Ohio State continues their brutal road stretch of trips with a trip to Lincoln to take on a salty Nebraska squad in a top-12 showdown. 

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Feb. 2 | 1 PM ET 

With a monster dual on Friday in Iowa vs Penn State, it can be kind of easy to overlook some of the other duals going down this weekend. Ohio State vs Nebraska shouldn’t be overlooked, however. Here’s why.

Projected Lineups

125: Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) vs Alex Thomsen (Nebraska)

133: #21 Jordan Decatur (Ohio State) vs #14 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 

141: #1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs #6 Chad Red (Nebraska)

149: #2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs #15 Collin Purinton (Nebraska)

157: Elijah Cleary (Ohio State) vs Peyton Robb (Nebraska)

165: #13 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska)

174: #7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) vs #6 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 

184: #24 Rocky Jordan (Ohio State) vs #9 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)

197: #1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs #10 Eric Schultz (Nebraska)

285: #23 Gary Traub (Ohio State) vs #17 Christian Lance (Nebraska)

That’s 16 ranked wrestlers with eight ranked matchups, including three top-10 matches. Five of these matches are in Bratke’s 10 Best D1 Matches Live On Flo This Weekend. That’s half of the dual! That’s insane. So, I decided to do a quick breakdown of each match and make some picks with my friend David Bray.

125: Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) vs Alex Thomsen (Nebraska)

A non-ranked matchup, but still an interesting one between two talented guys who aren't quite putting it together this year. After being a national qualifier a year ago, Heinselman is struggling a little bit this time around. He’s on a six-match losing streak and has won just once in his past nine. Thomsen is electric on his feet, but has struggled a bit from the bottom position this year. 

Rader’s pick: Thomsen by decision - Neb. 3 OSU 0

Bray’s pick: Thomsen by decision - Neb. 3 OSU 0

133: #21 Jordan Decatur (Ohio State) vs #14 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 

A battle between two good true freshmen. With his slickness, Decatur might have a slight advantage on the feet, although they’re pretty neutral here. Lovett will have a clear advantage on the mat with his phenomenal top game, however.

Ridge Lovett, a true freshman, has now wrestled 3 top 10 guys in Gross, Desanto, and RBY all in a row, and none of them has chosen bottom. #Respect

— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) January 25, 2020

Rader’s pick: Lovett by decision - Neb. 6 OSU 0

Bray’s pick: Decatur by decision - Neb. 3 OSU 3

141: #1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs #6 Chad Red (Nebraska)

With 20 wins, two pins, two techs, and eight majors, Pletcher has earned himself the seven slot in Nomad’s latest official Hodge rankings. One of those majors came against Chad Red at CKLV.

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Rader’s pick: Pletcher by decision - Neb. 6 OSU 3

Bray’s pick: Pletcher by major - OSU 7 Neb. 3 

149: #2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs #15 Collin Purinton (Nebraska)

Sammy Sasso is on fire right now. After losing to Brayton Lee 6-4 at CKLV, he’s rattled off nine-straight victories including a win over then-#1 Pat Lugo in Carver. With how stingy and good defensively Sasso is, even a solid fifth-year senior like Collin Purinton will have a lot of trouble taking him down.

Rader’s pick: Sasso by decision - Neb. 6 OSU 6

Bray’s pick: Sasso by decision - OSU 10 Neb. 3

157: Elijah Cleary (Ohio State) vs Peyton Robb (Nebraska)

Along with 125, this is the only other match that doesn’t feature two ranked wrestlers. Similar to 125, however, this is still about as solid as a match gets without a ranked wrestler. Cleary will be coming into this match with a 13-9 record. Robb will have a 13-4 record, with those four losses coming by a combined just six points.

Rader’s pick: Robb by decision - Neb. 9 OSU 6

Bray’s pick: Robb by decision - OSU 10 Neb. 6

165: #13 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs #4 Isaiah White (Nebraska)

It came down to tiebreakers when these two wrestled at CKLV, with White winning 4-1.

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These two are clearly close. Will Smith be able to reverse the result this time around?

Rader’s pick: White by decision - Neb. 12 OSU 6

Bray’s pick: White by decision - OSU 10 Neb. 9

174: #7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) vs #6 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 

Just like 165, this one went down at CKLV. And just like 165, it was close. And just like 165, the Nebraska wrestler won.

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This rivalry actually goes back to high school when Romero and Labriola squared off at the 2017 Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.

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Rader’s pick: Labriola by decision - Neb. 15 OSU 6

Bray’s pick: Labriola by decision - Neb. 12 OSU 10

184: #24 Rocky Jordan (Ohio State) vs #9 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)

At 24-6, Rocky Jordan is having a solid freshman year, but he’s up against a challenge in 2018 All-American Taylor Venz. Venz is coming off of a weird loss to Cam Caffey where he gave up nine points in the third period, however. Nomad hypothesized it could be due to the weight cut on Thursday’s FRL. 

Rader’s pick: Venz by decision - Neb. 18 OSU 6

Bray’s pick: Venz by decision - Neb. 15 OSU 10

197: #1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs #10 Eric Schultz (Nebraska)

You know how I mentioned Luke Pletcher was #7 on Nomad’s latest official Hodge rankings? Well, Kollin Moore is #6. He’s 19-0 with two pins, six techs, and seven majors against D1 competition. He’s also 4-0 all-time against Schultz.

• 3-2 at 2017 CKLV

• 10-4 at 2018 Big Tens

• 8-3 at 2018 CKLV

• 7-5 in SV1 at 2019 dual

So, Schultz is a two-time national qualifier, quite good, and even made it very close a year ago, but it’s going to take some Bob Devaney magic to win this one.

Rader’s pick: Moore by decision - Neb. 18 OSU 9

Bray’s pick: Moore by major - Neb. 15 OSU 13

285: #23 Gary Traub (Ohio State) vs #17 Christian Lance (Nebraska)

This one is a bit of a toss-up. Both guys are solid athletic heavyweights who have hit a bit of a tough skid the past few weeks against good competition. Lance is 0-3 in his last three, but it was against #16 Nevills, #3 Cassioppi, and #5 Hilger. Can the Gas Tank do it?

Rader’s pick: Lance by decision - Neb. 21 OSU 9

Bray’s pick: Traub by decision - OSU 16 Neb. 15