Huskers Ready For Penn State On Big Stage

Hosting a college blueblood program on a Friday night with a national television audience should provide plenty of emotion and incentive for the Nebraska wrestling team.
 
But why not add a little more flare?
 
Wrestlers and fans alike – and probably some television viewers, too – will sense and appreciate a bigtime environment with a centered mat on an elevated stage underneath a spotlight, complete with mat-side seating.
 
That will be the scene Friday when No. 7 Nebraska hosts No. 2 Penn State for a 6 p.m. dual at the Devaney Sports Center.
 
While the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships are "pretty big environments," said Taylor Venz, the 184-pound Nebraska junior is eager for this new experience.
 
"I'm super excited to see what that feels like," Venz said. "I think it will be the most fun I have in Devaney thus far in my career. Wrestling a good team like Penn State, and then with the stage set-up and all the lights and stuff like that – we've never done anything like that, so I'm really excited for that."
 
The special set-up coincides with Nebraska's annual Pepsi Pack The House promotion, featuring $1 admission and $1 Pepsi products.
 
"I know our guys will be pumped about competing in a really neat environment," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said, noting a large, vocal crowd could greatly benefit his young, growing team.
 
"They feel, 'Hey, I wanna do something great for my university. I want to do something great for my program, and I want people to have that same mind set, that same commitment, that same energy that I bring to the mat.' I think our guys really feed off that. It can make a huge difference."
 
Nebraska (5-2, 0-2 Big Ten) features a lineup with three freshmen and a sophomore among the 10 weight classes.
 
"We have a few young guys on the team, but those guys are really mature and have grown throughout the season," Venz said. "I've been impressed with the young guys on the team – Alex Thomsen, Peyton Robb and Ridge Lovett, they've really shown a lot of maturity and ability to wrestle with a Division I schedule."
 
Manning has been equally impressed, and said he likes his team's chemistry. The group has improved against a difficult schedule, and he only expects more improvement over the next six weeks leading into the Big Ten Championships.
 
"Our guys, we're looking forward to the challenge, but we've already had a tough schedule. This is just another one," Manning said.
 
"When you're a freshman and you're in a lineup in the Big Ten, there's no easy matches. Usually you're wrestling in (high school), you're probably the big fish in the state. Now you're a small fish in 50 states. It's a big adjustment. You're not used to losing, so how do you come back? How do you respond?
 
"I think we're past that now, and our guys are focused on getting better every week. It's really encouraging to see how our guys are getting better. They've been knocked down and needed to pick themselves up."
 
Nebraska's highlight of the season to this point was winning the Cliff Keen Invitation, an annual tournament in Las Vegas featuring 32 teams and high-level competition. The Huskers also won this tournament in 2008 and 2003, and went on to Top Five finishes at the NCAA Championships each season.
 
"Las Vegas was very difficult because they had a lot of ranked guys in every class," Manning said. "Close to 15 of the top 20 teams in the country were there. It was high-level competition, so we learned a lot. And we won that tournament without our best performance. We're still developing."
 
That victory provided an overall confidence boost, too.
 
"That was a really cool tournament to win and hold the trophy as a team," Venz said. "I think it showed us, 'Hey, we're one of the best teams in the country. We can really do this. We can make a run for it this year."


 
Venz, 11-5 overall this season, leads Nebraska in pins (five) and shares the team lead in technical falls (five).
 
A freshman All-American after finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2018, Venz fell in the consolation round of 12 as a sophomore. This season, he's heeding coaches' advice in approaching each match at a time, while keeping faith his sacrifices and determination will pay off in March.
 
"Just like any other year in the sport of wrestling, there's new challenges that I'm faced with,' Venz said. "I always try to be prepared for them ahead of time, but when it comes down to it, there's always going to be twists and turns that I don't expect. I think I have faced a lot of difficulty already this year, but my coaches have been there to help me through it.
 
"Everything I've been through in past years has helped me slowly build on my character and my skills as a competitor. I have faith in the end, I'll be able to work my way to the top of the podium and my hard work is going to pay off."
 
Junior Eric Schultz (197 pounds) has a 7-0 dual record and leads Nebraska with 31 dual points and 53 takedowns. Also among the upperclassmen, junior Chad Red Jr. (141 pounds) has impressed Manning with his maturation process as a competitor.
 
"He's been a two-time All-American for us and he doesn't want to just be an All-American. He wants to be a national champion," Manning said. "That's next-level thinking and next-level commitment. He's doing a great job with his weight control and trains hard.
 
"It's inspiring to see his maturity level and that next-level thinking you have to have to be Big Ten champion and a national champion. That's elite company."
 
Speaking of elite company, Penn State (6-1, 3-0) has won eight of the last nine NCAA Championships, and the Nittany Lions have overcome a couple of significant season-ending injuries this season. Fertile recruiting territory – some 800 high schools in Pennsylvania have wrestling programs – has helped Penn State maintain its success.
 
Nebraska trails the all-time series, 9-8-1, although the Huskers have yet to defeat Penn State in five tries since joining the Big Ten. Perhaps the backdrop and fan participation Friday night will help the Huskers reverse that trend.
 
"I really think it just makes winning more fun," Venz said. "I don't think it makes it any easier or anything, but it makes it more enjoyable when you're out there and the fans are packed on top of you, rooting for you.
 
"The fans are always an awesome part of each dual we have. With the big set-up and the promotion being bigger this time, I think it will be a whole other level of energy coming from Cornhusker fans."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.