Penn State Wrestling’s 2020 Schedule: What We Know So Far
Penn State wrestling is bringing a 59-dual winning streak into next season, and the Nittany Lions’ path to extending it to five full seasons is becoming more clear.
Although Penn State has yet to announce anything about next season’s schedule, several other Big Ten teams have released their conference opponents and included the Nittany Lions in their announcements. No dates are available yet, but below are the duals Penn State wrestling is confirmed to wrestle based on other teams’ announcements on social media:
- Home vs. Rutgers
- Home vs. Northwestern
- Home vs. Illinois
- Away vs. Arizona State
- Away vs. Iowa
- Away vs. Wisconsin
The highlights of this early look at Penn State’s schedule are Nick Suriano’s return to Happy Valley for the Rutgers dual and a much anticipated visit to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to face Iowa.
With the Scarlet Knights coming off a breakout season, the Suriano storyline, and the geographic proximity, the Rutgers match-up has Bryce Jordan Center Dual written all over it. The Nittany Lions’ trip to Iowa, which returns six All-Americans, might be the biggest hurdle for them to overcome in maintaining their legendary winning streak.
On the out-of-conference side of things, Penn State is also expected to wrestle the back end of its home-and-home with Arizona State after hosting the Sun Devils last season.
Big Ten teams wrestle nine conference duals, typically five at home and four on the road, so Penn State’s final schedule will likely include two more home conference duals and two more away conference duals.
Ohio State will likely be one of the two other teams to visit Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have wrestled every season since 1992, alternating venue each year. This past season, Penn State raided Columbus in a blowout 28-9 win, so a return trip is expected.
Based on the schedules released, the only team the Nittany Lions definitely will not face is Purdue, which didn’t include them in its announcement.
Maryland and Indiana both released only their home opponents and didn’t include the Nittany Lions. However, based on home-and-away rotations, Penn State could host one or both teams next season. The last time the Nittany Lions faced each of these teams, they hit the road.
Other teams that have yet to announce their schedules and that could fill holes in the Nittany Lions’ schedule are Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The Nittany Lions last faced all four teams at home, so they will likely need to travel west if any of those teams end up on the schedule.
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