If the Penn State wrestling team's season resembles a roller coaster ride, as it has so many times been compared to this season, than this weekend's matches were one gigantic dip.

At Wisconsin Friday night, the Nittany Lions were up 18-16 going into the final match between captain Jeff Knupp, ranked No. 15 in the country at 184-pounds, and unranked Badger Ralph Denisco. They were tied 2-2 going into the third period, and Knupp had the choice of starting position.

Instead of taking down, which would have forced Denisco to hold him for two minutes without giving up a point, he took neutral, and was unable to score in the third. Denisco won the bout and the meet for the Badgers, gaining a point for his 1:02 riding time advantage.

"I really don't know what happened to him (Knupp)," coach Troy Sunderland said on a radio interview. "I thought after that loss at Pitt earlier in the year, he would come out and take control, and he hasn't. This was a tough way to lose."

Things would not get any better Sunday when the Nittany Lions met up with No. 1 Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Lions got just one win on the day and fell 33-3 to the Golden Gophers. The two losses dropped the No. 22 ranked Lions to 7-11 on the season and 1-5 in the Big Ten.

Redshirt junior Pete Mielnik got Penn State's only win at 197-pounds, defeating Golden Gopher backup Eli Ross 10-3. Ross was wrestling in place of No. 7 ranked Owen Elzen, whom Minnesota coach J. Robinson chose to rest.

"They just had a better team than we had today," Sunderland said. "I was still disappointed with the fight we showed. There's no excuse for that lack of intensity. We just have to have a lot more fight in us."

The Lions got a couple of breaks and had some bright spots in the Wisconsin match. After a victory by Mielnik to open the match, heavyweight Bob Jones came through with the highlight of the Lions weekend. He went into the third period against Justin Staebler, ranked No. 20 in the country down 4-3. He started the third period in the down position and tied things up with an escape. After a long scoreless period, Jones came through with the match winning takedown with 18 seconds to go in the final period.

No. 15 ranked Badger Tony Black erased the 6-0 lead the Lions had built with a pin of redshirt freshman Josh Moore at 125-pounds and the Lions lost the next three matches. Fate turned in their favor, however, at 149-pounds when Badger Corey McNellis injured his knee and conceded sophomore Brent Narkiewicz a six-point victory by injury default, tying the meet at 12.

The Lions were down one when redshirt sophomore Mark Becks defeated Badger freshman Ray Lewis 5-1 to set the stage for the final bout between Knupp and Denisco.

Things were never close at Minnesota. The Gophers opened up a 26-0 lead before Mielnik's victory that included three technical falls, two major decisions and just one win by less than eight points.

The Lions did get some encouragement from the match, once again from Bob Jones. Jones was down just 4-3 with 30 seconds left in the third to No. 2 ranked heavyweight Garret Lowney, a bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in the Sydney Olympics. Lowney won the match with a late takedown, but it was certainly the most hotly contested bout on the day.

Sunderland said that a lot would have to be done in practice to prepare his team for the approaching Big Ten tournament.

"When we see those mistakes coming out in practice that have been coming out on the mats, we have to get on the guys," he said. "We know it's an uphill battle, but the guys have to keep fighting. They just have to come back and battle."