Sometimes your second match of the season is against an NCAA finalist. Such is the case for top-ranked Nathan Tomasello when he faces #5 Ethan Lizak this Friday night.

The top five clash between Tomasello, an Ohio State redshirt senior, and Lizak, a Minnesota junior, is one of seven matchups featuring ranked wrestlers in their teams' upcoming dual in Columbus, Ohio. But the main event will be the 2015 national champ Tomasello against the 2017 runner-up Lizak at 125lb.

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Lizak is a much different wrestler than the last time these two met, when Tomasello beat a freshman Lizak 19-5 in February 2015. Beyond that, Tomasello is coming off a lower-body injury, and there may still be some rust to shake off as he gets his sea legs back under him.

Even so, I don't think anyone would be surprised if Tomasello was considered the favorite and wound up winning the match. For perspective, NaTo has lost fewer matches in his career than Lizak lost just last season. But let's take a look at those losses for Tomasello and see if we can find any commonalities.

The first thing that jumps out in Tomasello's defeats is that his opponents were able to put points on the board. That's easier said than done against a guy like Tomasello, who the data has shown to be a superior neutral wrestler to Lizak, as well as a difficult guy to take down. But "Backpack" certainly has the ability to light up the scoreboard, especially from the top position.

If I were the Buckeyes, I'd generally avoid wrestling on the mat and possibly even take neutral when it were my choice. It might only require one takedown to beat the Lizard, but Tomasello certainly has the ability to play catch and release and trade several 2-for-1s.

As for Lizak, he does much better off a restart from top than coming off a takedown. In Tomasello's two losses by pin, as well as his losses to Joey Dance and Alan Waters, the points came off flurries. Peters hit a whipover, Gilman caught Tomasello trying to leg-pass, and Dance hit a chin-drop. So if Lizak gets a takedown or reversal, he'll have to immediately try to put NaTo on his back, instead of doing as he usually does and figuring out the right time to strike when his opponent tries to get out.

A better seed at Big Tens is on the line, as well as the general knowledge that you can beat a title contender. Lizak did not wrestle last weekend against Michigan State, but he should be back in the lineup for the biggest match of the weekend. 

Make sure you tune in to see if Tomasello can dominate from his feet and negate Lizak's top game or if the Gopher will catch NaTo in a flurry and control the match from all three positions.