For Penn State senior heavyweight Aaron Anspach, the NCAA wrestling tournament played out exactly as planned -- all except the final match.

Anspach entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and wrestled his way through one opponent after the other, piling up wins during the two days of preliminary matches.

Then, the scene was set for Saturday night -- a rematch in Auburn Hills, Mich., with his Big Ten counterpart, Minnesota's Cole Konrad.

The last match of the night in front of a crowd of thousands and in front of a national television audience -- it was the ultimate setting for a wrestling match, Anspach said.

According to Anspach, teammate Phil Davis talked to him before the match and told him to forget about all the people watching and just take it like a regular bout.

"I was actually more nervous for my quarterfinal match than I was for the final," Anspach said.

Konrad had gotten the best of the Nittany Lion heavyweight the last two times the duo had squared off, but Anspach was determined to not let Konrad get the best of him a third time.

"I was riding pretty high [going into the finals]," Anspach said. "The tournament was going as planned, just as I wanted it to."

But for Anspach, this year was not his year.

The night belonged to the Gophers' big man, who was riding a 75-match winning streak prior to the Anspach bout and who was going for his second NCAA title.

Once again, the Minnesota heavyweight's size was just too much. The 30-pound weight difference was too great for Anspach to overcome.

The match started with both wrestlers trading turns pushing each other off the mat.

Anspach struck first, going in for a shot at Konrad's legs, but the four-time All-American absorbed the shot as the two tumbled off the mat.

"I think I kinda surprised him with that shot." Anspach said. "I think it really caught him off guard."

But if Konrad was caught off guard, he did not show it. Moments later, after the wrestlers had reset in the center of the mat, Konrad lunged forward and caught Anspach in a bodylock, and the two fell to the mat.

Barely a minute and a half into the match and it was obvious that Anspach was in trouble.

Konrad was positioned on top of Anspach, who was on his back with a shoulder already pinned down. Konrad continued putting pressure on Anspach's left shoulder, eventually scoring a pinfall at the 1:53 mark.

"I expected the outcome to be a little different," he said. "It just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. ... He's good, but I felt I deserved to be there."

This is the second time this season that Konrad has played spoiler for Anspach in a championship match. Earlier this month, the two squared off in the finals of the Big Ten tournament where Konrad pinned Anspach at the 2:20 mark to take the Big Ten title.

For Anspach, however, there's still hope for another year and another go at the title. Should the NCAA approve the heavyweight's appeal for another year of eligibility -- Anspach missed two years because of shoulder injuries -- his path to a title would be one that does not include Cole Konrad.

"[Saturday night's] match left a hunger in me," Anspach said. "Obviously, I want to get back to the finals."