Coming into the weekend, the Penn State wrestling team needed to make a statement. And that it did by defeating Indiana and Purdue easily.

The No. 19 Nittany Lions upset the No. 17 Hoosiers 21-12 in Rec Hall Friday night, and fed off that performance to dominate the Boilermakers 32-7 yesterday.

Coach Troy Sunderland was all smiles after a weekend that evened the Lions' Big Ten record at 2-2 and their overall record to 8-7.

Dewitt Driscoll, No. 20 at 141-pounds and James Yonushonis at 174-pounds had pins against Purdue, gathering much-needed momentum.

Driscoll also upset Indiana's Mike Simpson (No. 15) 12-2.

"I'm finally in the zone where I need to be in a match," Driscoll said referring to his escape right into a takedown against Simpson. "And when I wrestle like that, that's what you're going to see."

But perhaps the biggest boost came from junior Eric Bradley (No. 6) at 141-pounds. Bradley, battling through a biceps injury, struggled atypically much of the weekend.

Tied 1-1 going into overtime, the crowd of 1,704 erupted to help give Bradley a shot of adrenaline.

It worked. In the sudden death frame, Bradley notched a takedown early.

"Any time we win eight matches to two, I'm going to be pretty pleased," Sunderland said in reference to the win over Purdue.

Davis has won seven consecutive dual-meet team matches despite having to make adjustments after missing time due to his ankle injury.

"He just has a presence on the mat," Sunderland said.

The injury woes are not confined to Bradley and Davis. They have prompted several changes in the starting lineup, particularly that to Joel Edwards. Edwards was bumped up from 197-pounds when Davis and senior captain Josh Walker (herniated disk) went down to injury.

"With Walker out, there was a huge gap in our lineup," Edwards said. "With Phil and I sharing time, we both need to be in the lineup. As a coaching staff and as a team we think that this is the best move for us right now."

Edwards, who is still undersized in the weight class, has done well in the new role. He avenged the loss to Indiana's Pat DeGain (No. 8) on Friday by earning a major decision over Purdue's Jake O'Brien on Sunday.

"[DeGain] was my biggest test to date at heavyweight because he's one of the top five guys in the country," Edwards said. "I feel good where I'm at, but I still have to get bigger and still get stronger. As of now I'm happy where I am, but there's still room for improvement."

Prior to this weekend, a sub-.500 record for the wrestling program is well below expectations, due mostly to key injuries. But after some success at National Dual Team Championships and now a sweep in the Big Ten this weekend, optimism has taken over.

"We should never have been at .500 in the Big Ten," junior Phil Davis said. "We should always be winning but it's better to be on top."

Bradley echoed those sentiments.

"We can always be a solid team," Bradley said.

"But you look at what we could be and you're like 'Wow, we could be top five if everybody was in there and healthy', " he added.