After stomping No. 29 Indiana 46-0 Sunday, Penn State wrestling is preparing for its first away dual of its Big Ten conference schedule.

In a true top-ranked performance, Penn State didn’t allow a single takedown from the Hoosiers as it blanked them in all 10 bouts of the afternoon. However, head coach Cael Sanderson doesn’t see this as completely positive and expects his team to learn from the challenge.

“We want to make mistakes and learn from [them]. That’s how you get better and you can continue to climb to higher levels,” Sanderson said.

Now, an increase in competition level is ahead, and Penn State will face five ranked teams in the next two months. The first will be No. 11 Michigan in just two days.

Last season, the Nittany Lions handled the Wolverines 30-8 in one of two Bryce Jordan Center duals, but switches in both rosters present a new challenge this season, and the Wolverines are running with a 7-0 record.

“Michigan has a really good team up and down [its] lineup,” Sanderson said. “Just a very experienced team. A very talented team.”

On top of the conference rivalry, this is the first time in the 2023-24 season that Sanderson and his team will have two duals in a single weekend. The Nittany Lions will battle Michigan on Friday and Michigan State on Sunday.

“Just like every year, there is this time in the Big Ten schedule, which is fun,” Sanderson said. “It’s a lot of big matches every weekend, and it just gets bigger as we get to the national tournament.”

For Mitchell Mesenbrink and Bernie Truax, this is their first Big Ten rivalry dual, while Aaron Nagao will be returing to Big Ten challenges as a Nittany Lion instead of a Gopher. Sanderson didn’t comment on the redshirt or the starting status of Braeden Davis or Tyler Kasak, either.

“It will be a good test for all of you guys to see where we are at,” Sanderson said.

Potential national championship matchups are also at play in Ann Arbor. Stanford transfer No. 4 Shane Griffith will step in at 174 pounds for Michigan against No. 1 Carter Starocci, so the stakes are high for several Nittany Lions.

No matter the competitor, Sanderson and his crew are always aiming to get ahead and get better.

“Where we are training from an attitude standpoint, enthusiasm, technique, and how are we competing, we just want to make sure we are always training in the right direction,” Sanderson said.

The Nittany Lions will continue their conference schedule against No. 11 Michigan at 6 p.m., Friday, January 19, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The dual will be available to view on the Big Ten Network.