PSU - Nebraska '26 Match Thread

pabison

All-Conference
Jan 9, 2007
633
1,262
93
I kinda hope Scooter hits the portal, not loving the lack of sportsmanship. This wasn't the first, second or third time something like this has occurred, if memory serves me corrrectly. You can be chippy, but you got decked. Learn from it for March.
It was a reaction to Harddy slapping him on the chest twice after the pin. Not smart on Hardy’s part and not smart on Davis’ part to react to it. If anything they should’ve taken a point from both or a point from neither.
 

Niklex316

Redshirt
Apr 6, 2022
5
3
3
He was so gassed at the end, he could barely make it back to center and basically fell down in SV.
Stiles hit his head right before end of regulation. Should have went into concussion protocol. Happened right at the end of regulation. He was woozy AF after.
 
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CTStall

Junior
Oct 24, 2020
140
376
63
PJ not taking any chances. Played it safe so far

I didn’t like that match from PJ at all. He will better for it I think. Weird not seeing him attack the entire second half of the match
I think Duke ran into a very good defensive wrestler with strength. Taylor was able to avoid Duke's power moves. I have a feeling Duke has a real tough weight cut, which might explain gas tank issue when adding in quality opponent and large crowd. The staff and PJ will learn from this, especially the need to be a better mat wrestler in that type of match.
 
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ClarkstonMark

All-Conference
May 23, 2002
1,478
2,320
113
Some thoughts:

1. Luke keeps getting better. He has a legit shot for the top of the podium this year.

2. Blaze 's defense is incredibly consistent. What concerns me is his lack of explosiveness offensively. He has a shot at the top, but his lack of offense reminds me a little of Beau Bartlett. He has longer odds to reach the top this year, because I could see him losing a very close match.

3. Davis is an enigma. He literally was out wrestling and rag dolling former national champion Brock Hardy. But, he had key mental lapses and gassed out several times at the end. Nobody not named Mendez is going to be at the top of the podium this year at 141. But, gassing out and better mental focus, can be fixed. BTW-I F***ING loved when he kicked Hardy for the tummy taps. I loved his fire tonight.

4. Van Ness has impressive wrestling skills, but too many of his opponents get to his legs too easy and he makes too many mental errors for me to be confident of him taking the top of the podium. I am not saying he won't, but he has too many lapses for me to bet the farm on him being number one at the end of the season.

5. Duke? He has been regressing (a little) offensively. Again, I love the kid, but he went from a pinning machine to another Beau Bartlett lately. Maybe its just a Freshmen wall? But, I don't like the trend.

6. Mesenbrink would be a sure thing for the top of the podium this year if Ladarion Lockett was still in high school. Lockett's uber athletic skills (Like a David Carr) gives him a legitimate chance to beat Mesenbrink. If I had to choose one, it would be Mesenbrink. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Lockett upset Mesenbrink. He's that electric. BTW, Mesenbrink has been wrestling at an elite level all year and should make it to the top of the podium.

7. Haines had a really tough high ranked opponent and won. That push out was stupid; it could have cost him his match.. He was not at his best tonight, but I still see him at the top of the podium

8. Welsh just keeps getting better and better. He is like an old elite Iowa wrestler in that he just slowly advances straight at his opponent like a tank on a battlefield. His weight class has a few studs. So, his lack of offensive explosion makes me think more of a Beau Bartlett type scorer. He will be a factor in the race to the top of the podium, but he may not have enough offensive juice to overcome an opponents fast start. Then again, if he continues to score at the tournament like he did against Allred, my concerns will quickly be assuaged.

9. Every time I watch Barr wrestle, I think he is a Bo Nickel clone. Enough said.

10. Did you see Ferrari do a split and mocked the crowd a little after his close win? I mean, if he had beaten a highly ranked former national champion, I would get it. But, given his opponent, I don't get it. Praise the lord for your humility AJ! The next time you pray to God, ask him to make you less of a douche.

9. When I watch
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fyi, regarding Rocco ... 4th on team in TDs (and ahead of Mitch)
 

RickfromSC

Redshirt
Jul 14, 2002
5
5
3
Seems like you care…a lot. And you are pretty much the only one feeling like you do. Watching that altercation and somehow coming out of it thinking Brock is the one at fault speaks volumes about you. Braeden is the one at fault. Got docked a team point to make that point clear
 

WV lion

All-Conference
Oct 17, 2021
1,089
1,347
113
Surprised this wasn't called potentially dangerous. Because, well, it wasn't just potentially.


