With nearly two dozen upcoming college duals this weekend featuring ranked teams, thereβs no shortage of great action to watch. Here are five duals in particular worth your attention.
Friday, Jan. 10: No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Illinois, 8 p.m. on BTN+
Ranked No. 4 in the country, the Buckeyes have nine wrestlers in the top 15 and are loaded with stars. Illinois, though, poses a sneaky challenge in this dual, as the Illini are favored in half of the projected bouts in this Big Ten battle. The home mat advantage in Illinois is notable here as well, particularly in a dual where every weight will matter.
If the dual begins 125 pounds, Ohio State will have the advantage at the start with No. 10 Brendan McCrone, a sophomore who has made big jumps this year but is fresh off a 6-5 loss to Maximo Renteria of Oregon State. This is one of just two weights where Illinois does not have a ranked wrestler, so McCroneβs job will be to go out and win with bonus to swing the momentum toward Ohio State before the top-10 battle at 133 pounds between No. 9 Nic Bouzakis and No. 2 Lucas Bryd.
Byrd and Bouzakis have not hit yet in their college wrestling careers because Byrd was out with an injury last season, but expect this match to be fast-paced and intense. Byrd is 9-0 on the year and heavily favored, but Bouzakis does have wins over All-Americans Dylan Ragusin and Anthony Noto this year with his only non-teammate loss coming against Cliff Keen champ Zeth Romney. Thereβs a path for both teams to win without the match, though the possibility becomes narrower for Illinois if Byrd drops to Bouzakis.
Ohio State will then be favored at 141 pounds with No. 1 Jesse Mendez vs. No. 13 Danny Puncino, 157 pounds with No. 7 Paddy Gallagher vs. Jason Kraisser, 174 pounds with No. 9 Carson Kharcha vs. No. 21 Danny Braunagel and 285 pounds with No. 7 Nick Feldman vs. No. 11 Luke Lufman. The heavyweight match is particularly intriguing as Luffman has been known to pull off some key ranked upsets because of his size and strength.
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In fact, earlier this year, the Illini veteran topped four-time All-American Cohlton Schultz in sudden victory, and he also has career wins over All-Americans Trent Hillger, Christian Lance and Taye Ghadiali. Feldman, meanwhile, is a scoring machine when healthy and has notched seven tech falls but has also taken two medical forfeits and an injury default loss this year. In his most recent bout against Oregon State, Feldman put up 23 points against Brett Mower, so if that version of Feldman takes the mat, the Bucks should feel pretty confident he can close out the dual.
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Down in the 3rd period, he hits a slick low single and transitions straight into a pin, extending Illinois' lead in their dominant 34-3 win over Indiana.
The final weight to watch in this dual is 165 pounds where Ohio State has three possible starters listed, including No. 11 Sammy Sasso, Bryce Hepner and eβThan Birden. Whoever gets the nod will take on No. 10 Braeden Scoles, an undefeated freshman with an 88% bonus rate. Sasso wrestled to a 1-0 win in Ohio Stateβs last dual against Oregon State, and if he competes again, heβll have the chance to measure himself against his third top-15 opponent of the year, the first two of whom he lost to in close 5-0 and 6-4 decisions at Cliff Keen. Sasso has the talent to be on the podium, and heβs done it three times already in his career β heβll now try to do it up two weights against a scrappy freshman after recovering from being shot in the stomach in fall 2023.
Friday, Jan. 10: No. 15 Stanford vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX
Stanford, a historically tough Pac-12 team, will open its ACC schedule for the first time in program history with a competitive Pittsburgh program that is strong from top to bottom. The Panthers, who are ranked three spots lower than Stanford heading into the dual, will actually be favored on paper against the Cardinal because of their competitive upperweights.
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Pitt is paced by No. 12 Mac Stout, a Round of 16 finisher last year in his freshman season and the teamβs highest ranked star at 197 pounds. He, alongside teammates No. 18 Reece Heller and No. 14 Dayton Pitzer, are the reasons why Pittsburgh is favored in three of the last four weights, and all three could be key to Pittsburgh pulling off the team upset. Stout is the only one of those three athletes to have a ranked opponent on the Stanford side, however, as heβll be expected to take on No. 24 Nick Stemmet, a Cardinal senior who is 10-7 on the season but who has also finished as high as the Round of 16 in his career. These two athletes have not yet met collegiately, though they were both in the same Midlands bracket that Stout won last month. This is not an unwinnable match for Stemmet, but Stout is tough.
Opening ACC action on Friday.
