Mark Smith may have been the biggest favorite to fall.

The No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 174 pounds from Oklahoma State lost a stunning 3-2 defeat at the hands of North Carolina State's Kevin Boross, an unranked opponent who was unbelieving of his accomplishment until he heard the applause from The Bryce Jordan Center crowd -- minus the Cowboys' fans.

Then he knew.

After his hand was dropped by the referee, he clenched both fists in the air, as the Hawkeyes' fans basked in the Boross victory. Then, he rushed immediately to his parents, seated in the center stands.

"That's how you make a name for yourself -- you beat somebody good," the Wolfpack sophomore said. "But I am not an All-American yet. I just have to take it one match at a time."

Boross had difficulty putting the match into perspective, especially the feeling after the victory.

Smith, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

The formerly undefeated Big 12 champion squatted on mat No. 1, his mouth opened as wide as a barn door. He pleaded his case with the referee, arguing he should have earned a point because he had ridden Borross for more than one minute.

It was to no avail.

Smith walked off the mat, and into the gloomy hallway of the center -- his black, frizzy hair still ruffled from the defeat.

Also ruffled were his spirits. With his head down, he paced back and forth in disbelief. Speechless. Faceless.

He was not the only one.

No. 4 Golden Gopher Troy Marr suffered a 6-5 defeat in the first round at the hands of Mike Mendoza, an unranked wrestler from California State-Bakersfield in the 149-pound bracket.

At 174, Michigan State's Will Hill, also unranked, knocked off sixth-seed David Wells, 7-6.

The No. 8 seed, though, proved to have an unexpected jinx. Four of the eight seeds were upset -- North Carolina's John Mark Bentley (149), Rider's Chad Liott (165), Navy's Greg Gingeleskie (184) and Nebraska's J.R. Plienis (heavyweight).

In reflection, Iowa coach Jim Zalesky was dazzled by the day's surprise finishes.

"I don't think I have ever seen anything like this the first day (of the championships)," he said. "There are only four guys in the tournament that are just dominating."

But no one is dominating the team race. Prior to the second round of consolation matches late last evening, No. 2 Oklahoma State held a slim 29.5-27 lead over No. 3 Iowa. No. 1 Minnesota (26 points) is in third, followed by No. 7 Oklahoma (24.5), No. 4 Iowa State (23.5) and No. 5 Central Michigan (21). No. 6 Penn State is in ninth, with 17.5 points.

The Cowboys now find themselves with three grapplers in the hunt for the national title, just behind five from Minnesota. Rounding out the Big Three, Zalesky is left with four wrestlers in the mix for individual titles. A strong candidate to pull of an upset are now the Cyclones of Iowa State, who also have five undefeated wrestlers.

Although Gophers coach J. Robinson's squad is tied for the number of undefeated wrestlers in individuals, the upsets have taken their toll on the long-time coach. Before he addressed the media, he clutched his hands to his reddening face, rubbing the wrinkles and bags into his eyes, causing them to tear.

Earlier, on the streets of State College, during the evening of St. Patrick's Day he was calm, cool and collected. With a paper plate in his left hand and a slice of Highway Pizza in his right, he strolled, confident and relaxed. But now, exhausted from the day's ordeals, he was worn as thin as sewing thread because of the upsets, even though his team now is in a favorable position to take hold of the team title.

"Is the door opened? It can close real quick," Robinson said. "Who knows? That's the national tournament.

"When you are in the Big Three or the Big Four or whatever it is, everybody's gunning for you," he continued. "It's great for the fans, but it's terrible for the coaches."

The Nittany Lions pulled off their share off upsets as well.

Namely, Ross Thatcher.

Thatcher, the only one of the nine NCAA qualifiers beside Penn State's Big Three -- Jeremy Hunter (125), Clint Musser (157) and Glenn Pritzlaff (174) -- to still be in the hunt for the national title, pulled off an upset of his own.

The 184-pound wrestler defeated Arizona State's Casey Strand, No. 4-seed in Thatcher's bracket, in the second round, helping keep Penn State's chances in the team race alive and giving him more confidence heading into the final two days of competition.

"If I can beat Strand," Thatcher said. "I can beat anyone in the country."

But when the upset potential arose for two of Thatcher's teammates, they fell just short.

And Lions heavyweight Mark Janus upended Boston College's Antonio Garay, ending his 19-0 perfect record, but fell 10-1 in the second round to the fourth-seeded Mat Orndorff from Oregon State.

In his first round of competition, Lions' 197-pounder Brett Calabretta was taken down with nine seconds in overtime by No. 9-seed Raphael Davis to lose 3-1 in a heartbreaker.

Also, Alex Leykikh fell 7-5 in overtime at the hands of No. 4-seed Josh Holiday from Minnesota.