He was going to call it. But by the time he could blow his whistle, it wasn't potentially dangerous anymore, he was on his back.
 

J.E.B

All-Conference
Jul 8, 2001
2,163
3,168
113
Won’t debate that a bit. Braeden has failed to grow up for his entire run at PSU. It’s to the point where he doesn’t fit the PSU mold. He went out tonight and wasted too much energy on what he probably thinks were highlight reel mat returns. I think he knew he could’ve won the match if he hadn’t burned himself out and it made him salty. I agree with you that there’s no excuse for it.
Davis looked different after apparently injuring his hand. Hardy is a tough hand always has been funky. Never get into a scramble with that guy… never. Davis got caught. Live and learn.
 

J.E.B

All-Conference
Jul 8, 2001
2,163
3,168
113
Basically we had half our guys just not quite on their game and Nebraska wrestled their best match of the year at every weight.... and we still beat them 26-12. I didn't mean to come off negative about this meet because there's plenty to be happy about... but again we are better than what we put down on the mat tonight.
Nebraska (5 TDs) didn’t wrestle, they hand fought and backed up all night. Same as Iowa (2 TDs) and it will be the same with O$U. PSU was as aggressive as ever. They come to engage, wrestle and win. The other team comes out to hang on. LL, MB, SVN, PJD, MM, LH, RW, and JB can all easily be wrestling on Saturday night at nationals!
 

zzs006

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2017
485
2,599
93
Hard to shoot when the target keep backing away.
The majority of the match was wrestled in the center of the mat. Also, Taylor controlled PJ with his underhook. PJ was going backwards quite often to clear that hook. Taylor did not attack at all but he wasn’t backing up and not engaging all match. He wrestled smart. PJ unfortunately didn’t. If PJ had pressed the action at all he would’ve won in regulation with a second stall call but he never did enough to warrant that call
 
Jun 23, 2025
178
473
63
It certainly was, but the “Big Brother” belly pat was pretty pathetic from a 35-yr old who is known to get spladled. Always like Brock… not anymore. I think he knew he would’ve been beaten if Braeden hadn’t “adrenaline dumped,” so he patronized him after the win. Bush league.
Disagree,
I think Hardy meant it as good sportsmanship. He’s nothing is not a stand up guy. No one had an issue when Bo was giving butt pats out his senior year to guys that just got embarrassed
 

Potterlion

Junior
Jan 25, 2011
108
374
63
Disagree,
I think Hardy meant it as good sportsmanship. He’s nothing is not a stand up guy. No one had an issue when Bo was giving butt pats out his senior year to guys that just got embarrassed

This is the correct analogy. I didn't lose my mind when someone slapped back at Bo Nickal after one of his butt pats or after he'd reach down to remove them from the mat (after he had put them there). It wasn't mean-spirited on Hardy's part, but you can almost understand why Davis lost it in the heat of the moment. I think taking a team point away was likely the right call and I'm sure the coaches will address the issue with Davis, but I'm not convinced that he deserves any sort of formal punishment for it. He'll understand that he has to control his emotions (adrenaline dumps and getting decked when you were deep on a single leg and leading against a top opponent are different issues that he also needs to understand and consider). Admittedly, I've posted about it twice myself, but it's really much ado about nothing. It wasn't a pre-meditated douche move (like doing a split after your team got their asses handed to them and you squeaked by against the #9 ranked wrestler on a riding time point) and he'll learn from it.
 

FlyingLion

Junior
Oct 31, 2021
45
220
33
Duke wrestled better than some are giving him credit. He was the only one close to a takedown(twice), and probably should have been awarded one. He's cutting a lot of weight so the o.t. rideout was a worse case scenario, especially considering his limited mat experience. Learning moment, he will only get better, no worries.

Welsh looked fantastic, should have been the wrestler of the dual. His offense has notably improved and deserves the number #1 ranking. To think, there was so much hand-wringing when Ryder left and Rocco came in, crazy how things work out some times.

Don't think Hardy's tummy tap was malicious, more that he empathized with Davis. That being said, these guys are ultra competitive and don't want sympathy from their opponent so he should have refrained. Davis obviously overreacted, costing a team point which was unacceptable.

