Purdue, Penn State
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The win over Rutgers gave the Nittany Lions the longest win streak of any team in NCAA wrestling history. Penn State has won four straight NCAA championships and 12 under head coach Cael Sanderson, who is in his 17th season with the Nittany Lions.
The shutout is the fourth in seven wins thus far this season for Penn State, and the 32 nd shutout in the Cael Sanderson era. Penn State, now with 78 straight wins, surpassed St. Cloud State’s NCAA Division II record of 77.
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights face the Penn State Nittany Lions in a Big Ten wrestling match on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (1/10/26) at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa.
Expert recap and game analysis of the Purdue Boilermakers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions NCAAM game from January 10, 2026 on ESPN.
Penn State, with one of its top players out, played about as well as they possibly good. Purdue’s defense wasn’t great, but the Nittany Lions were shooting north of 60% for most of the day and if not for some late steals and runouts this could have been really different.
Coleman, one of the most talented players in the transfer portal, has committed to Tennessee, multiple outlets reported on Saturday. BREAKING: Penn State transfer EDGE Chaz Coleman has committed to Tennessee, @Hayesfawcett3 reports🍊 Coleman is the No. 3 overall prospect in the transfer portal. https://t.co/nuuLvZwwEk pic.twitter.com/VL9Xzzsc3s
Penn State had loads of expectations heading into the new season. With Gavin McKenna joining the crew, many believed the Nittany Lions could be a juggernaut. However, things have not gone according to plan, as the team has gone through some growing pains this year.
The Lions and Boilers kept trading buckets, a tie game at the U8 time out. Back-to-back shots actually had Penn State up five, 29-24, right after the timeout, but Purdue quickly erased the deficit to take back the lead at 31-29. All of the sudden, it was 35-29, and all the momentum had swung to the Boilers.
Smolik was Penn State’s No. 3 QB as a freshman in 2023 behind Drew Allar and Beau Pribula and missed the 2024 campaign due to injury. He had a chance to secure the No. 2 job entering the 2025 season but lost out to Grunkemeyer.