PSU - Nebraska '26 Match Thread

fortheglory94

Freshman
Dec 7, 2009
14
59
13
Was anyone else scratching their head when Lilledahl had 5 takedowns plus some nearfall points and the ref kept yelling at him to "improve!". That was bizarre lol
He said it ad nauseum all night long, especially any time wrestlers came to their feet from referee's position.

When I think about it, he may have just been giving himself advice given his own performance.
 

OldMatCoach

Freshman
Jan 27, 2026
11
59
13
On Davis, the kick was obviously not smart, but put yourself in Davis's place ... all week long every single commentator, the posters here, and PSU fans were saying that was a sure win for Nebby. Then he goes out and is dominating, gasses out and gets stuck. What a roller coaster of emotions... everybody says I am gonna lose, Oh my Lord, I'm beating this guy, I got this, I got this, I am getting tired, I expected to red shirt anyway, crap he stuck me, how could I "F" this up, I was winning, I had it, I had it, don't touch me jerk ... then the kick. I agree that he needs to be more mature but not sure a lot of guys might not have reacted the same way. Remember too, Scooter thought he was redshirting and probably got pretty heavy so his conditioning and weight cut might be a factor now. So the gassing out might, might be explained that way. I may be old school, but I like the fact that he went right after someone that he was repeatedly told he had little chance to beat. I hate tentative wrestling (Ferrari, Taylor and yes, Bartlett) when guys just hand fight and back up hoping for a miscue they can take advantage of. At least he wrestled aggressively until he ran out of steam.
 

SleepyLion

All-Conference
Sep 1, 2022
2,435
3,552
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A fine line exists within highly competitive endeavors and the combatants. Sometimes the smallest of actions can cause an unfortunate and regrettable reaction.
If Davis would have spent the same energy finishing that last takedown as he did "defending his honor" the match would have been different. He can do better.

@Headlock no really replying to your post, just the general conversation.
 
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SleepyLion

All-Conference
Sep 1, 2022
2,435
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MO. Everyone including myself has been saying how great we are and this is the worse possible thing we should be saying until after the NCAA tournament. Bottom line
I do not think everyone saying this is an issue. If the people in Lorenzo are then that is an issue.
 

El_Jefe

All-American
Oct 11, 2021
2,353
8,190
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I look at how matches affect seeds, for example:

If Luke beats Bouzakis then most likely it's Bouzakis v Peterson at B1G semis.

If Duke beats Cannon it's possible that we get Cannon v Taylor in the B1G semis because Cannon hammered Taylor at the National duals, but I'm not counting on that one.

At 184 I expect the semis to be McEnelly v Ferrari. McEnelly has been squeaking out wins in OT.

PJ Duke beating both Cannon and Taylor before nationals would do wonders for his seed.
IMO if Duke beats Cannon there's a better chance of Duke vs Cannon in B10 semis. Recency bias and all that, I expect Taylor to pass Duke this week, which puts him in range of passing Cannon after the PSU-anOSU dual.

NCAA 157 seeding is gonna be interesting. If Shapiro beats Larkin today, he'll be an undefeated comference champ heading into NCAAs. Also, Larkin might not get an RPI due to changing weights -- if he makes B12 finals as the 1 seed, then he'll only have 14 matches at 157.
 
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watoos

Senior
Oct 31, 2021
531
909
93
IMO if Duke beats Cannon there's a better chance of Duke vs Cannon in B10 semis. Recency bias and all that, I expect Taylor to pass Duke this week, which puts him in range of passing Cannon after the PSU-anOSU dual.

NCAA 157 seeding is gonna be interesting. If Shapiro beats Larkin today, he'll be an undefeated comference champ heading into NCAAs. Also, Larkin might not get an RPI due to changing weights -- if he makes B12 finals as the 1 seed, then he'll only have 14 matches at 157.
I pretty much agree about the semis, but Cannon did beat Taylor like 16-4 at the National Duals, wouldn't putting Taylor ahead of Cannon be balsy?
 

Sunshine88!