We were lucky Haines was only penalized a match point, that could have easily been a team point and possibly even a dq. Much worse than what Davis did, not sure what Levi was thinking?
 
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TangSoo

Junior
Oct 29, 2021
79
277
53
Some thoughts:

1. Luke keeps getting better. He has a legit shot for the top of the podium this year.

2. Blaze 's defense is incredibly consistent. What concerns me is his lack of explosiveness offensively. He has a shot at the top, but his lack of offense reminds me a little of Beau Bartlett. He has longer odds to reach the top this year, because I could see him losing a very close match.

3. Davis is an enigma. He literally was out wrestling and rag dolling former national champion Brock Hardy. But, he had key mental lapses and gassed out several times at the end. Nobody not named Mendez is going to be at the top of the podium this year at 141. But, gassing out and better mental focus, can be fixed. BTW-I F***ING loved when he kicked Hardy for the tummy taps. I loved his fire tonight.

4. Van Ness has impressive wrestling skills, but too many of his opponents get to his legs too easy and he makes too many mental errors for me to be confident of him taking the top of the podium. I am not saying he won't, but he has too many lapses for me to bet the farm on him being number one at the end of the season.

5. Duke? He has been regressing (a little) offensively. Again, I love the kid, but he went from a pinning machine to another Beau Bartlett lately. Maybe its just a Freshmen wall? But, I don't like the trend.

6. Mesenbrink would be a sure thing for the top of the podium this year if Ladarion Lockett was still in high school. Lockett's uber athletic skills (Like a David Carr) gives him a legitimate chance to beat Mesenbrink. If I had to choose one, it would be Mesenbrink. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Lockett upset Mesenbrink. He's that electric. BTW, Mesenbrink has been wrestling at an elite level all year and should make it to the top of the podium.

7. Haines had a really tough high ranked opponent and won. That push out was stupid; it could have cost him his match.. He was not at his best tonight, but I still see him at the top of the podium

8. Welsh just keeps getting better and better. He is like an old elite Iowa wrestler in that he just slowly advances straight at his opponent like a tank on a battlefield. His weight class has a few studs. So, his lack of offensive explosion makes me think more of a Beau Bartlett type scorer. He will be a factor in the race to the top of the podium, but he may not have enough offensive juice to overcome an opponents fast start. Then again, if he continues to score at the tournament like he did against Allred, my concerns will quickly be assuaged.

9. Every time I watch Barr wrestle, I think he is a Bo Nickel clone. Enough said.

10. Did you see Ferrari do a split and mocked the crowd a little after his close win? I mean, if he had beaten a highly ranked former national champion, I would get it. But, given his opponent, I don't get it. Praise the lord for your humility AJ! The next time you pray to God, ask him to make you less of a douche.

9. When I watch
-
Rocco Welsh and Beau Bartlett have both wrestled for Penn State. The comparison ends there. Dude just practiced takedowns on a 14th year (slight exaggeration) grown man, who beat one of our National Champions about 8 years ago (slight exaggeration). Nobody scores on little Ferrari. It's tough to score on a guy retreating on his knees. But Rocco beat him at his own game.
 

Lioncrebs

Redshirt
Oct 25, 2021
33
23
8
Seems like you care…a lot. And you are pretty much the only one feeling like you do. Watching that altercation and somehow coming out of it thinking Brock is the one at fault speaks volumes about you. Braeden is the one at fault. Got docked a team point to make that point clear
I just don't think anybody should be touching anybody, you pin me, get up and walk away, I don't need a belly tap for your pleasure. And also, this stupid s*** of helping someone up or flexing after the match or doin splits.....I mean the other dude just lost, let it at that, act like ya won before.
 

WaffleShopper

Senior
Sep 20, 2023
464
909
93
Yeah, Levi shoving Minto into the scorer’s table was much more of a punk move than anything either Hardy or Davis did. That was dangerous and Minto really could have been hurt. I was almost expecting them to dock a team point as well as the match point for that, too.
I have zero problem with what Levi did. Minto had Levi’s left arm hooked as he backed out. They were well out of bounds and Minto still wouldn’t let go so Levi pushed him off with his right hand. Minto created the situation and put HIMSELF in danger probably hoping for a call and he got what he wanted. Ref made the correct decision and the point didn’t matter in the end. No big deal.
 

