The No. 1 team in the country and defending national champions, Penn State opened the season in style on Thursday night, dominating Bloomsburg 42-3 with eight bonus-point wins at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions won 10 of the evening’s nine bouts, including Masanosuke Ono’s collegiate debut, winning a 20-9 decision.
Ono is wrestling at 133 for Penn State. The 2024 senior world champion from Japan has made the transition from freestyle to the NCAA’s folkstyle and will be one of the national contenders in the weight class. His debut coincided with a move from Marcus Blaze up to 141, but Hayden Cunningham got the start in the lineup for Penn State at 141 against Bloomsburg.
Cunningham dropped Penn State’s only bout of the night, an 8-1 decision against Bloomsburg’s Scott Johnson. Blaze will likely be in the lineup for the Nittany Lions against Oklahoma, the only ranked opponent on Penn State’s non-conference dual schedule.
The Sooners are coming off a 41-4 win over Northern Colorado last Sunday. Roger Kish’s squad also has a 46-0 victory over Northeastern State in Norman. Now, the No. 1 team in the country is rolling into Norman on Sunday night.
Sunday has suddenly become a very busy day for Oklahoma as an FAA ground stop on Friday afternoon pushed back the Oklahoma/Ole Miss football game in Norman to Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
How to watch Penn State vs. Oklahoma
- Date: Sunday, November 15
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Rec Hall
- How to Watch (streaming): ESPN+
- How to listen: Penn State Sports Network
- Penn State record: 1-0
- Oklahoma record: 2-0
Penn State wrestling projected lineup:
- 125: Luke Lilledahl
- 133: Masanosuke Ono
- 141: Marcus Blaze
- 149: Shayne Van Ness
- 157: Tyler Kasak
- 165: PJ Duke
- 174: Mitchell Mesenbrink
- 184: Rocco Welsh
- 197: Josh Barr
- Heavyweight: Connor Mirasola
Cunningham was in the lineup over Blaze at 141, but Blaze is the No. 3 wrestler in the country at 141 by InterMat’s rankings. He will "possibly" take the mat against the Sooners, as Cael Sanderson said this week, and there aren’t expected to be any other changes in the lineup from Thursday’s season opener against Bloomsburg. Blaze is coming off winning a bronze medal at the Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan.
Luke Lilledahl, PJ Duke, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Rocco Welsh, and Josh Barr are all coming off technical fall victories.
Oklahoma projected lineup
- 125: Sebastian Degennaro
- 133: Isaiah Powe
- 141: Tyler Wells
- 149: Jack Gioffre
- 157: Rafael Hipolito Jr.
- 165: Owen Eck
- 174: Ty Eise
- 184: Mason Ontiveros
- 197: Jersey Robb
- Heavyweight: Bradley Hill
Key matchups to watch between Penn State and Oklahoma:
141: No. 3 Marcus Blaze (or Hayden Cunningham) vs. No. 11 Tyler Wells
Penn State’s lone dropped bout against Bloomsburg was at 141 as Hayden Cunningham was in the lineup over Marcus Blaze, who finished as last year’s Big Ten runner-up at 133. Facing Oklahoma in his collegiate debut last year, Blaze teched Tyson Charmoli. Now up at 141, assuming he is in the lineup, Blaze will face Tyler Wells, a senior who posted a 19-11 record for the Sooners as their starter at 141 pounds and reached as high as No. 18 in the InterMat rankings.
149: No. 4 Shayne Van Ness vs. No. 14 Jack Gioffre
Van Ness fell in the national title match last year. His redemption arc began with a first-period pin against Bloomsburg. His second opponent of the season, Gioffre, didn’t compete last year as he medically redshirted, but at Virginia in 2024-25, he qualified for the NCAA Championships at 149 and finished the year with an 11-8 record and four ranked wins.
Penn State vs. Oklahoma series history:
- All-time meetings: 27
- Last meeting: November 15, 2025 - 45-0 PSU W
- Penn State record vs. Oklahoma: 15-11-1
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