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Penn State Wrestling: 5 keys to winning the National Championship

By Chris Snyder

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 23: Members and staff of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team pose for a team photo after winning the team title of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 23: Members and staff of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team pose for a team photo after winning the team title of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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Mark Hall of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
Mark Hall of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Key No. 5

I think we all know what the last key is, right? Yep. Penn State is going to need Iowa to stumble and not take home a plane full of 1st place trophies.

As I noted in my previous B1G Power Rankings, Iowa currently has 8 wrestlers ranked in the top 5 of their respective weight classes, 4 of which are ranked No. 1.

I’m going to go ahead and award Spencer Lee 125 and Alex Marinelli 165 the titles in their respective weight classes. But, maybe some of their other top wrestlers will suffer a set back here and there. I’m looking at you Austin DeSanto and Jacob Warner.

Unfortunately Penn State will need this to happen to win the 2021 NCAA team championship.

Honorable Mention Key

A freak snowstorm hits on March 15th and dumps four feet of snow on Iowa City. Every single resident is fine but the Iowa wrestling team is snowed in and can’t get to the NCAA tournament on March 18th.

This is an honorable mention simply because Penn State wants to wrestle the best so they can be the best. We want Iowa there.

So there you have it. I’ve laid out the plan for Penn State Wrestling to take home the 2021 NCAA team title now all they have to do is execute it. Either way it should be a fun couple of weeks of wrestling ahead of us!

Next. Penn State's top breakout candidates during Wrestling's stretch run. dark

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