Lioncrebs

Redshirt
Oct 25, 2021
33
23
8
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 was wondering what Levi was thinking, or probably wasn't.
 

Random4598375

All-Conference
Jan 10, 2020
337
1,038
93
I think Duke ran into a very good defensive wrestler with strength. Taylor was able to avoid Duke's power moves. I have a feeling Duke has a real tough weight cut, which might explain gas tank issue when adding in quality opponent and large crowd. The staff and PJ will learn from this especially the need to be better mat wrestler.
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.
 

CowbellMan

Senior
Feb 1, 2024
180
402
63
Sure looked like Duke should have had 2 back points in the UTB.
Yes. Ref was on the wrong side of the move and failed to swipe. Could have swiped 3 and swiped 1.

combined with giving Taylor too much reaction time that was 5 points the ref left uncalled. The TD was BS. Antrell’s reaction did occur but it didn’t change the hold. IMO the ref gave Antrell 2 reactions.
 

CowbellMan

Senior
Feb 1, 2024
180
402
63
Ref is the one who needs to improve
That is absolutely true. There was even a funny sequence in Rocco’s match where Allred actually did the stalking for about 30 seconds and Rocco was backing away. Not to the edge but for that period Silas WAS trying to reach Rocco. Literally a half second BEFORE Rocco shoots, Allred is called for stalling.
 

Aardvark86

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
677
1,146
93
That is absolutely true. There was even a funny sequence in Rocco’s match where Allred actually did the stalking for about 30 seconds and Rocco was backing away. Not to the edge but for that period Silas WAS trying to reach Rocco. Literally a half second BEFORE Rocco shoots, Allred is called for stalling.
For a minute I thought it was miles finch out there.
 
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watoos

Senior
Oct 31, 2021
530
902
93
I just don't think anybody should be touching anybody, you pin me, get up and walk away, I don't need a belly tap for your pleasure. And also, this stupid s*** of helping someone up or flexing after the match or doin splits.....I mean the other dude just lost, let it at that, act like ya won before.
I shudder having to respond to this, but I agree. Want to congratulate someone you just beat, do it like Messenbrink does.
 

PaWrestlingFan7

Redshirt
Feb 10, 2020
12
37
13
Stiles hit his head right before end of regulation. Should have went into concussion protocol. Happened right at the end of regulation. He was woozy AF after.

Stiles hit his head right before end of regulation. Should have went into concussion protocol. Happened right at the end of regulation. He was woozy AF after.
Go back and watch the replay. He was already dead on his feet before that and when he went to the mat in that situation his shoulder hit first, not his head. He was trying to get a break by pointing to his head.
 
Feb 11, 2018
570
987
93
On a side note, can anyone explain why the ankle bands are MIA for some BJC matches?
When one team's uniform is so clearly predominantly RED (or GREEN) and the other's have none of that color, then ankle bands are superfluous,

Should get rid of ankle bands all together and go with colored socks, when needed.
 

HOA242n!

Sophomore
Aug 18, 2025
84
199
33
My thoughts from last night:

-I can't imagine "winning" like Taylor and Ferrari did. Not a single legitimate shot between them. Call it good defensive wrestling, or whatever, but there wasn't a single offensive attempt by Taylor in 10 minutes. Duke is going to have to figure out how to counteract opponents who just want to tie him up and won't even feign a hint of offense, everybody is going to try the same thing. He's also going to need to put some effort into improving his riding.

-Braeden Davis is so physically talented. If he could just get it right between the ears. I don't like the post-fall big brother tap from Hardy, but you can't let your opponent bait you into reacting like that.

-Welch continues to be the wrestler I am most impressed by. He just keeps moving forward, and once he gets a hold of your limb(s), you are going down. I love that he's become more offensive. You can see why Ryder wanted no part of competing for the 184 spot.

-I knew Minto was going to be tough for Haines because of his length and athleticism. And he was, but Haines just always keeps a cool head (except the shove out) and finds a way at the end of matches.

-Barr is in a class of his own at 197. Elam is the only guy who should even keep it close. But, he uncharacteristically gassed. Before McDanel's late takedown, you could see on Barr's face that he was kinda' done.