If this weekend was a test for the No. 15 Penn State wrestling team, it would be hard to say the team passed.

The Nittany Lions (4-4, 0-2 Big Ten) took a tour of Michigan to open up the Big Ten schedule, and were defeated by No. 4 Michigan and Michigan State.

On Friday, the Wolverines showed why they were one of the contenders on the national level, thumping Penn State 31-9. Six of Penn State's points came from a forfeit in the 125-pound match.

The next day, the Lions fell to Michigan State, 19-12.

Penn State made the match a lot more competitive, attaining an early 6-0 lead thanks to wins by No. 6 Eric Bradley at 184 pounds and Joel Edwards at 197 pounds. Following a loss in the heavyweight match and by No. 15 Adam Smith at 125-pounds, Penn State saw itself in a 7-6 hole.

Redshirt freshman Bryan Heller came through for the Lions at 133 pounds to give Penn State a 9-6 lead, but the back-and-forth match was not over.

Sophomore DeWitt Driscoll at 141 pounds (ranked No. 19) took on No. 3 Andy Simmons. Simmons won 5-0 and gave Michigan State a 10-9 lead. The Spartans would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the meet, ultimately winning 19-12.

Though unranked, the Spartans posed a legitimate test, which was shown by the outcome.

"Michigan State was tough in a different kind of way than Michigan," Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. "They match up with our strengths."

There are a lot of positives to take out of the trip, according to Sunderland.

"I thought Bryan Heller had a great weekend," Sunderland said.

Sunderland also saw the emergence of true freshman Jack Decker at 149 pounds.

Although he finished 0-2, Decker fought competitive matches against ranked opponents in his matches.

"He showed a lot of fight," Sunderland said.

"The more experience, the better he's going to be."