All-Conference
Sep 26, 2025
1,321
1,934
113
On Davis, the kick was obviously not smart, but put yourself in Davis's place ... all week long every single commentator, the posters here, and PSU fans were saying that was a sure win for Nebby. Then he goes out and is dominating, gasses out and gets stuck. What a roller coaster of emotions... everybody says I am gonna lose, Oh my Lord, I'm beating this guy, I got this, I got this, I am getting tired, I expected to red shirt anyway, crap he stuck me, how could I "F" this up, I was winning, I had it, I had it, don't touch me jerk ... then the kick. I agree that he needs to be more mature but not sure a lot of guys might not have reacted the same way. Remember too, Scooter thought he was redshirting and probably got pretty heavy so his conditioning and weight cut might be a factor now. So the gassing out might, might be explained that way. I may be old school, but I like the fact that he went right after someone that he was repeatedly told he had little chance to beat. I hate tentative wrestling (Ferrari, Taylor and yes, Bartlett) when guys just hand fight and back up hoping for a miscue they can take advantage of. At least he wrestled aggressively until he ran out of steam.
Exactly. I’m sure Cael understands all the emotions that go into it.
 

PAgeologist

All-Conference
Oct 19, 2021
1,166
2,175
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Not picking on you here, rather the ref-blaming throughout.

The ref stunk and so what? Folks are fooling themselves badly if they think there will be no bad calls or bad refs at any other duals, at B10s, or at NCAAs. And our guys all have world-level aspirations -- foreign refs are far worse yet.

Our guys need the mentality of beating both the opponent and the ref. (And some have it already.) Don't want to get screwed by the ref? Win big enough to take it out of his hands.
I dont disagree. Our guys have to find a way to overcome bad calls and refs that allow stalling. Maybe being there in person made it look worse than it really was.
 

Goggles Paisano

All-Conference
Feb 6, 2018
602
1,500
93
In my book, all the negatives last night were positives. There is little benefit to the team reading their own headlines and getting complacent in January. We may indeed have the best PSU team ever, but there is a very thin line between greatness and disappointment. Mistakes like these in March are the difference between 1st, 3rd or 5th.

Davis - we all loved the first period. He knows what he can do if he attacks. Clearly he isn't in March conditioning yet, and mental gaffes can prove very costly. He has shown me enough that he has the chops to finish better than last year's 5th if he cleans things up.

SVN - This weight class is teed up for him. Another very good performance but his neutral defense still needs some work.

PJ - I feel for him. With different Ref he wins that match outright with a TD and likely 2 back points. Going undefeated as a true Freshman may be the hardest thing to do in NCAA wrestling, and may need some luck on top. None of our greats have done it, even with a redshirt. The monkey is now off his back, and there were a LOT of things to learn from that match. Antrell is athletic, fast and defensively sound, all things PJ needed to see live before March. He will be fired up when they meet again.

Levi - Some emotion from a guy who simply goes about his business and kicks butt isn't the worst thing. Granted tossing a guy off the mat under other circumstance could get a DQ or a team point or both. I think Cael will certainly give him a Zen master talking to, and all will be sound going forward.

Rocco - zero negative here, holy crap that was his best result so far. The kid is adjusting his tactics and building confidence before or very eyes. With every key victory he makes me look dumber and dumber!

Cole - The lesson is pretty clear here. Without a takedown he is never going to win that match. He acquited himself quite well but against bigger or stronger, defensive heavies 1) he probably can't ride them out 2) he probably gives up a riding time point. 3) The only path to victory is to let it fly in the first 2 periods before he gets winded, and let the chips fall where they may. Taking down one of these big dudes is critically important, but far from easy.

