Men's College Notebook: Six Televised Duals; Top-Five Big 12 Showdown Highlights Weekend

No NFL games on TV this weekend? No problem, college wrestling has you covered. You can plop yourself down in front of the television on Friday night and Sunday afternoon for hours, as six duals will be televised throughout the weekend.

The Big Ten Network leads the way with its tripleheader on Friday night, plus a doubleheader Sunday afternoon. The ACC Network joins the fray as well, as this will be their first weekend televising a dual.

Here is a look at the six televised matches this weekend. All times are Eastern.

One week after defeating top-10 teams in Minnesota (29-9) and then a thrilling 17-16 win at Nebraska, Ohio State returns to the mat with a pair of ranked opponents this weekend as well. Wisconsin comes in at 10-2 and went through its non-conference schedule undefeated. Top-10 teams Iowa (23-13) and Minnesota (26-10) were the only blemishes on the Badgers’ schedule thus far.

Two of the most athletic heavyweights in the nation will face off, as #3 Nick Feldman will battle #9 Braxton Amos. Feldman won the dual for Ohio State last weekend with his second win of the season over #4 AJ Ferrari. Amos, who did not compete the last two years, is up at heavyweight for the first time in his career and off to a 14-2 start.

The undisputed kings of ACC Wrestling over the past decade, as this top-10 showdown takes place at NC State. The winner will more than likely claim the 2026 ACC Dual Championship. You must go back to 2014 to find the last time neither NC State nor Virginia Tech had the best regular season record in the ACC.

The home team has also won the last seven in this series, and Virginia Tech will be looking for its first win in Raleigh since 2016. NC State has not lost a home ACC dual since 2019, a string of 18 home ACC wins in a row.

Eight ranked battles on the docket, highlighted by #2 Eddie Ventresca vs. #5 Vince Robinson. Robinson is the defending NCAA champion, but Ventresca is 3-0 all-time against him, including a win earlier this year. All their matches have ended 4-1 in Ventresca’s favor, with takedowns only coming in the third period or OT.

After the Cornhuskers had #4 Iowa and #2 Ohio State in home duals last weekend, Nebraska heads to #1 Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions have cruised to a 5-0 mark in conference action, notching four shutouts and outscoring those foes 228-3. Facing one of the top schedules to this point, Nebraska is 9-5 in duals with seven ranked wins, including top-10 wins against #8 Lehigh (35-7) and #9 Minnesota (20-12).

Six bouts feature top-10 wrestlers, with the marquee battle coming at 157 pounds. In a top-five showdown, it will be defending national champion #5 Antrell Taylor against hot-shot rookie #2 PJ Duke. Taylor dropped a couple of bouts back in November at National Duals but is undefeated since. Duke is undefeated on the season overall, and he was one of the top recruits in his class.

Illinois downed #17 Rutgers last weekend on tiebreakers, 17-16. The well-tested Fighting Illini will be facing their 12th ranked foe of the year when Indiana comes to town. There could be four matchups that feature ranked versus ranked wrestlers (125, 165, 174, 184).

Second home dual of the weekend for Ohio State, second against a ranked foe. And mega-rival Michigan! Can Michigan leave the weekend a perfect 16-0 before back-to-back weekends hosting #4 Iowa and at #1 Penn State?

Top-10 battle at 184 pounds in this match, as #7 Dylan Fishback will face #9 Brock Mantanona.

A rare battle of two unranked teams on the Big Ten Network concludes the night of action.

Why is this one not televised by ESPN on Sunday afternoon?

Huge top-five battle in the Big 12 Conference. The two teams are a combined 28-2 overall on the year, both undefeated in conference action. All 10 matchups feature a pair of ranked wrestlers, including five top-10 showdowns.

At 125 pounds, #7 Troy Spratley and #12 Stevo Poulin go back to their youth battles in New York. The best bout could come at 141 pounds, with #2 Sergio Vega facing #4 Anthony Echemendia. Vega has shot onto the scene and been elite all year with a perfect 10-0 start. Echemendia is one of the strongest in the weight class and has put together a 12-1 mark, his only loss to #1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State.

Of course, there are also a bevy of duals that will be streamed throughout the weekend. Here are four duals from each day to keep an eye on:

·      #14 Pitt at #11 North Carolina – 7 p.m. on ACCNX

·      #9 Minnesota at #4 Iowa – 8 p.m. on B1G+

·      #3 Iowa State at #21 Oklahoma – 8 p.m. on ESPN+

·      #13 Northern Iowa at #5 Oklahoma State – 8 PM on ESPN+

·      Arizona State at #22 Cornell – 3 p.m. on ESPN+

·      Oregon State at #23 Wyoming – 5 p.m. on FloWrestling

·      #19 Missouri at Little Rock – 7 p.m. on FloWrestling

·      #13 Northern Iowa at #21 Oklahoma – 8 PM on ESPN+

·      #17 Wisconsin at Purdue – 1 p.m. on B1G+

·      Penn at Harvard – 1 p.m. on ESPN+

·      #20 Lehigh at Army – 2 p.m. on FloWrestling

·      Northern Colorado at #15 South Dakota State – 3 p.m. on MidCo Sports Plus