Men’s College Notebook: Penn State takes on Iowa Friday Night

#1 Penn State travels to #4 Iowa for one of the most talked-about duals of the season. The action will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Series Notes

• Iowa leads the all-time series 28-14-2. But Penn State has won the last four meetings, including last year’s 30-8 win.
• The last time they met in Iowa City, Penn State won 29-6 in 2024. The Hawkeyes hold a 15-8 record in Iowa City overall.

#1 Penn State Notes

• Penn State opened Big 10 action with a 46-0 shutout over Rutgers last weekend.
• The Nittany Lions have pitched a shutout in their last three duals, beating North Dakota State (46-0), Stanford (42-0) and Rutgers (46-0) by a combined 134-0. They have not lost an individual match in a dual since Dec. 13 against Wyoming.
• The 10 probable starters are a combined 89-2 on the season. From 125-197 pounds, the nine starters are all undefeated.

#4 Iowa Notes

• Iowa also opened its Big 10 slate with a win last weekend, 23-12 at home against Wisconsin.
• While Penn State set a new NCAA record last week with its 78th consecutive dual win, the Nittany Lions’ last loss came back in 2020 in a dual at Iowa (19-17).
• Back in November, Iowa was the runner-up at the National Duals Invite. Over the two days, Iowa collected wins over #16 Missouri (34-3), #15 Illinois (24-13) and #5 Oklahoma State (18-16).

Probable Starters

#1 Penn State (7-0, 1-0 Big 10) vs. #4 Iowa (8-2, 1-0 Big 10)

125: #2 Luke Lilledahl (9-0) vs. #7 Dean Peterson (7-1)

Last year’s #1 seed at the NCAA Championships, Lilledahl is perfect this season; his loss to teammate Nate Desmond does not count on his record. This will be his fourth straight bout against a ranked foe; his 4-2 win over #12 Nico Provo of Stanford was a season best. Peterson transferred to Iowa for his final season, and his lone loss was to current #3 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State. He does have a pair of top-10 wins this year, including defeating returning NCAA finalist Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State (5-4). Peterson leads the overall series 1-0, as he defeated Lilledahl 4-1 in a dual last year when Peterson was at Rutgers.

133: #6 Marcus Blaze (11-0) vs. #11 Drake Ayala (4-4)

One of two true freshmen to crack the Penn State starting lineup, Blaze has a team-high 11 wins thus far. This will be his fifth-straight ranked foe; his highest defeat was of returning All-American #6 Tyler Knox of Stanford (by fall at 6:44). This will also be his third-straight bout against a former All-American; he opened Big 10 action with a 12-2 major decision over Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver last week. Ayala was the NCAA runner-up in both 2024 and 2025 and started the season ranked #2. He has taken four losses this year, three to top-10 foes, and has lost three of his last four matches.

141: #8 Braeden Davis (5-0) vs. #15 Nasir Bailey (9-5)

A junior, Davis, came out of redshirt last weekend and appears to be the starter going forward. He finished fifth at 133 pounds last year at the NCAA Championships and intended to redshirt to move up to 141 pounds. Including his 18-7 major decision over Rutgers’ back-up last weekend, he won the Edinboro Open with four bonus point wins. After two seasons at Little Rock, highlighted by an All-American season in 2024, Bailey transferred to Iowa. He was not in action against Rutgers, so sophomore Kale Peterson (16-1) was listed on the probable. The two met once before when both were down at 133 pounds, Davis picking up a 1-0 decision last year at the Collegiate Duals.

149: #1 Shayne Van Ness (9-0) vs. #10 Ryder Block (6-2)

Van Ness placed third at the NCAA Championships both in 2023 and 2025. The preseason #1 has kept a perfect record at 9-0, and this will be his fourth-ranked bout in his last five matches. His top win was 10-4 over #14 Aden Valencia of Stanford. Block is one of the surprises for Iowa this season. After going 2-4 as a redshirt last year, Block won the starting spot and jumped into the top-10 in the national rankings. He did get upset last time out against #17 Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin, 9-6, in extra time, but he has three top-10 wins on the season.

157: #2 PJ Duke (9-0) vs. #11 Jordan Williams (8-2)

Duke is officially out of redshirt, as he has reached the five-match limit and is Penn State’s starter this year. The #2 overall recruit in his class, only behind teammate Blaze, Duke has been held to only one decision in his nine wins – 5-2 over All-American #5 Daniel Cardenas of Stanford. Williams was a two-time NCAA Qualifier at Little Rock before transferring to Iowa and moving up to 157 pounds. He recently claimed the title at the Soldier Salute, going 5-0 with a pair of falls, and is on a six-match winning streak.

