Lucas Davison. He also has ranked wins over Lewis Fernandes and Hunter Catka. Greg Kerkvliet is #1 in the country for a reason, though. Kerkvliet will likely be able to match Feldman’s movement while also being much larger than him. A matchup style that has caused Feldman troubles in the past. Kerkvliet has shown steady improvements in all three positions, top, bottom, and neutral, throughout his career and I think he’s going to defeat Feldman in all three on Friday.

Match Prediction: Kerkvliet by major

Dual Score Prediction: Penn State 29, Ohio State 6