UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There's no denying the magnitude of Saturday night's matchup between top-ranked Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State.

Some fans might have to pay $100-plus or even $200-plus on the secondary market just to get into sold-out Rec Hall. Expect the noise to be taken up another notch or two, as well. There will be NCAA champions and All-America honorees galore. Even Olympic champion Kyle Snyder, fresh off the world stage in Russia, will have a lot of eyes on him.

One team's unblemished dual record will be altered, but Cael Sanderson's message this week was pretty simple.

"It's a big match and we'll have another big match next week against Iowa," Sanderson said. "There's gonna be big matches this year, next year, so we'll be ready. This isn't the first big match they've wrestled, and it certainly won't be the last.''

With NCAA champion Jason Nolf recovering from a knee injury that's expected to keep him out for the rest of the dual slate, here's what the Lions were saying about their potential matches and opponents.

As always, Sanderson wouldn't tip his hand on any decisions for any weight class, especially at 125 and 157 where there will be decisions to make by Saturday at 8 p.m. The dual will also be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

"You shouldn't have to motivate your team too much for a match like this," Sanderson said.

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125

Devin Schnupp or Carson Kuhn vs. No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (4-1)

Kuhn, who transferred from Boise State to Penn State last month to finish out his collegiate career, hasn't cracked the lineup yet. There were NCAA transfer hurdles to clear and also a spot in the lineup that Sanderson wouldn't just hand over, especially because he likes how Schnupp has battled when he's been out there.

Sanderson said a couple times this week that Kuhn is "close" to competing, but he was anything but sure who he'll put out there. He's played this one close to the vest all week.

"Maybe you'll see Kuhn there, maybe not," Sanderson said. "Schnupp is gonna fight for us. He's been a little outmatched the last couple matches and it doesn't get any easier here the next couple matches, but the one thing you know with Devin is that he's going to fight hard. We're very proud of his efforts every time."

For Penn State, whoever they put out here will be overmatched. Not giving up a pin here could go a ways in helping the Lions try and climb back after what will likely be an early hole after the first two.

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133

Corey Keener (12-5) vs. No. 2 Luke Pletcher (21-0)

Keener, the Pennsylvania native who was a three-time NCAA qualifier during his time at Central Michigan, will be one of the biggest underdogs of the night.

Pletcher, the Latrobe native who won three Pennsylvania state titles, has been on a tear in his sophomore season and while he picked Ohio State over Penn State, among others, he also holds the upper hand in this one.

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141

No. 6 Nick Lee (20-3) vs. No. 11 Joey McKenna (9-1)

Penn State will need their true freshman to be in top form as they try and get on a roll in this bout and the next. Lee said it was business as usual for him this week.

"We don't want to get caught up in everything else," Lee said, staring straight ahead. "The more you just focus on your wrestling match, the better off you're going to be mentally, so we're just not getting caught up in what fans are yelling or what the other guy is doing."

If the Lions drop this weight along with the first two they could be in for a long night. Don't let the rankings fool you for this one. McKenna, who spent two years wrestling at Stanford where he was a two-time Pac-12 champion, placed third at NCAAs in 2016. Lee is riding high after beating Minnesota's Tommy Thorn last Friday.

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149

No. 1 Zain Retherford (20-0) vs. No. 7 Ke-Shawn Hayes (21-3)

At this point in Retherford's career it's a matter of just how dominant he'll be when taking on opponents. Penn State will need him to put on a show for the Rec Hall crowd -- one that was upset that his Minnesota opponent forfeited last Friday night, taking away their opportunity to watch one of college wrestling's stars.

If the two-time NCAA champion could come up with a pin here it would be a huge boost, especially with not having Nolf on the mat behind him.

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157

Bo Pipher or Luke Gardner vs. No. 5 Micah Jordan (19-3)

Who replaces Nolf will be sorted out during practice this week. Sanderson said it's fair to say the spot is down to those two. And, that's also why this dual could swing Ohio State's way after the Lions lost Nolf last weekend.

"They both are very talented kids, different styles though," Sanderson said. "They're competitive with each other. They wrestled off earlier in the year to see who would go to the scuffle and it was a close match, kind of came down to the end. Both good kids, they'll fight hard and they're both in great shape, so we have two good options."

