The Big Ten revealed the 2019-20 Big Ten Wrestling schedule today, which means that Ohio State knows all of its opponents for the upcoming season.
Ohio State, with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class and a brand new facility, looks forward to another chance to try and get over the hump nationally.
The Buckeyes won the wrestling National Championship in 2015, ending a run of four straight Penn State titles. Penn State has also won the four titles since, with the Buckeyes coming in second each of the last three years (Ohio State came in third in 2016).
This year’s schedule will test the Buckeyes and really set up Ohio State for a potential championship run.
Of its nine Big Ten opponents, Ohio State will actually not be facing rival Michigan this year. However, every single Big Ten foe finished in the top 30 of last year’s NCAA Championships, with five of them finishing in the top 10.
Ohio State also has four nonconference dual matches scheduled. Cornell, Virginia Tech, and Arizona State all finished in the top 12 at last year’s NCAA Championships. The fourth opponent, Stanford, finished a disappointing 40th at the NCAAs, but came into the tournament ranked No. 24 in the wrestling Coaches’ Poll.
The schedule ends with a mouth-watering road matchup against Penn State on February 15th. Assuming both schools take care of business until then, they will likely be the top two (or two of the top three) ranked teams in the country when that match rolls around. Last year, Penn State beat Ohio State 28-9 in the dual match, and was the only team to finish ahead of the Buckeyes at both the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships.
