Penn State will be looking for a big Sunday to take the Big Ten wrestling championship from Ohio State, but it seems to be an unlikely scenario at this stage. The Buckeyes sit in the driver's seat following a strong day one performance on Saturday that netted the them seven finalists. The current team standings are:

Ohio State - 137.5 Penn State - 124.0 Michigan - 100.0 Iowa - 78.0 Minnesota - 57.0

It will take a monumental effort at this point to overcome this deficit, and it's tough to see many outcomes for Penn State to reclaim the Big Ten title.

The Nittany Lions clinched eight NCAA Tournament bids on Saturday, with Nick Lee, Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, Bo Nickal, Shakur Rasheed and Nick Nevills all grabbing bids to the dance. Corey Keener will wrestle for the final allocation place at 133 lbs. against Ben Thornton (Purdue). Keener and Thornton had a barnburner of a match in Rec Hall earlier this year that Keener won 3-2. Carson Kuhn has one more match to win and he will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Penn State and Ohio State will have two head-to-head matchups Sunday, when Nickal will take on Myles Martin and Rasheed goes against Kollin Moore.

Nolf Makes His Return

Despite the state of the team race, Penn State fans can take some solace in Nolf, as he looked very Jason Nolfian. Cael Sanderson decided to medically forfeit Nolf following his qualification to the NCAA Tournament. Nolf managed to pick up a fall and major decision on Saturday before the default. There were audible gasps anytime his right leg was being grabbed in a scramble, but Nolf looked fine physically. He was sporting a knee brace, but it did not appear to hinder his mobility that much.

Nolf should be the favorite at the NCAA Tournament in Cleveland, especially considering the other results at 157 this weekend.

Good, Not Great

The story of the day for Penn State though is they have been good, just not at their best. Retherford picked up two major decisions, but no other bonus points. While that seems like a ton to any mere mortal, Zain is the mutant one who always finds ways to score tech falls and pins. To see him "only" get major decisions shows how spoiled Penn State has become. Retherford beat Ke-shawn Hayes and Steve Bleise. Zain will face familiar foe Brandon Sorensen in the final. Retherford is 5-0 in his career against Sorensen, and beat him earlier this season 6-2.

However, Penn State can feel solace in their middleweight studs performing well. Joseph, Hall and Nickal are all in the finals. Joseph had himself the most exciting matches of the day. In the first round, Vincenzo scored a second-period fall over Mike Sepke. Against Nick Wanzek in the quarterfinals, Joseph looked to be coasting to a win up 8-1, but Wanzek is a stubborn and tough combatant. Wanzek was able to get back points and the match ended up being 18-10. The score was wild, but Joseph was ahead. Vincenzo ended up meeting familiar foe, Logan Massa, in the finals and held on to a 5-4 win. Joseph will face Isaiah Martinez tomorrow in the rematch that fans have been waiting on all season. Martinez looked strong today, beating both Isaiah White and Richie Lewis.

Mark Hall looked very good, and he appears to be peaking at the right time. He scored two pins and a decision to advance to the finals. Hall's quarterfinal pin over Ryan Christensen was the fastest of the day for Penn State, as he got the fall in 47 seconds. Hall will face Michigan's Myles Amine in the finals. Hall defeated Amine 6-5 earlier this season in Ann Arbor. Amine stuck Bo Jordan in the semifinals, one of the few things that went against the Buckeyes all day.

Nickal had a fall and a decision today to clinch his place in the finals. Bo's much-anticipated rematch against Myles Martin will be fascinating. They have met twice in the Big Ten Tournament, with Nickal winning his freshman year by fall. However, Martin picked up a 6-4 decision that all but clinched the Big Ten title for Ohio State last year. This time around may not impact the team race much considering where it stands at the moment, but Bo will have a chance to get revenge for last year's Big Ten Tournament loss.

Rasheed had a roller coaster ride of a day, but made it to the finals. Against 0-12 Jake Kleimola, Rasheed scored an early takedown, and was looking for the cradle on the edge of the mat. Kleimola had other ideas, though, and was able to reverse. At the end of the first period, Kleimola nearly had a cradle of his own, when he caught Rasheed by surprise on a single leg attempt. Rasheed survived and picked up an 8-4 win. Rasheed then was beating Zack Chaokins in fairly comfortable fashion until he gave up a few back points to Chakonis. Rasheed defeated Christian Brunner in a major decision; Brunner was by far his toughest competition of the day. Rasheed will get to face Kollin Moore; they have never met before. Moore lost to Penn State's Anthony Cassar earlier this season.

Nick Nevills had a solid day, as he picked up a major decision over Deuce Rachal and a 5-0 decision against Conan Jennings. He ended up losing to Cold War Conqueror Kyle Snyder 14-5 in the semifinals. Nevills will have to win two matches tomorrow to finish third. He will face Youssif Hemida. If the Nittany Lion wins that, he will wrestle for third.

Nick Lee will be in the wrestlebacks for third tomorrow after a semifinal upset from No. 3 seed Michael Carr. Lee struggled to get out from bottom against Carr and was unable to pick up the win. He had stronger performances in the first two rounds, picking up major decisions against Mike Van Brill and Cole Weaver. Lee will be the favorite for third place, but it was a sizable blow for the Nittany Lions' title hopes. Lee will face Vincent Turk. If Lee wins, he will wrestle for third.

Sunday's matchups