#2 Iowa at #1 Penn State Preview and Predictions

Tomorrow night is one of the most anticipated duals of the year with second-ranked Iowa traveling to State College, Pennsylvania to take on top-ranked Penn State. The dual is loaded with great matchups - seven of the ten feature both probable starters ranked in the top ten. Additionally, three duals feature undefeated foes clashing. 

Penn State comes in with a 9-0 record, 3-0 in Big Ten competition, and is riding a 65-dual winning streak. They have captured NCAA titles in each of the last three seasons, last year lapping the field with a 100-point margin of victory over second-place Cornell. This year’s team has the potential to be even better. All ten starters are currently ranked at least seventh in the country or better. In their three B1G duals this season, the Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents by a 121-10 margin. That’s even with two of their wins coming over teams currently ranked in the top 12 nationally (#6 Nebraska and #12 Rutgers). Cael Sanderson could be on track to win his 12th NCAA team title since 2011. 

Tom Brands and company have their hands full despite holding a 9-0 record and they are 3-0 against Big Ten squads, as well. Iowa has nine of their ten probable starters ranked and two of them are currently #1 in the nation. Iowa is also the last team other than Penn State to claim an NCAA team title (2021). Though the Nittany Lions are favorites in the majority of matches, some of them are toss-up’s and if Iowa gets a couple of them, this dual could be very close. 

Below is more about the competitors expected to take the mat and predictions for each of the ten matches. 

125 lbs - #26 Joey Cruz (Iowa) vs. #7 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State)

This match has gotten much more interesting over the last few weeks of the regular season. Joey Cruz comes into the match after winning his last three Big Ten duals. Two of which came over top-20 opponents in #17 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) and #18 Brendan McCrone (Ohio State). Cruz scuffled earlier in the season as he tried to establish himself as the Hawkeyes starter, but has been excellent since the calendar turned over to 2025. Before this season, Cruz had only seen action in one dual meet. The 2023-24 season was Cruz’s first in Iowa City after transferring in from Oklahoma. He initially signed with the Sooners and spent a year in Norman after being labeled as the #51 overall recruit in the Class of 2022. 

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