Two of the top three teams in the latest NCAA wrestling rankings, Penn State and Iowa face off in The Pioneer Showdown on Friday night. Iowa hosts Penn State and looks to take down the top school in the nation.
Penn State (8-0) finished January with a run of three meet wins in a row, all away. The school continued its momentum with a dominant 28-9 win against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions extended their win streak against Ohio State to nine. The team gave up only three takedowns and had a 23-3 overall edge.
Coach Cael Sanderson’s group faces Tom Brands and Iowa (10-1), ranked third in the nation. The group lost its first outing against Michigan last Friday. Brands knows the team has a lot of ground to cover before but believes Penn State can be dethroned.
“I just know there’s a gap,” Brands said via Hawk Central . “Whether we’re two or three or four or whatever were ranked, it doesn’t matter. There’s a gap between whatever we are and No. 1. Are we looking ahead to our detriment? No, we’re not, but we know what’s coming up.”