3 things we learned from Penn State wrestling's blowout win over Michigan State
Penn State wrestling earned its fourth shutout of the year and seventh victory of the 2024-2025 season on Friday night when it opened the Big Ten portion of its schedule by blasting Michigan State 55-0 in front of a packed crowd at Rec Hall. The Lions earned bonus points in all 10 matches and half of them did not make it to the third period.
“I think we just look at each individual, what little things can they continue to improve on,” Lions coach Cael Sanderson said, per PennLive. “Obviously, number one is just competing with gratitude and enthusiasm. But there are always little things. That’s what makes it fun. You have the ability to continue to get better, and that’s the plan.”
Here’s a look at the top three things we learned from the triumph.
This Penn State team wants to set records
That seems pretty clear. On the Penn State Sports Network, 149-pound Nittany Lion Shayne Van Ness, who pinned Michigan State foe Clayton Jones in just 2:25, say members of the team were sitting on the bench last night calculating various things such as who is spending the least amount of time on the mat, the pin king, and more. To set records at nationals, you have to rack up the bonus points. This group clearly wants to do just that. Against the overmatched Spartans, they accrued six pins, three technical falls, and a major decision.
“It’s a lot of fun when you have a lot of guys that are super talented, and they want to compete within that inter-squad competition,” Van Ness said. “It’s just so much fun.”
Michigan State is down bad
Roger Chandler has been with the Spartans forever and is in his ninth season as head coach. This might be one of his worst teams yet. Michigan State has just one ranked wrestler, 197-pound freshman Remy Cotto, and he did not even weigh in last night, presumably due to injury. MSU has never been a wrestling power house. It only has one All-American over the last decade. But, it usually fields a competitive team, at the very least. The one that came to State College last night, however, was anything but.
Top 10
- 1New
Deion Sanders
Prime interested in Raiders job
- 2
Buckeyes roll to title game
Irish vs. Ohio State for it all
- 3
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame odds
Point spread released for National Championship
- 4Hot
Controversy
Late Texas penalty draws ire
- 5
Quinn Ewers
Directly answers portal rumors
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“I know they had a handful of guys not in the lineup, so hopefully they can get healthy and ready to roll,” Sanderson said, again per PennLive.
The schedule will get tougher
Penn State beat up the Spartans, as we’ve made plainly clear by now. But, not every match over the rest of this month and next will be such a cakewalk. The Lions will be favored in all of them, of course. But, from an individual perspective, challenges certainly await. Sanderson’s side heads to No. 6 Nebraska for a 9 p.m. ET dual next Friday night on the Big Ten Network. Then, they’ll go to face a scrappy Rutgers side the following Friday. Last but not least, they’ll close out January by hosting No. 2 Iowa at the BJC on Jan. 31.
“I think this is the most fun part of our season, besides, obviously, the [NCAA] tournament,” Van Ness told the Penn State Sports Network. “But the competition goes up, and we just keep getting better and better each week. And I’m just excited and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel and compete.”