Davis and PJs losses stung in particular, but we can't shut out everyone ... Except Michigan ;-)
 

darkknight

Freshman
Jun 11, 2023
41
73
18
My comments FWIW as a Penn State homer and based on comments in this thread:

1. Nebraska came to wrestle. However, they didn't. They do what every team seems to do as a tactic against PSU: Stall, stall, stall, and wait for PSU to make a mistake.
2. The team mimics what culture is established. That's the difference between the two teams. Cael >>>>> Manning
3. Hardy's age is ridiculous at 26.
4. What Davis did was not good, but I get in the heat of the moment when he likely thought he had that win to lose it that way.
5. Hardy tapping him was just as bad as what Davis did. One of the posters here said that Harding was a class act and apologized. Maybe he is and did. However, after how Davis just lost, you don't pat him on the belly after just winning. That's patronizing your opponent. There's a time to give him credit, and that's at the handshake.
6. Taylor showing the "quieting" gesture to the crowd after his stall match win is sad after that hideous performance when PJ had to beat both him and the ref. Again, that's the difference in culture between programs. When have we seen PSU wrestlers do this?
7. PJ will learn from this and become even better.
8. Again, another cultural issue after the 184lb match, when Allred pushes Rocco's head down after the match. What a loser.
9. Is there any wrestler who whines as much as Ferrari?
10. Best quote from Cael: "Lot of good practice tonight I’d say."
 
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TwoJoints

Sophomore
Feb 2, 2025
40
156
33
Come on in Hawkeye fans - drinks are on the house and you get a free seat at tonight’s Loverboy concert if you play for at least an hour at any of our table games


I remember when that was a Sears and an Orange Julius.
 
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jack66

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
3,320
3,123
113
Left jab, then circle, quickly engage, then flee, left jab, then circle

IMO, that is little different from edge wrestling. Maybe Ferrari and Taylor stayed in the circle, but they were, without question, stalling. Several of their other wrestlers tried it to less effect.

Good learning experience for our guys. How to attack the Ali shuffle? Something for our coaches to work on.

EDIT: You don't have to ride to be successful in freestyle; Duke needs to add that to his repertoire in folk.
 
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Goggles Paisano

All-Conference
Feb 6, 2018
602
1,500
93
My comments FWIW as a Penn State homer and based on comments in this thread:

1. Nebraska came to wrestle. However, they didn't. They do what every team seems to do as a tactic against PSU: Stall, stall, stall, and wait for PSU to make a mistake.
2. The team mimics what culture is established. That's the difference between the two teams. Cael >>>>> Manning
3. Harding's age is ridiculous at 26.
4. What Davis did was not good, but I get in the heat of the moment when he likely thought he had that win to lose it that way.
5. Harding tapping him was just as bad as what Davis did. One of the posters here said that Harding was a class act and apologized. Maybe he is and did. However, after how Davis just lost, you don't pat him on the belly after just winning. That's patronizing your opponent. There's a time to give him credit, and that's at the handshake.
6. Minto showing the "quieting" gesture to the crowd after his stall match win is sad after that hideous performance when PJ had to beat both him and the ref. Again, that's the difference in culture between programs. When have we seen PSU wrestlers do this?
7. PJ will learn from this and become even better.
8. Again, another cultural issue after the 184lb match, when Silas pushes Rocco's head down after the match. What a loser.
9. Is there any wrestler who whines as much as Ferrari?
10. Best quote from Cael: "Lot of good practice tonight I’d say."
Dude - sorry I couldn't resist

Did you watch the match at a sports bar last night and just stay way too late afterwards? Cael just called and said it's clear that we all have to tighten things up on this board after this performance 😀

Harding, who the heck is that guy?

And PJ wrestled Taylor, Levi beat Minto.

Otherwise, good points!

PS - I hate when guys nitpic my posts, I forgive you. It's all good.
 

Lyons212

Sophomore
Mar 9, 2017
63
180
33
I agree with this. Taylor wasn’t stalling, he just had great head-hands defense and PJ couldn’t get to the ties he wanted to set up his shots. Being good defensively isn’t stalling. Stalling is backing up or wrestling from a knee for half the match. Both guys wrestled a great defensive match. Sometimes a 10-7 football game is boring, sometimes it is a defensive masterpiece. Same concept applies here.
Sorry, Taylor was stalling, he never looked to score the entire match. What Taylor did was make it very difficult for Duke to get any offense going without having it blatantly obvious that he was stalling. Duke needs more diversity in his neutral attacks and definitely needs to improve on top.

