The defending champions have had an eventful first two weeks of the Division I season. Though it’s been business as usual in terms of Nittany Lions getting their hands raised, there’s still quite a bit to talk about — both in retrospect as well as looking forward to this week's Keystone Classic in Philadelphia.

The Champs

The five defending champions went 10-0 in their bouts on the weekend, earning bonus in all 10 of their matches against Army and Bucknell. Jason Nolf gave us all a preview of what to expect this year with yet another new way of turning his opponents. The new scramble rules will benefit Nolf immensely — as though he needed it. The 10 lopsided wins come as no surprise considering only one of their opponents was ranked.

Mark Hall was the lone champ to suffer a defeat, though his 3-2 decision loss to Zahid Vaencia at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 5 does not count on his official record. Valencia and Hall will be a one-takedown match every time. This time it went Valencia's way, but PSU fans shouldn't have any more concern than they had the day before the All-Star.

The Other Five

Looking at the remaining five members of PSU's squad, it was a mixed bag of results. The Nick Suriano-shaped hole at 125 is going to stick out like a sore thumb this season. Devin Schnupp has a ton of fight and a solid skill set to boot. However, he looks too undersized and is overall outmatched right now.

At 133, Corey Keener scoring two bonus-point wins, albeit against unranked opponents, is a great sign. Health will be the question for Keener this year. While his upside isn’t that of a Nick Nevills, if healthy, Keener can be an All-American contender and provide points that the Lions will need. Jered Cortez was the lone victor for the weekend to not emerge with a bonus-point victory. Time will only tell if he’s in a competition for his spot at 141 with true freshman Nick Lee earning experience and quality wins at opens on the East Coast. Nevills notched two solid wins of little note, one of them via pinfall.

Anthony Cassar had the upper hand to start the season evidently, but after his surprising loss to Garrett Hoffman, the obvious question is if he can ward off Matt McCutcheon and hold down the starting spot.

The Open Tournament Squad

We’ve been able to watch Nick Lee compete in back-to-back weekends unattached. The true freshman has been speculated as a potential 141 starter if Cortez isn’t delivering. With every point being necessary this year, don’t expect that discussion to die down if Lee shows more promise. Lee fell to Brock Zacherl, a multiple-time NCAA qualifier, and Yianni Diakomihalis, one of the most talented true freshman in the country. Apart from his losses to Diakomihalis and Zacherl, Lee won his other seven match all by bonus points — a sharp contrast to Cortez’s two non-bonus wins.

Cadet world champ and true freshman Jarod Verkleeren had a promising debut last week. The Pennsylvania native won all five of his matches to take the title at the Binghamton Open. Verkleeren didn’t face a ranked opponent, but you typically will see more growing pains in an early-season tournament. With it being Zain Retherford's senior year, the search for the next in line is beginning right now. On paper, Brady Berge looked to be that guy, but with a hot, early start, it could be Verkleeren who's ready to roll next year.

Looking Toward Keystone

Perhaps the most interesting note from last week was the overall absence of Matt McCutcheon. He was rumored to be competing at the Binghamton Open, but he was in Happy Valley instead. Look for the three-year PSU starter to show up at the Keystone Open this week and work to take back the starting job at 197. Penn State will likely field Cassar, McCutcheon and potentially Shakur Rasheed at 197 for the Keystone Classic on Sunday. Though there will not be a bevy of ranked opposition at this weight, Penn’s Frank Mattiace will be in the mix and will provide real competition to any of the PSU guys he faces at the tournament. How the three Nittany Lions fare at Keystone will likely go a long way in determining who gets the starting nod moving forward.

I’ve got 133 circled, highlighted, underlined and italicized. Call it DeSanchize fever. Austin DeSanto is going to be a blast to watch all year. I’m especially excited to see how he stacks up against PSU’s current starter, Corey Keener.

We know Zain will lay waste, but we could also get a look to see how junior world silver medalist Ryan Deakin stacks up against Retherford. The 157 weight class is the deepest of all the divisions at Keyston, with No. 8 BJ Clagon of Rider and No. 11 Mitch Finesilver of Duke all looking up at Jason Nolf. The PSU junior pinned Clagon last year at NCAAs.

A year ago, we saw Vincenzo Joseph announce himself at Keystone with a win over Rider's Chad Walsh. Both guys have since climbed the rankings, with Cenzo ranked first and Walsh ranked fifth. The match last year was outstanding, and both guys have only improved. Cenzo will have to be ready for Walsh, who has out-scrambled and pinned elite wrestlers.

The big men will be out in force at the Keystone Classic. The third-ranked Nevills will likely be facing a familiar foe in Duke's Jacob Kasper. The two split last year at NCAAs in a pair of razor-close matches. In fact, their last meeting for fifth place was decided on an injury-time choice escape for Nevills to take the match by one in sudden victory! A win here by Kasper, who is likely the most dangerous upper-body wrestler in the weight, would likely land him a top three ranking. Also in the field are No. 10 Conan Jennings of Northwestern and No. 18 Joey Goodhart of Drexel.