Wrestlers clean slate going into tourney

On Jan. 3, while most people were still nursing headaches from New Year's Eve, the Nittany Lions mosied on over to wrestling's Valhalla -- Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena -- and shocked the statuesque Hawkeyes 25-17.

Then on Feb. 6, Penn State stayed in State College to extend a not-so-nice welcome to an ammo-strapped guest from the Twin Cities. The Lions flattened favored Minnesota 21-13 at The Bryce Jordan Center, leaving the Golden Gophers in the precarious company of irate coach J Robinson on the way home.

Now it's time to stop living in the past. The dual-meet season is over, and the next time the Lions take the mat will be at the Big Ten Championships at the center on March 7-8.

Think about it. The Big Ten. As in the best wrestling conference in the country (argue that and you deserve to be shot several times). As in three of the top five teams in the nation, including Iowa and Minnesota. As in rematch with those same revered opponents.

Good God.

Clint Musser's sentiments exactly.

Musser, Penn State's junior dynamo at 150 pounds, said Iowa and Minnesota wrestlers should be steamed about losing to the Lions. He said he would be.

"Minnesota and Iowa, both those teams' goals are to be Big Ten champions," Musser said. "In both matches we beat them, we were underdogs. Anytime you lose to a team you're expected to beat, it makes it that much more important the next time you wrestle them."

Penn State coach John Fritz is no newcomer to the trials and tribulations of Big Tens. Since day one of this season, Fritz has kept his excitement in check.

"The Big Ten Tournament is so loaded," Fritz said after the Lions won 27-10 at Lock Haven in the regular season finale. "If you look at it, we could be anywhere from a long-shot first to sixth. That's what it's all about."

Sixth place. What a kidder, that Fritz. Still, third place might the punchline to a real cruel joke if Iowa and Minnesota get their way.

Especially Iowa.

"The way I look at it, it's time to take that streak away from them," Musser said. "What is it, like 23, 24 straight? That's ridiculous. One of the reasons I came to Penn State was I knew I'd be wrestling in the Big Ten and I knew I'd be wrestling Iowa. It's at our place this year, so it's a perfect time for us take it away from them."

For those statisticians in the crowd, you could play the alternating-win game to determine the outcome of this year's Big Tens.

Penn State beat Iowa, true, but the Hawkeyes returned the favor with a 23-9 thumping two weeks later at the National Duals. Theoretically, the Big Tens would be the Lions' turn to maintain the win rotation.

On the other hand, Penn State had no rematch with Minnesota -- it was a once-and-done thing. So even if the Lions manage to beat Iowa at Big Tens, Minnesota would have the right of way when it wrestled the host.

Oh, who cares. The alternating-win game is far from a certainty.

The only thing that's certain about the Big Ten Championships is this: After being the victims of a double-leg takedown earlier in the season, both Iowa and Minnesota are going to be hungry for a reversal come March.