Congratulations to Taylor, he utilized a game plan to beat Duke in January that will most likely not be successful in March when it really matters.
 
Oct 12, 2021
662
947
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Dude - sorry I couldn't resist

Did you watch the match at a sports bar last night and just stay way too late afterwards? Cael just called and said it's clear that we all have to tighten things up on this board after this performance 😀

Harding, who the heck is that guy?

And PJ wrestled Taylor, Levi beat Minto.

Otherwise, good points!

PS - I hate when guys nitpic my posts, I forgive you. It's all good.
It’s ‘nit-pick’.
 

Efejle

Senior
Apr 30, 2023
422
900
93
I couldn't figure out why this match thread was 11 pages long, then when I read it I discovered that 5 pages were dedicated to a 5 second event at the end of 141 in the heat of battle.

I watched Levi Haines toss Minto into the first row of the arena and not one comment about that, thank god.

I also noticed the after-Cael posters described Penn State as having an off night but the pre-Cael posters, like me, think the team did just great. All of the #1's won plus Marcus. The only person's seed who will be hurt slightly is PJ.

IMO everything is going according to plan.
I am a pre Cael poster and I think they had an off night. If you disagree that's also cool.
 

watoos

Senior
Oct 31, 2021
531
909
93
I am a pre Cael poster and I think they had an off night. If you disagree that's also cool.
In all honesty, some of the wrestlers had an off night, but as I said, I look at how it affects seeds and PJ was the only wrestler who will be slightly affected. With that said, there are 3 horses in the B1G at 157, Cannon, Taylor, and PJ, I'm just looking at B1G semi-final matchups, such as Ferrari v McEnalley with Rocco waiting for the winner. Looks like PJ will just have to take out both Taylor and Cannon, no problem.
 
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El_Jefe

All-American
Oct 11, 2021
2,353
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I pretty much agree about the semis, but Cannon did beat Taylor like 16-4 at the National Duals, wouldn't putting Taylor ahead of Cannon be balsy?
One could argue that, if Taylor is higher ranked and the defending national champ, then the ballsy thing to do would be making Cannon the higher seed due to an early-season match.

That may or may not be the right thing to do, but the safe thing would be falling back on the rankings.

Which is a good reminder: B10s are seeded by the coaches, not by a formula like NCAAs. They're subject to human failings -- such as giving Taylor credit for being the defending national champ, which shouldn't count because last year. Or possibly docking Cannon for losing to Melvin Miller, which also shouldn't count. And while the pre-seeds almost always hold, there is always a small but non-zero possibility of some horse-trading between coaches before seeds are finalized.

Of course, we're also assuming Duke merely beats Cannon. If he demolishes Cannon, then chaos.
 
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PAgeologist

All-Conference
Oct 19, 2021
1,166
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All this while we laugh about smacking asses. Hardy wasn't being a prick, it was a good match tap. Although something must have been said before the dual, it wasn't just breaden with attitude they all had it. I know the bad blood but this seems deeper and more recent.
I didnt catch the incident live. I put my head down after Braeden got caught, in disbelief.

I have a hard time believing Hardy was showing up Davis, although in the moment I also see how Davis thought that he was. To my knowledge, Hardy doesnt have that reputation. I honestly wouldnt doubt that Davis apologized, whether over social media or in person if he had a chance once he cooled down. It was a hotly contested match. Braeden lost his cool. Im sure Cael will have some words and some extra activities for Braeden.

Hardy was right in front of me for much of the remainder of the meet. He didnt seem to be dwelling on it at all.
 

dicemen99

All-Conference
Nov 15, 2005
3,279
3,635
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Which is why that belly pat was so surpising. Brock has always been classy. He wasn't tonight. Davis needs more self-control to be sure, but that was a punk move by Brock.
I disagree. Hardy is a class act. It may have been a mistake but I didn’t interpret that as a punk move. More likely an acknowledgement that Davis gave him a battle. Not the best move, but sometimes you do things that you don’t think entirely through with no ill intent. That’s something I could see Mitchell doing inadvertently and it being taken the wrong way.