165: #1 Mitchell Messenbrink (11-0) vs. #3 Michael Caliendo (9-1)

The returning NCAA champion, Messenbrink, is 66-1 for his career, his lone loss coming in the finals of the NCAA Championships back in 2024. He has won 38 straight bouts. None of his 11 wins this year has been less than a bonus point win; six have been falls. Caliendo is a three-time All-American, his first year at North Dakota State before transferring. With 90 career wins, he is on a six-match winning streak, with just one not being for bonus. Against his last three ranked foes, he has earned three tech falls. Is this the most-wrestled series currently in the NCAA? This will be the seventh time the pair faces off. Messenbrink has won all six previous meetings, including an 8-1 decision in the finals at last year’s NCAA Championships.

174: #1 Levi Haines (10-0) vs. #3 Patrick Kennedy (9-1)

Haines has gone a combined 58-2 over his last three years and has placed no lower than third at the NCAAs all-time. Another Penn State wrestler who all bonus point wins, in fact, only two have gone for major decisions, while the other eight are tech falls and falls. Kenedy took fourth last year and is in his sixth year in the program. He came away with three ranked wins at the National Duals Invitational, highlighted by a 4-1 win over #9 Carson Kharchia of Ohio State. This will be the third meeting all-time, with Haines taking the previous two, by a combined 21-6. This will be a rematch of the third-place match from the NCAAs last year, which was an 11-3 major decision over Haines.

184: #4 Rocco Welsh (9-0) vs. #1 Angelo Ferrari (9-0)

The first of two bouts that sees a Hawkeye ranked higher than their counterpart (heavyweight is the other). Welsh was the 2024 NCAA finalist in this weight class before taking a redshirt at Ohio State and then transferring this offseason. He has three ranked wins on the season, but hasn’t faced a wrestler ranked higher than 12th. Ferrari was one of the big stories in this dual last year, while redshirting, he used one of his dates to battle #2 Carter Starocci, falling 2-1. He is a perfect 9-0 thus far, with four ranked wins, three in the top-10, coming at the National Duals. His last ranked opponent was #10 Isacc Dean of Iowa State (2-1).

197: #1 Josh Barr (8-0) vs. Harvey Ludington (11-3) -OR- Brody Sampson (7-6)

The biggest story of the week was the news that #4 Massoma Endene is no longer a member of the Hawkeyes. So, where does Iowa turn? The true freshman, Ludington, was the #15 recruit in this year’s freshman class, while Sampson is in his second year in the program after redshirting last year. Ludington has already used three dates this year towards his five to still be eligible to redshirt. A dark horse could be Gabe Arnold, bumping up two weight classes, as he was down at 174 pounds for the Soldier Invite two weeks ago. Whoever steps out onto the mat will be a huge underdog, as the returning NCAA finalist Barr returned to action in late December and all his victories have gone for bonus points thus far, with only a single major decision (five techs, two falls).

285: #12 Cole Mirasola (8-2) vs. #5 Ben Kueter (3-1)

The other bout where the Hawkeye is the higher-ranked of the two. In his first year in the lineup, Mirasola is 8-2 with six bonus point wins. Both of his losses came back in December to top-10 foes (#7 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh and #10 Christian Carroll of Wyoming). He has three ranked wins on the season, including 4-2 over #21 Hunter Catka of Rutgers last time out. After being eased back into the lineup after offseason hip surgery, Kueter is looking to repeat as an All-American in his second year in the lineup. He has only four matches under his belt, but this will be his fourth straight against a ranked foe. Last time out, he scored a top-10 win over #9 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin, 4-1 in extra time.

#13 Michigan at #17 Rutgers – Friday at 7 p.m. on B1G+

Six ranked battles overall, the featured bout comes at 174 pounds, as #12 Beau Mantanona takes on #10 Larry Pinto.

#22 West Virginia at #15 Pitt – Friday at 7 p.m. on ACCNX

The Backyard Brawl on the wrestling mat. The bout to watch comes at 157 pounds as #4 Ty Watters takes on #15 Dylan Evans. Watters is coming off his first loss of the season, while Evans earned the starting spot after coming down from 165 pounds.

#6 Nebraska at #9 Minnesota – Friday at 9 p.m. on Big Ten Network

The second match in the doubleheader on the Big Ten Network on Friday is another top-10 clash that could have eight ranked match-ups, going in consecutive weight classes from 141 pounds up to heavyweight. Three top-10 individual matches, with heavyweight leading the way as #4 AJ Ferrari faces #9 Koy Hopke.

#8 NC State at #24 Stanford – Friday at 10 p.m. on ACCNX

The Pack heads out to the West Coast, with six potential ranked matches on the line. Stanford just announced that #5 Hunter Garvin at 165 pounds and #20 Lorenzo Norman at 174 pounds are out for the season after missing recent time due to injury, which removes a pair of ranked battles against #12 Will Denny (165) and #5 Matty Singleton (174) from the dual.

#11 Illinois at #13 Michigan – Sunday at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Michigan’s second Big 10, ranked battle of the weekend is loaded with eight ranked matchups. Will #10 Kannon Webster be back after suffering a concussion last week? If so, #14 Cam Catrabone awaits at 157 pounds. Heavyweight will feature two veteran wrestlers, #6 Taye Ghadiali vs. #11 Luke Luffman.