Penn State Wrestling: Bold Predictions for the B1G Regular Season
Penn State Wrestling kicks off the B1G regular season this Friday night against Michigan State, so now is a good time to throw out some bold predictions as the Nittany Lions head into the meatgrinder.
The B1G is known for many things.
“Three yards and a cloud of dust” comes to mind, however, that probably isn’t exactly apt anymore.
Just off the top of my head, when I think of the B1G I think of any of the following:
-Corn
-Sweater vests
-Whiteouts
-Every year Purdue Basketball has a 7’3″ loaf of bread who dominates everyone
-Maryland having the worst sports fans in the country
-Sparty No!!
And that’s all before we even get to wrestling.
There is literally no doubt about it, the B1G is the cream of the crop when it comes to wrestling. And even for teams who have had historic runs like the Nittany Lions have, going through that schedule is never easy.
So before we turn the page to the 2025 B1G regular season for wrestling, let’s whip out some good ole fashion Bold Predictions!
Bold Predictions for Penn State Wrestling in the B1G Season
Bold Prediction No. 1
Penn State will shutout a handful of B1G Teams
Now, before you rip me to shreds, hear me out.
I do realize this doesn’t sound like much of a “bold prediction”.
But look, for as dominant as the Nittany Lions have been for the better part of 10+ years, shutouts in B1G dual meets are fairly rare.
Do you know how many times Penn State Wrestling has pitched a B1G shutout in the past nine years? Just for context, the Nittany Lions have wrestled a total of 75 regular season duals against other B1G teams in this span.
I mean the number has to be somewhere between five and 10, right?
The answer is two.
And both of them happened last season when Penn State throttled Indiana and Michigan State a combined 81-0. Prior to that, the last time the Nittany Lions blanked a B1G foe was back on February 1, 2015 (Penn State 35 Michigan State 0).
But, with how stacked this team is top to bottom, and with how the schedule shakes out, I could see anywhere from three to five shutouts this season.
Do shutouts really matter?
No, not all. Because everyone knows the only thing that matters is how the team is wrestling in March.
But are shutouts against Michigan State and Maryland fun?
You better believe it!
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Penn State Bold Prediction No. 2
Penn State will have six No. 1 seeded wrestlers at the end of the season
As it currently stands, here are each of the Nittany Lions’ rankings based on Intermat’s most recent list (1/7/25):
125 – No. 12 Luke Lilledahl
133 – No. 5 Braeden Davis
141 – No. 3 Beau Bartlett
149 – No. 2 Shayne Van Ness
157 – No. 3 Tyler Kasak
165 – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink
174 – No. 2 Levi Haines
184 – No. 1 Carter Starocci
197 – No. 4 Josh Barr
285 – No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet
Again, this probably doesn’t feel like a “bold prediction”, but I assure you it is.
Especially when you factor in several things:
-No one is knocking off Ryan Crookham (133). At least not in the regular season.
-Same goes for Jesse Mendez (141), Keegan O’Toole (174), and Gable Steveson (285).
-Penn State does not wrestle Purdue and Minnesota this year. So a Luke Lilledahl/Matt Ramos and Greg Kerkvliet/Gable Steveson double header won’t happen until at least the 2025 B1G Championships.
Even when considering the above, I still think it’s possible for Penn State Wrestling to have my bold prediction come true.
125, 149, & 157
The 125 group was basically the Wild Wild West last year and I can see the same thing happening this season. Which means Lightning Luke Lilledahl could climb to the top, even without facing Ramos in the regular season.
Furthermore, Shayne Van Ness and Tyler Kasak could both ascend to No. 1.
Did the current No. 1 guy at 149 (Caleb Henson) win an NCAA title last year? Yep, he sure did. Because he’s a darn good wrestler.
But the regular season is long and it’s a grind. Couple this with the fact that Van Ness has looked like an absolute beast this season, and I can see the rankings flip flop.
As for Kasak, the two guys above him (No. 1 Jacori Teemer and No. 2 Meyer Shapiro) each already have a loss in the books. And both losses were due to injury.
So with how good Kasak has looked, I can easily see a path for him to get to No. 1.
197
Which then leads us to Josh Barr.
The Nittany Lions face both Iowa and Michigan in the regular season so we could definitely get a No. 2 Stephan Buchanan/No. 4 Josh Barr and No. 3 Jacob Cardenas/No. 4 Josh Barr card in the cavernous halls of the Bryce Jordan Center.
And then there’s the current No. 1 ranked guy at 197, CSU Bakersfield’s AJ Ferrari.
Look, if doing splits, posting clips of you deadlifting 500 lbs on Instagram, and being a total clown-show lead to NCAA titles, then AJ Ferrari would be the best to ever don a singlet while flipping off his home crowd.
But Ferrari hasn’t wrestled a full regular season in four years. And based on how he handles himself on the mat, trust me, he’ll trip up at some point.
Having said that, I don’t believe the same will be true for Josh Barr. The dude has been a monster. And I don’t think Penn State Wrestling fans have seen the very best of him just yet.
Which is a scary thought.
Penn State Wrestling Bold Prediction No. 3
No B1G team will come within 20 points in any dual meet
This might be the “Bold Prediction to end all Bold Predictions”.
Do you know the last time a Cael Sanderson-led Penn State Wrestling team beat every single B1G opponent in the regular season by 20 or more points?
It’s never happened.
Nittany Lion teams anchored by guys like Phil Davis, Quentin Wright, Frank Molinaro, and Ed Ruth were unable to accomplish this feat. Moreover, teams comprised of Nico Megaludis, Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, Bo Nickal, and Anthony Cassar didn’t do it.
Neither did squads led by Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Max Dean, and Aaron Brooks. And those teams also had Levi Haines, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet on them!
When you have to go up against the likes of Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan year in and year out, it’s almost an impossible ask to win every dual by 20 or more points.
But screw it! I’m going against the odds!
I’m throwing a stack of chips down on double zeros on the Roulette table, I’m betting the house on the “don’t pass line”, and I’m firing up a money line parlay for the Steelers, Broncos, and Packers to all win this weekend!
If I’m going to go down with a bold prediction, then I’m going to go down in glorious, dumpster-fire fashion.
MORE Penn State Wrestling Coverage from NittanyCentral:
- Penn State’s MVP, Grades, Full Recap of Journeymen Duals
- Ranking The Top-5 Duals of The Cael Sanderson Era at Penn State
- Inside What Makes This Nittany Lion Grappler a Force to Be Reckoned With
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
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