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Stanfordβs best chance for victory involves making sure the dual doesnβt come down to those last three bouts. The Cardinal will need to rely on their stars β No. 10 Tyler Knox at 133 pounds, No. 8 Jaden Abas at 149 pounds, No. 14 Hunter Garvin at 165 pounds and No. 4 Lorenzo Norman at 174 pounds β to win and win by bonus. Knox, Abas and Norman, in particular, have jumped levels this year and recently captured Midlands titles. Abas and Norman will have ranked opponents in No. 26 Finn Solomon and No. 18 Luca Augustine against Pitt, though those are must-win matches for the Cardinal to stay in this one. Knox, meanwhile, has a huge opportunity for bonus points here against his unranked Panther foe, and this is another chance for him to show off his offense and elevate himself in the 133-pound title contender conversation.
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Stanford and Pittsburgh both fly under the radar as top-20 programs but have a collection of stars who could not only have breakout dual performances but could go on a run at NCAAs. Watching them compete in the same conference for the team will reveal insights about both teams and potentially mark the beginning of a fun conference rivalry.
Saturday, January 11: No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 9 Nebraska, 4:30, BTN+
Twenty ranked wrestlers β that's the caliber of wresting that will be on display in this Big Ten battle between No. 6 Minnesota and No. 9 Nebraska. Both Nebraska and Minnesota will come into this dual favored in five matches, with Nebraska's leading on paper from 141-174 and Minnesota favored at the bookended lighter and upperweights.
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Almost every match has upset potential, though, starting with 125 pounds, which as previously mentioned is a weight of chaos. If the dual starts as expected at 125 pounds, All-American No. 7 Caleb Smith will lead the Huskers while transfer No. 5 Cooper Flynn will take the mat for the Gophers in a top-10 battle that favors Minnesota on paper. Flynn has been solid for Minnesota all season with his only loss this year coming against his former teammate All-American Eddie Ventresca and his best wins coming against Big 12 champion Stevo Poulin and All-American Tanner Jordan. Smith, meanwhile, is 11-3 with a loss to Ventresca as well along with Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State and Trever Anderson of Northern Iowa. Season momentum favors Flynn, though Smith has shown he can beat just anyone throughout his career, including current No. 1-ranked Matt Ramos. Expect this one to be close.
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The 133 and 141 pound bouts offer similar matchups with Minnesota's No. 11 Tyler Wells expected to take on Nebraska's No. 19 Jacob Van Dee at 133 pounds and Minnesota's No. 8 Vance Vombaur likely to compete against Nebraska's No. 6 Brock Hardy in a battle of All-Americans at 141 pounds. The Huskers will have the edge with the opportunity for bonus at 149 pounds with No. 5 Ridge Lovett, who has been ranked as high as No. 1 in his career, wrestling No. 21 Drew Roberts, a current undefeated national qualifier who has had a great start to the year but has not faced anyone of Lovett's talent level yet this year.
Lovett, or one of his lighter weight teammates, will likely need bonus heading into the second half of the dual to hold off Minnesota because while the next four weights β 157, 165, 174 and 184 β are competitive with top-25 pairings, Minnesota has a more solid edge at 197 pounds and sizable advantage at heavyweight. The Gophers are likely to field Isaiah Salazar at 197 pounds against Nebraska's strong, but young, No. 22 Camden McDanel before rolling out Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson at heavyweight. Steveson has a 100% bonus rate so far this year and is on a quest for his third national title and Hodge Trophy. He'll likely take on Nebraska's No. 24 Harley Andrews. For Nebraska to beat Minnesota and pull off this top-10 upset, the Huskers need insurance before getting to Steveson.
Sunday, Jan. 12: No. 19 Lehigh vs. No. 12 Cornell, 12 p.m. on ESPN+
Cornell will head into the second week of 2025 with nine ranked wrestlers β four more than its Lehigh foe. The big task for Cornell, and the best path for victory for the Ivy League program against the No. 19 Mountain Hawks, is to avoid bonus points. Lehigh's strength comes from three big powerhouse stars, and if Cornell can stop those guys β No. 1 Ryan Crookham, No. 6 Michael Beard and No. 9 Owen Trephan β from lighting up the scoreboard, the Big Red should be able to avoid the upset.
Excited to welcome two-time NCAA qualifier Owen Trephan to the Mountain Hawks for the spring semester!
