125: No. 3 Nick Suriano (Penn State) vs. No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa)

133: NR George Carpenter (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa)

141: No. 18 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) vs. No. 19 Topher Carton (Iowa)

149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa)



157: No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa)

165: No. 6 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. No. 19 Joey Gunther (Iowa)

174: No. 14 Geno Morelli (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa)

184: No. 2 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Sam Brooks (Iowa)

197: No. 8 Matt McCutheon (Penn State) vs. NR Cash Wilcke (Iowa)

285: No. 5 Nick Nevills (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Sam Stoll (Iowa)





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One of college wrestling's most heated rivalries will officially be reignited on Friday night when Penn State coach Cael Sanderson leads the No. 2 Nittany Lions into hostile Carver-Hawkeye Arena to do battle with No. 4 Iowa. The two teams have accounted for eight of the last nine NCAA team championships and Friday's dual will feature a No. 1 versus No. 2 match and a pair of No. 1 vs. No. 3 matches.Due to the Big Ten scheduling rotation, these teams did not meet each other in dual action during the 2015-16 season. Iowa is in the midst of a nasty 12-day stretch that features tests against No. 1 Oklahoma State, second-ranked Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State. Including Iowa, those teams comprise the top four spots in the team dual rankings . After losing 24-11 at Oklahoma State this past Sunday, the Hawkeyes will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since 2012-13, when they fell to Minnesota and Missouri at the National Duals.Penn State enters the match relatively untested as a team and individually. The Nittany Lions' closest match was a 27-14 victory over Nebraska almost two weeks ago. Five PSU wrestlers come in undefeated, though only two are ranked No. 1 at their respective weight classes.Here is a breakdown of what to expect when these titans of college wrestling collide:I have been waiting all year for this matchup. Penn State true freshman Nick Suriano has been as good as advertised and has quickly ascended up the rankings. In only 11 contests, Suriano has registered wins over two All-Americans and two other top 10-ranked competitors. His opponent this time around is the top-ranked and undefeated NCAA runner-up Thomas Gilman. The last time we saw Gilman he was asserting himself over another highly touted freshman Nick Piccinnini via major decision. My biggest question is, how will Suriano be able to handle the pressure that Gilman will bring for seven minutes? If he can sustain it, things could get really interesting. Also, with this likely to be the leadoff match of the evening in front of the partisan Hawkeyes crowd, don't be surprised to see it get a little chippy with Gilman involved. I'll go with the experience…for now…FloWrestling reported earlier this week that PSU's Jered Cortez will likely be out for the remainder of the season. George Carpenter has attempted to fill in admirably in his absence and kept scores down to a decision against quality opponents such as Scott Delvecchio and Mitch McKee. He will be a heavy underdog against two-time NCAA runner-up Cory Clark. Though Clark has missed time earlier in the season with injuries, he looked excellent in his classic bout vs. Kaid Brock. That version of Cory Clark should be good enough to earn the major decision.Veteran Topher Carton has been impressive this season, his first as a starter for an extended period of time for the Hawkeyes. Carton is coming off a loss to the defending national champion Dean Heil; however, in the loss he was able to earn a takedown on the always defensively sound Heil. Prior to the Oklahoma State dual, Carton was on a four-match winning streak, which includes his seventh-place finish at the Midlands.Penn State will feature the enigmatic Jimmy Gulibon. He is sporting a record just above .500 at 7-6 and is always capable of a big win, but will it happen and can he finally start to string them together again? I'm guessing Carton feeds off the Carver-Hawkeye crowd and pulls the ever-so-slight upset.I'm anxious to see how Brandon Sorensen rebounds from his loss in the Oklahoma State dual to Anthony Collica. It was his first loss to an opponent not named Zain Retherford since the 2015 NCAA third-place match, in which he fell to Jason Tsirtsis. Well, this week Sorensen's opponent is named Zain Retherford, who enters the meet with a 48-match winning streak and has scored bonus points in all 12 of his 2016-17 bouts. I'll say that Retherford keeps his bonus streak intact and earns a major decision just like the last time the pair met in the NCAA Finals.This has the potential to be the most intriguing match of the night. It has been well documented that both wrestlers trained in Pennsylvania with the Young Guns under the tutelage of former Hawkeye Jody Strittmatter. Will Kemerer go out fearless and unfazed against the dominant top-ranked Nolf, or will Nolf have a mental edge in the "big brother" type role? Only a select few club members, training partners and coaches in Western Pennsylvania may know the answer.Like Retherford before him, Nolf enters with a perfect 12-0 record and has earned bonus points in all 12 matches. His closest contest was an eight-point major decision victory over No. 3 Tyler Berger.Christian Pyles took the words out of my mouth in the Iowa-OSU broadcast when he stated that Michael Kemerer's win over Joseph Smith solidifies his No. 2 ranking. He deserved the ranking by the process, yet I wasn't completely convinced. I am now. That being said, let's give Nolf the win by a regular old decision.This is the only match of the night slated to take place between two freshmen. Both are redshirt freshmen, but that's where the similarities end. Vincenzo Joseph was a blue-chip recruit who was expected to crack the Nittany Lions lineup and contend for All-American status, which he looks poised to do. Joseph lost in Penn State's second match of the year, but has not tasted defeat since mid-November. Gunther was not a heralded recruit like Joseph, and frankly most people expected true freshman Alex Marinelli to assume the slot in the lineup. Gunther has developed well and even crept into the national rankings in recent weeks. I'll go with the pedigree and take the more heralded Joseph.At 141, I mentioned Penn State's enigmatic All-American Jimmy Gulibon. Well, here is Iowa's version in Alex Meyer. The Nittany Lions will most likely send out the workman-like Geno Morelli. In a lineup full of high-flying bonus-point machines, Morelli is not flashy but very solid. Meyer, who has lost three of his last four, has a tendency of getting down early and rallying late. Like 141, I see the crowd getting behind Meyer as he tries to wear out his opponent late in the contest.This tilt at 184 has the potential for "Match of the Night" status, but then again so do two or three other matches in this dual. Everyone is aware that Bo Nickal will being looking to exert himself with underhooks, body locks and an assortment of upper body maneuvers. Sam Brooks won't be shy himself, if those situations arise. Expect some feet-to-back points, most likely from both guys, maybe even a fall. When the dust clears, I see Nickal on top of this swing match.Both of these true 184-pounders don't have to worry about being undersized in this 197lb match. Aside from the Nebraska match vs. Aaron Studebaker, Matt McCutheon has handled himself well in his first season up a weight class, even earning a top 10 ranking. Though he has five losses on the year, Cash Wilcke has not yielded bonus points in any of his defeats. It's likely we will see more of the same, and McCutheon finally puts Penn State in the lead.As is often the case, the big boys will be the ones deciding this dual. Both of these guys are your traditional-looking, old-school big heavyweights. No overgrown 197-pounders here. Sam Stoll sparked copious amounts of message board chatter on the proper way to call stalling when he pushed Oklahoma State's Austin Schafer around the mat Sunday. Regardless of your take on the proper application of stalling rules, you have to admit that Stoll wasn't able to get close to a takedown in the match. With Nick Nevills as an opponent this shouldn't be an issue. Nevills has not only the size needed to go toe-to-toe with Stoll but also the ability to shoot and score takedowns.It should be noted that both of these big men were legendary pinners in high school. It's likely that they will nullify each other on the mat, though. I'll go with the better offense.