With the Big Ten getting underway with a compressed dual-meet season this weekend, Ohio State will host a much-different wrestle-off event to finalize its starting lineup. The Buckeyes will face off in a fanless Covelli Center, contesting nearly every weight as graduated stars Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher leave spots for up-and-coming blue chippers.

“Our guys will get challenged," Ryan said of the truncated season. "We're going to have nine matches in 33 days. It's condensed. Some of the other teams will have an extra week because we're not going that first weekend , but we're just happy we're wrestling."

Fifteen matches are scheduled Saturday at nine weights; only 165 pounds will go uncontested, with phenom Carson Kharchla expected to be a strong addition to the starting lineup. Kharchla made quite an impression last month at the RTC Cup, going 4-0 against senior-level freestyle talent. Khrachla also had an outstanding redshirt campaign last season which helped him earn a Top 15 of the Flo rankings at 165 to start the NCAA season.

The Buckeyes tweeted our the match order, which you can check out below.

Take a look at the bout order for tomorrow's wrestle-offs:#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/CFXxQYCdyj

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 8, 2021

Of the matches on Saturday’s card, fans will be especially focused on the battles at 141, 197 and heavyweight.

At 141, the team will run a round robin featuring freshman phenom Anthony Echemendia, four-time Ohio high school champ Dylan D'Emilio, and fellow Ohio high school champ J.D. Stickley of Graham high school fame. The Echemendia hype is real, but D'Emilio may be one of the most underrated guys in the room, and has pushed the Cuban standout in training throughout the COVID-altered offseason. This should be a good series of matches regardless of who comes out on top.

Upperclassman Ethan Smith was expected to move up a spot to 174 to challenge returning starter Kaleb Romero. Romero was a first-team All American last season and the No. 6 seed in the aborted NCAA Wrestling Championships. Romero is currently ranked No. 4 in the class; Smith would have presented a challenge, and the two have been training partners for quite a while. Ohio State noted that other matches not on the card will be wrestled at a later date, so there is a likelihood that 174 will be revisited at some point down the line.

Heading into the big men battles, 197 presents a mini-bracket with Tyler Stein and Gavin Hoffman scrapping for a shot at Chase Singletary. Singletary has dropped down, as expected, to his more natural weight. He presents a unique problem for opponents given his length, and he looks like a totally different wrestler at ’97 than he did as a lighter heavyweight.

Hoffman attempted to cut to 184 last season, but the cut was simply too much. After yielding the spot to Rocky Jordan, the former highly-touted recruit wrestled heavyweight and went 16-3, winning a number of open tournaments along the way. Stein was a back-to-back Ohio high school champ prior to joining the Buckeye wrestling program.

Heavyweight presents what could be a passing of the torch, as offseason transfer and two-time NCAA qualifier Tate Orndorff, last season's NCAA No. 8 seed, will challenge fan favorite Gas Tank Gary Traub. Traub’s story is well-known and he is generally beloved in Columbus, but Orndorff is a proven commodity with considerable upside potential, too.

Ohio State will kick off the preliminary bouts at 11 a.m. EST, with final matches at 12:30 p.m. Bouts will stream live via the team’s Facebook page.