Sanderson said whoever will be thrust into the spotlight shouldn't be shocked. They can't get sucked up in the magnitude of the match regardless of how many people are there or that it's the dual of the year.

"Our kids that aren't starting, they're in that arena every match," he said. "Whoever it will be has been here a few years at least so it's not like it's a new thing. You get a choice on what you focus on and they'll have that choice, but we have some scrappy kids."

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165

No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (15-0) vs. No. 14 Te'Shan Campbell (14-6)

It's the Pittsburgh matchup of the night. Joseph, the reigning NCAA champion from Central Catholic, gets Campbell, the former Penn Hills standout who transferred from Pitt to Ohio State. Joseph said the two are familiar with one another and wrestled in the Keystone Classic last year, but haven't squared off like this before.

"Senior year of high school and junior year of high school we worked out, probably like three days per week together," Joseph said.

Joseph said that he's not concerned about Campbell knowing him too well given that since their workout days they've both changed. Should Campbell want to look for film of Joseph, it's there, but Joseph said in general he's not a big fan of watching film and won't be looking for any of Campbell this week.

"I might watch a match here or there, but I'm not going to sit there for an hour and watch my opponent wrestle," Joseph said. "I don't really think it does much."

Bonus points here for Penn State would be big.

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174

No. 2 Mark Hall (21-0) vs. No. 3 Bo Jordan (18-2)

Who doesn't want to watch these two go at it again? They've certainly entertained before.

Jordan beat Hall at Big Tens last year, but Hall rebounded to get the last laugh by beating Jordan at NCAAs to claim his first individual title. Surely there will be another rematch coming next month in East Lansing between these two and potentially another a week and a half later in Cleveland.

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184

No. 1 Bo Nickal (20-0) vs. No. 2 Myles Martin (22-0)

This one could be the matchup of the night and that's certainly saying something with a dual as loaded as this one. Nickal beat Martin four of the six times they've wrestled, but the one win Martin does have over him was the one that cost Nickal an NCAA title at Madison Square Garden in 2016.

That upset, with Martin the No. 11 seed and Nickal the No. 1 at the time, paved the way for some key bouts between these two.

“Both of Bo and Myles are phenomenal athletes, very explosive, great scramblers, great speed," Sanderson said this week on his radio show. "Bo’s gotta do what he does. Be a little more patient than he has been. ... It'll be a great matchup. There will probably be a lot of points on the board and that’s something we’re excited about.”

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197

No. 10 Shakur Rasheed (15-2) or Anthony Cassar (15-2) vs. No. 1 Kollin Moore (18-0)

Rasheed had a pin last weekend against Minnesota and then Cassar wrestled two days later against Rutgers. Rasheed could pull an upset here, but it will be tough sledding. This bout could also shed light on who the Lions favor here moving forward, a weight where Sanderson said earlier this week he thinks they could both be All-American honorees.

Still, Rasheed could give Penn State an interesting look here if they roll with him.

"We've got a lot of questions (at 197) and I don't have a lot of answers either," Sanderson said with a smile, adding that the staff hasn't decided who will wrestle this week. "Yeah, that's a good question. They're both wrestling really well. Since the scuffle I think they've both been fairly dominant and we haven't faced anyone like they've faced on Saturday. Kollin Moore is a really tough kid and the No. 1-ranked kid in the country, but both of our guys are pretty darn good too and this will be their first chance to wrestle a top-ranked guy. We're looking forward to that."

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285

No. 6 Nick Nevills (20-3) vs. No. 1 Snyder (6-0)

This weight class joins 125 and 133 where Ohio State is the heavy favorite so the Lions will need the victories at 174 and 184 especially -- and an upset certainly wouldn't hurt -- to try and pull this one off and deal the Buckeyes their first loss of the dual season.

With Nolf the Lions would be in the driver's seat. Without him, they will need some dominant showings in the weights where they're favored -- and especially from some of their workhorses like Retherford and Joseph to try and pull this one out. Still, the home crowd might count for something here.

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