Huskers Prepare for Toughest Road Trip of Season

The third-ranked Nebraska (17-1) wrestling team will take to the road for the second consecutive week as it travels to seventh-ranked Iowa State on Feb. 5 in Ames, Iowa before facing top-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma State on Feb. 7 in Stillwater, Okla. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. The match against the Cyclones can be seen on a tape delay basis at 9 p.m. on NETV, while the dual against the Cowboys can be seen live on HuskersNside.

Scouting the Opponent
Iowa State (13-4) enters the match with the Cornhuskers after splitting last weekend’s duals defeating ninth-ranked Oklahoma (19-16) on Friday, Jan. 29 and dropping a 27-6 decision to top-ranked Oklahoma State on Jan. 30.

The Cyclones are led by a duo of outstanding grapplers in top-ranked and two-time All-American, senior Zach Roberson (133) and fourth-ranked 141-pounder Nate Gallick. Roberson enters the match against the Huskers with a 22-2 record. On the season, he has recorded two falls and two technical falls. Gallick is coming off of an impressive weekend in which he defeated defending national champion and previously undefeated Teyon Ware of Oklahoma and junior Ronnie Delk. Gallick enters with a 16-4 record.

The other ranked Cyclones wrestlers are redshirt freshmen Trent Paulson (4th, 149 pounds), Travis Paulson (15th, 157 pounds), Kurt Backes (10th, 197 pounds) and junior Nick Passolano (8th, 165 pounds).

The Cyclones are coached by Bobby Douglas, who is in his 12th year at Iowa State. Douglas owns a 167-65-3 record during his tenure at Iowa State and a career mark of 396-158-9 in 31 years of coaching.

Top-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma State enters the match against the Huskers victorious in 31 of its last 32 matches. Last weekend, Oklahoma State recorded two victories over 20th-ranked Northern Iowa (31-7) on Jan. 30 and seventh-ranked Iowa State (27-6) on Jan. 30.

Nine Cowboy wrestlers are currently ranked in the W.I.N. Magazine rankings, headlined by three wrestlers that are ranked second in their respective weight classes. Zack Esposito (149) enters the match against the Huskers with a 24-1 record and has won 16 straight matches since a loss to Matt McIntire of Indiana. Senior Tyrone Lewis is second at 165 pounds and has won 24 straight matches, includes 15 wins that have gone for bonus points. Chris Pendleton is ranked first at 174 pounds. Pendleton leads the team in takedowns with 38.

The other ranked Cowboys are two-time national champion Johnny Thompson (5th, 133 pounds), Ronnie Delk (18th, 141 pounds), Johnny Hendricks (6th, 157 pounds), Jake Rosholt (3rd, 184 pounds), and Willie Gruenwald (13th, heavyweight).

Oklahoma State is coached by John Smith who is in his 12th season. He has a career record of 206-24-3 and has coached the Cowboys to two national championships.

The Series vs. Iowa State/ Oklahoma State
The Cyclones lead the all-time series with the Huskers 70-12, though since 1993 the Huskers have a 7-5 lead. Last season, NU broke a three-match losing streak to the Cyclones, winning 20-17 in Lincoln.

The series with the Cowboys hasn’t been favorable to Huskers as Oklahoma State has won 42 of 46 matches, tying once in 1996. The Cowboys enter the match winning the last 10 duals. The Huskers' wins over the Cowboys have come in 1922 , 1993 and as mentioned 1995.

Marquee Match Up
This weekend's duals will feature some of the nations top wrestlers face off against each other. At 133 pound redshirt freshman Matt Keller will face his toughest competition yet as he will square off against two-time defending national champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State and fourth-ranked Zack Roberson of Iowa State.

Junior Travis Shufelt will face off against two of the 149-pound weight class's best ,as he will take on sixth-ranked Trent Paulson of Iowa State and second-ranked Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State. Third-ranked Travis Pascoe will face his toughest opponent this season as he will take on third-ranked Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State and 1th-ranked Kurt Backes of Iowa State.

Other NU wrestlers that will face two ranked wrestlers his week are Nathan McClain, who will face 20th-ranked Scott Coleman and 13th-ranked Willie Gruenwald, while Jacob Klein faced second-ranked Tyrone Lewis of Oklahoma State and eighth-ranked Nick Passolano of Iowa State. Junior B.J. Wright will face off against sixth-ranked Johnny Hendricks and 13th-ranked Travis Paulson.

Wins this weekend for NU this weekend would mean.
*- Snap a 10-match losing streak against Oklahoma State and mark Nebraska's the first win against OSU since a 21-13 victory in 1995.
*- The first victory over a No. 1 ranked team since a 24-20 victory over Iowa in 1993.
*- First time NU has posted back-to-back victories over Iowa State since the 1996-97 seasons.
*- Be the first time NU has won at Iowa State since a 21-17 win in 1996
*- Give NU its most wins during Mark Manning’s tenure
*- Be Nebraska's most road victories NU has posted during Mark Manning’s tenure
*- The most victories over ranked opponents since recording nine in 1998-99 .

The Last Time We Met
Against the Cowboys, Oklahoma State won eight of 10 matches to defeat the Huskers, 34-6 in Stillwater on Feb. 8. Jason Powell scored a 4-2 victory over Skyler Holman, while Justin Ruiz defeated Muhammed Lawal, 5-3.

