The #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys finally get a real one. After a wrestle-off dressed up as a tournament and a 45-0 walkover against Drexel, the Pokes host #3 Nebraska Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena, and this is the dual that will tell us whether the preseason hype is real for both teams. Nebraska finished 3rd at the NCAA tournament last March, one spot behind the Cowboys, and they return most of that team plus a couple of big transfers. They opened their season Sunday with a 28-9 win over #18 Wyoming, but it wasn’t spotless. Jacob Van Dee and Camden McDanel both lost ranked matches. The Cowboys beat the Huskers twice last season, 33-6 at the National Duals when Nebraska was ranked #2 and 22-12 in front of 7,094 in Lincoln on December 21. The series is lopsided (53-4-1 overall, 25-1 in Stillwater, and Mark Manning is 2-12 against OSU in 30 years as a head coach), but this is Nebraska’s first trip to Gallagher-Iba since 2010 and they’re coming to Stillwater to try and make a statement.
WrestleStat calls it 18-12 Cowboys. Their AI tool is less sure, calling it 17-15 and giving Nebraska 125, 165, 174, 184 and heavyweight. I count six matches that could go either way, which means this one is going to come down to bonus points and who wins the toss-ups. Rankings in parentheses are InterMat / Flo, and records are from WrestleStat. It’s an Orange Out, the Cowboys will be in the orange singlets, and it’s the last home dual until January, so if you were going to pick one to drive to Stillwater for, this is it. ESPNU has the stream with Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison, and Karsten Melton has the radio call on 93.7 KSPI. Here’s how I see it going.
125: (7/6) Troy Spratley (0-0) or (NR/NR) Rocklin Zinkin (5-0) vs. (4/4) Vincent Robinson (1-0)
The first question is whether we see Troy Spratley. He hasn’t wrestled yet this year, and freshman Rocklin Zinkin has handled every assignment with bonus points, including a 17-3 major over Drexel. OSU’s own game notes list it as Spratley “or” Zinkin, which is the first time Spratley has shown up on a probable lineup this season, so maybe this is the week. Spratley majored Kael Lauridsen 12-4 in Lincoln last year, but Robinson is a different animal. If it’s Spratley, Robinson has beaten him four of the five times they’ve wrestled. Robinson won 3-2 at the National Duals last November, and they split a pair at the NCAA tournament in March, Spratley winning 8-5 and Robinson taking the other one 3-2 in a tiebreaker. Against common opponents Spratley is 29-9 and Robinson is 23-9, so they’re close to even on paper. That head-to-head history is why I lean Robinson even in GIA. If it’s Zinkin, he’s facing by far the best wrestler he’s seen in college, and a competitive loss would still tell us a lot. Either way, this is one the Pokes are more likely to lose than win, and the goal is to keep it to a decision.
133: (1/1) Jax Forrest (4-0) vs. (8/7) Jacob Van Dee (0-1)
Jax Forrest hasn’t been pushed yet this season, with two pins, two tech falls, including the 20-4 tech over then #9 TK Davis.