Davis was wrong and reacted poorly. It’s not a huge deal to admit that as a PSU fan. It’s also a little baked into his DNA and it’s ok to admit that as well. The coaches certainly are aware of it.

Sometimes our guy does something stupid. It’s not the end of the world. It’s also warranted when other fan bases get upset about it.
 

apoharrow

All-Conference
May 14, 2006
6,280
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All this while we laugh about smacking asses. Hardy wasn't being a prick, it was a good match tap. Although something must have been said before the dual, it wasn't just breaden with attitude they all had it. I know the bad blood but this seems deeper and more recent.
We did laugh and if someone retaliated I would understand.
 

SRATH

All-American
May 29, 2001
2,780
5,458
113
I would be fine if they tweaked the rules......you cannot win without a takedown or 4 count NF and riding time accrues but does not count, unless you have a TD or the 4 count.

Taylor/Duke, SV goes until someone gets a TD. It would be wild to watch. PJ did look whipped at the end.

AJ/Cole, on to SV. If AJ gets a TD, then he gets the 3 and the RT point and wins 5-1. If Cole gets the TD, he wins 4-1.

The riding time criteria in SV is dumb, imho.

This would do two key things in my simple mind:
1) Align with Freestyle - emphasize winning on your feet
2) If guys are not attacking when they don't have a TD, then they are stalling. If you have earned a TD, you have also earned the right to play defense a bit.
 
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jack66

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
3,320
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The 133 match should have told us that Taylor would have the advantage yesterday. VanDee was the 1st to employ the 'jab to the face then circle away' technique. By not calling it, the ref essentially defined wrestling for the day, and that played right into what Taylor and AJ do best: stall.
 

m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
1,988
2,107
113
I imagine Braeden will have some one-on-one time with coaches. I'm sure there will be some talk about maturity, self-control, and some individual work on conditioning. Having said that: I Loved the Effort! All of the concerns can be improved with coaching and time. Kid has never red-shirted and has stepped up and exceeded expectations 1st two years. I expect by the end of the season, we will all once again be impressed with his performance. I'm a fan!

I loved the effort too... especially in the beginning, but clearly he couldn't sustain it. I haven't seen someone run out of gas like that in the Sanderson era since one of the Alton twins over a decade ago.

I know he was called to duty a little late in the season, but there are 3 duals left. Two weeks from now is OSU, and he faces Mendez. Can't give up a fall as the match has the potential to be pretty tight with bonus points making the difference.

Then again, maybe he won't empty his tank in the first.....
 

m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
1,988
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I disagree. Hardy is a class act. It may have been a mistake but I didn’t interpret that as a punk move. More likely an acknowledgement that Davis gave him a battle. Not the best move, but sometimes you do things that you don’t think entirely through with no ill intent. That’s something I could see Mitchell doing inadvertently and it being taken the wrong way.

Davis was wrong and reacted poorly. It’s not a huge deal to admit that as a PSU fan. It’s also a little baked into his DNA and it’s ok to admit that as well. The coaches certainly are aware of it.

Sometimes our guy does something stupid. It’s not the end of the world. It’s also warranted when other fan bases get upset about it.

I found Hardy's tap tap to be a bit patronizing. It was a mistake IMO. That said, Davis needs to keep his emotions in check.
 

Nitlion1986

All-Conference
Apr 13, 2024
797
2,365
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I couldn't figure out why this match thread was 11 pages long, then when I read it I discovered that 5 pages were dedicated to a 5 second event at the end of 141 in the heat of battle.

I watched Levi Haines toss Minto into the first row of the arena and not one comment about that, thank god.

I also noticed the after-Cael posters described Penn State as having an off night but the pre-Cael posters, like me, think the team did just great. All of the #1's won plus Marcus. The only person's seed who will be hurt slightly is PJ.

IMO everything is going according to plan.
I am definitely in the group of pre Cael PSU wrestling fans, and there isn't any doubt they were off last night. The being off was a planned stressor though. It does seem to me for the most part they wrestled through it and found a way to be successful.