Against the Cyclones, Travis Shufelt led NU as the Huskers snapped a 10-match conference losing streak. Shufelt’s pin over Nate Gallick 56 seconds into the period gave NU a 20-14 before taking the match 20-17 on Feb. 14.

Last Time Out
The Huskers won seven of 10 matches to record thier ninth straight victory Jan. 30 in Tempe, Ariz. over Arizona State, 26-9.
Junior Travis Shufelt led the Huskers as he rebounded from his first loss of the season and defeated 12th-ranked Patrick Williams, 8-3.

Powell Near Century Mark
With a victory over Iowa State on Thursday, top-ranked Jason Powell will become the 15th wrestler in school history to record 100 career victories. Powell enters this week's matches with a career record of 99-23.

Klein Earns Honors
The Big 12 Conference selected Jacob Klein of Nebraska as its wrestler of the week for the week of Jan. 18-25, the league announced Tuesday.  Klein, only a sophomore, is received the honor for the second time in his career. Last season Klein earned the award on Feb. 24 after recording two victories against Air Force and Hofstra.

The Valley Center, Kan., native helped the No. 3 Huskers overcome a seven-point deficit in their conference opener against Missouri with his victory at 165-pound slot. Klein defeated All-American and 2003 Big 12 Champion Tyron Woodley 3-2 to lead NU to a 23-13 victory over fourth-ranked MU on Jan. 24. It was Klein’s first win over a ranked opponent this season as Woodley entered the match ranked ninth. Klein was also selected as the College Sports Television national wrestler of the week.

Pascoe Still Perfect
With a 22-9 decision over Jason Trulson of Arizona State, junior Travis Pascoe extended his record to 23-0 on the season.
As a team, the Huskers are currently on a nine-match win streak.

Manning Records Career Coaching Victory No. 75
With a 26-9 victory over Arizona State on Jan. 30, Mark Manning recorded his 75th career coaching victory. In his seventh season as a head coach Manning has produced a record of 75-47-2. At his previous stop, Manning owned a record of 23-24-2, while at Nebraska he owns a mark of 52-23-0 and recorded his 50th coaching win against Wyoming on Jan. 17.

Huskers Rolling Up the Points
After recording 30 or more points on Jan. 16-17 against both Air Force and Wyoming, the Huskers have now scored 30 or more points in 14 of their last 18 duals.

Huskers Just Dominating
u In fact, Nebraska averages better than 30 points in duals this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 34.3-6.8 in duals (619-123 total points).
u Fourteen of Nebraska’s 18 dual victories this season have been by 20 points or more, with six victories by 40 or more points.
u While Nebraska’s closet call this among its 17 dual victories was 10-point win over No. 4 Missouri Nebraska’s only blemish this season was a one-point loss against ninth-ranked Minnesota, when top-ranked 125 pounder Jason Powell was out of action with the flu.

Huskers Reach 17 Dual Wins
With the victory over Arizona State on Jan. 30, the Huskers raised its season win total to 17.
u The 17 wins are the most in Mark Manning’s four seasons at Nebraska. This season also marks the 12th time since 1990-91 that NU has recorded double-digit wins.
u This marks the third time in four seasons that NU has reached the 10-win plateau under Manning.
u This season marks the 13th time in school history Nebraska has reached 15 or more wins.
With four duals remaining, the Huskers are four wins short of tying the school record for season dual victories of 21, set in 1989-90.

Who’s Hot Among Husker Wrestlers
Matt Keller, RFr., 133, McDonald, Tenn. q First year starter, Matt Keller has won 11 of his last 12 matches, including six that earned the Huskers bonus points. Keller is tied for the team lead in wins with 23 and is 6-1 against ranked opponents this season.

Travis Shufelt, Jr., 149, Oconto, Wis. q The Oconto, Wisc. native has been dominate this season with his only loss to Jeremy Spates of Missouri. Shufelt has compiled a 23-1 record, including 16-1 in dual matches. He is tied for first on the team in falls with sophomore B.J. Padden, tied for second on the team in technical falls (three), dual takedowns (57) and dual points (75). Of Shufelt’s 23 wins, 16 have earned the Huskers bonus points. Of his last 11 matches, nine have earned bonus points. Shufelt earned a first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6.

Travis Pascoe, Jr., 184, Rathdrum, Idaho q Pascoe is 23-0, which includes a first-place showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6. The team leader in takedowns with 72, Pascoe has only been taken to the mat four times. Fourteen of Pascoe’s last 17 wins have earned the Huskers bonus points. Pascoe also leads the Huskers in technical falls with five.

Nathan McClain, Sr., HWT, Flora Vista, N.M. q McClain has a 19-4 record, while taking over for an injured Mitch Manstedt. McClain leads the team in major decisions with nine and is third on the team in takedowns with50. At the Cliff Keen Invitational, McClain earned a seventh-place finish. McClain has matched his win total from all of last season. He is currently ranked ninth according to W.I.N. Magazine.

Huskers Strong at Home
With its 23-13 defeat over No. 4 Missouri on Jan. 24, NU recorded its 13th victory in its last 16 home matches. The Huskers have won 12 straight at home, last losing to Minnesota in 2003. During that 12-match stretch, NU has defeated five ranked opponents. The average margin of victory during this stretch is 24 points. The 12-match home win streak is the second-longest in school history, two short of the mark that was set in 1989-90.

Up Next
Following this weekend's matches, the Huskers will return home to take on the University of North Carolina on Feb. 14 at the NU Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.