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This dual is expected to start with a bang as Cornell's No. 13 Greg Diakomihalis is slated to take on No. 15 Sheldon Seymour in a match that could set the tone for the day. Diakomihalis, who has been solid for the Big Red throughout his career but has not been the sole owner of a starting spot until now, is 9-1 on the year with his lone loss against Carson Wagner by countable medical forfeit. He hasn't been tested against someone of Seymour's caliber yet, however, and if Seymour can upset Diakomihalis, he could put Lehigh in a position to challenge for a win. Seymour's best win this year came against No. 17 Nick Babin of Pittsburgh, 7-2, and he's battled tough against No. 11 Vince Robinson of NC State and No. 12 Luke Lilledahl of Penn State. Given the unpredictability and instability of 125, the result of this match could have significant seeding implications at NCAAs.
After Seymour and Crookham and 125 and 133 pounds, Lehigh will likely face an uphill battle until the upperweights. The Big Red can roll out No. 26 Josh Saunders at 149, No. 18 Ethan Ferdandez and 157, No. 2 Meyer Shapiro at 157, No. 5 Julian Ramirez at 165 pounds and No. 12 Simon Ruiz at 174 pounds with the only ranked Lehigh opponent in that stretch being No. 29 Logan Rozynski against Shapiro, who teched James Conway of Missouri last week. Shapiro and Ramirez, when both are on their A-game, can compete for a national title, and they'll be looking for bonus points against the Mountain Hawks.
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Cornell and Lehigh will be two different kinds of dual teams to the mat on Sunday β Lehigh will need its stars to shine bright with bonus, while Cornell will look to hold seed and rack up consistent points in at least the seven weights in which they are favored to stay ahead of their former EIWA foe in this northeastern contest.
Sunday, Jan. 12: No. 5 NC State vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
One of the biggest storylines of the season has been the emergence of this top-tier Oklahoma State squad under the new leadership of head coach David Taylor. The Cowboys are currently ranked third in the country with seven athletes in the top 10, led by No. 2 Troy Spratley at 125 pounds. This is a team that scores points, wrestles hard and competes with a new level of energy. The Cowboys will now welcome back Oklahoma State alum and current head coach of No. 5 NC State Pat Popolizio to Gallagher-Iba Arena for what could be one of the best duals of the weekend.
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The last time Oklahoma State wrestled a top-10 ACC program this year, the Cowboy stomped the Hokies of Virginia Tech, winning all but two matches in a dominant 34-9 performance. Thereβs the potential for a similar kind of result here too, depending on the performances from NC State.
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Oklahoma State is currently favored in eight of 10 bouts, with the two exceptions being 133 pounds between No. 7 Kai Orine of NC State and No. 18 Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma State and 157 pounds between No. 12 Ed Scott of NC State and No. 14 Caleb Fish of Oklahoma State. Without those two wins, NC State could be in a tough spot. The Wolfpack do also have a chance for a win at 125 pounds with No. 11 Vince Robinson, though Robinson's foe No. 2 Spratley is going to be a challenge for the freshman. Robinson has been a bright spot for the Pack with his only loss this year being a countable medical forfeit to No. 1 Matt Ramos, but Sprately has far more ranked wins so far this year, beating All-American Jore Volk, Eddie Ventresca and Caleb Smith already. This will be Robinson's biggest test so far, and if he can hang tight with Sprately, he could be considered a title contender and potentially a hero for his team in this big dual.
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The Pack do not have a ranked wrestler to take on No. 4 Tagen Jamison of Oklahoma State at 141 pounds, which gives the Cowboys bonus point potential there. Oklahoma State is also likely to score bonus points from Dean Hamiti, Dustin Plott and Wyatt Hendrickson at 174, 184 and 285 pounds, even though all three will take on top-30 opponents. Hamiti, Plott and Hendrickson all have a bonus-point rate higher than 77%, and Hamiti has already teched the No. 4 athlete at the weight β Lennox Wolak of Virginia Tech β earlier this year. He'll be a tough matchup for NC State's No. 19 Matty Singleton on Sunday. Hendrickson, meanwhile, has teched or pinned nine of his 11 opponents, including his expected Wolfpack opponent Isaac Trumble who he pinned at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
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While the path for an NC State victory may be narrow, the Wolfpack will no doubt benefit as a team from this kind of competition. Robinson, Orine, Scott and Trumble will all be All-American contenders this year, so seeing athletes like Spratley, Witcraft, Fish and Hendrickson will only help them refine their game for March. Wolfpack sophomore Dylan Fishback, who will likely compete against Oklahoma State NCAA finalist Plott at 184, can also use this match to feel out one of the best in his weight class and make adjustments before he too shoots for the podium in the postseason.
High-level wrestling will be on full display this weekend, including action from all Division I men's conferences. From No. 3 Oklahoma State to No. 19 Lehigh and more, this weekend has it all. The NC State vs. Oklahoma State match will be the perfect capper to a full slate of action.
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