No. 1 Penn State Wrestling roars into action later this evening as they host No. 14 Rutgers in the annual Bryce Jordan Center dual meet.
However this BJC dual meet will be vastly different from all of the ones going back to 2013. And for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that the Nittany Lions will be sporting their pink and black throw-back singlets. And the Penn State crowd will be dressed in all black which is a huge juxtaposition from the normal whiteout conditions inside of both Rec Hall and the BJC.
Speaking of the crowd, this will potentially be a stark contract from what most Nittany Lion fans have seen in the past BJC duals. Going back to its inception, there has been only one crowd that didn’t exceed 15,000+ fans. And this was back on December 13, 2015 when No. 1 Penn State crushed No. 15 Wisconsin 36-7 in front of 12,862 fans.
Heck, in the first ever Bryce Jordan Center dual against Pittsburgh, 15,996 loyal fans braved the winter conditions on a Sunday afternoon to watch the Nittany Lions roll the Panthers. And another 15,424 fans packed the cavernous halls to take in No. 3 Penn State’s 30-10 win over No. 9 Lehigh. But, I highly doubt the numbers will be anywhere close to those for tonight’s match.
A Monday evening dual meet is less than ideal for everyone and, no disrespect to the Scarlet Knights, but their lineup isn’t particularly exciting on paper.
The last factor to look at for this dual is the fact this will be Penn State’s third dual meet in the past 10 days. With the post season nearing ever closer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see several starters out. Which is something Nittany Lion fans haven’t really seen in the past from the normally exciting BJC dual. Before we look at the possible starting lineup and predictions, let’s take a look at how you can tune into tonight’s action. The best way to watch PSU Wrestling vs. Rutgers is by signing up for a FREE TRIAL of FuboTV
How to watch Penn State Wrestling vs. Rutgers
Date: Monday, February 12th
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Where: Bryce Jordan Center (University Park)
TV: B1G
Live Stream: FuboTV (FREE Trial)
Listen: Free via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Now let’s turn to the potential matchups.
Penn State Wrestling vs. Rutgers Potential matchups
No. 1 Penn State (9-0) vs. No. 14 Rutgers (10-4)
125 – No. 2 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs No. 19 Dean Peterson (RU)
133 – No. 6 Aaron Nagao or Baylor Shunk (PSU) vs No. 10 Dylan Shawver (RU)
141 – No. 1 Beau Bartlett or David Evans (PSU) vs No. 19 Mitch Moore (RU)
149 – No. 10 Tyler Kasak or David Evans (PSU) vs No. 26 Michael Cetta (RU)
157 – No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs Jacob Butler or Al DeSantis (RU)
165 – No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) vs Anthony White or Luke Gayer (RU)
174 – No. 1 Carter Starocci or Terrell Barraclough (PSU) vs No. 13 Jackson Turley (RU)
184 – No. 6 Bernie Truax or Josh Barr (PSU) vs No. 19 Brian Soldano (RU)
197 – No. 1 Aaron Brooks or Lucas Cochran (PSU) vs No. 22 John Poznanski (RU)
285 – No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) vs No. 8 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU)
Penn State vs. Rutgers Prediction
As you can see, there are quite a few “or’s” up there. And even if a handful of Penn State’s starters do sit this one out, I highly doubt the outcome will be any different. Because the Nittany Lions are just that stacked and their backups would be starters at most highly ranked D1 programs.
Normally, I break down several key matchups in this section, but with the uncertainty with who will rest and who will go is just too high. So instead of that, I’ll try my best at predicting who will actually go and what the results will be in those matches.
Which is the perfect recipe for a completely inaccurate prediction through and through. But hey, you have to give me credit for being mostly right in my previous predictions, right?
Anyway, here’s how I see it unfolding this evening.
125 – No. 2 Braeden Davis (PSU) dec. over No. 19 Dean Peterson (RU) 10-3
133 – No. 10 Dylan Shawver (RU) dec. over Baylor Shunk (PSU) 8-2
141 – No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) major dec. over No. 19 Mitch Moore (RU) 14-4
149 – No. 10 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. over No. 26 Michael Cetta (RU) 9-4
157 – No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) tech. fall over Jacob Butler (RU) 19-4
165 – No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) tech. fall over Anthony White (RU) 16-1
174 – Terrell Barraclough (PSU) dec. over No. 13 Jackson Turley (RU) 5-2
184 – No. 6 Bernie Truax (PSU) dec. over No. 19 Brian Soldano (RU) 8-5
197 – No. 22 John Poznanski (RU) dec. over Lucas Cochran (PSU) 9-3
285 – No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) major dec. over No. 8 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) 12-4
Penn State 30 Rutgers 6
MORE: Inside Tyler Kasak’s Rise for Penn State
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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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