There are times that a sporting event is so compelling, so intense, that you wish it could be held again – a real-life instant replay.

And while that is usually not feasible, there just might be more similarities than differences from last year's Penn State-Ohio State wrestling match when the two teams meet again Friday in Columbus (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).

Some names will change, but 12 guys who wrestled in last season's dual will be on the mat on Friday.

Sixteen ranked wrestlers competed last season and anywhere from 14 to 17 could compete this year, including expected back-to-back showdowns between wrestlers ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at 184 and 197 pounds.

The intensity level will be at least as heightened as last year in Rec Hall when No. 1 Penn State beat No. 2 Ohio State 19-18, and perhaps even higher because St. John Arena is roughly twice as large as Penn State's wrestling facility. To say nothing of the fact that these two teams just don't like each other.

"Trying to tune it out won't really work because it's a big atmosphere and tuning it out is something that's not gonna be effective," said Penn State senior Bo Nickal, who is ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds and will face second-ranked Kollin Moore for the first time on Friday.

"So just embrace it. People are gonna yell mean things at you and it'll probably get a little crazy, but at the end of the day we're just gonna go out there and wrestle, and all we can control is our attitudes and effort. Everybody on the team understands that."

It shapes up as another classic confrontation between a team that is dominating the current college wrestling scene and a team trying incredibly hard to be next in line.

"Yeah, anytime the crowd's into it, it makes it a little bit more fun," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said Tuesday. "Ohio State has a great team -- always do -- and they'll be ready to go and that will just add more to the opportunity, so we're excited."

What has to happen for Penn State to maintain its top spot can be explained in simple Sanderson terminology: score more points than the Buckeyes. And there's always a catch, because – just like last year -- each team has the capability of scoring vital bonus points in a number of weight classes.

"Things shift around. They're stronger in other areas. They've lost a couple guys, we've lost a couple of guys but still, on paper, it's pretty similar to the way it was a year ago, I'd say," Sanderson said. "They feel pretty good about their chances and we feel pretty good about our chances, and it's just a matter of who goes out there and gets it done on Friday."

It's also a matter of who wrestles whom. Freshman Roman Bravo-Young did not wrestle at 133 pounds last Friday against Michigan because of a knee injury suffered against Purdue. Sanderson said the staff is expecting Bravo-Young to wrestle on Friday against sixth-ranked Luke Pletcher.

He also said Brady Berge (149) is fine and pointed through the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex windows to Berge working out with former Nittany Lion Zain Retherford. Sanderson added that he expects No. 2 Shakur Rasheed (knee) to go against No. 1 Myles Martin at 184 pounds; he said Rasheed was rusty last week because he hadn't wrestled in a couple of weeks. He also said if Bravo-Young does not compete that Scott Stossel again would fill in.

Barring upsets or injury, each team would be favored at five weights apiece, meaning that bonus points will be the deciding factor on the scoreboard or breaking a possible tie by criteria.

But that's looking too far ahead because the average wrestling fan should first relish some of the match-ups on tap, such as Nickal-Moore, Rasheed-Martin and No. 5 Nick Lee against Ohio State's second-ranked Joey McKenna at 141. McKenna beat Lee 7-6 in last year's dual, a riding time point being a major factor.

"It's helpful to know how the other guy wrestles but it goes both ways, too. He's wrestled me and he has a feeling of how I wrestle," Lee said. "He rode me pretty good (last year) so I'm definitely going to have to try to do better on bottom. He's a good wrestler in all areas … I just kind of try to be the best I can be."

Sanderson said Lee must be at the top of his game.

"McKenna is very, very good and he's been wrestling very, very well, I'd say, based on the scores I've seen," Sanderson said. "Nick's gonna have to go wrestle. I think Nick believes he can beat anyone, we believe he can beat anyone but he has to go wrestle a great match."

If Ohio State were to sweep the first four weights and put Penn State in a hole, the Nittany Lions (10-0/6-0) would need typical clutch performances from its four defending NCAA champions -- Jason Nolf at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165, Mark Hall at 174 and Nickal at 197 – as well as offensive-minded Anthony Cassar at heavyweight.

Nolf (19-0) is slated to face sixth-ranked Ke-Shawn Hayes (14-5), Joseph (17-0) will meet Pittsburgh counterpart Te'Shan Campbell (9-2 and ranked 12th after dropping from 174), and Hall (19-0) lines up against Ethan Smith, who only lost 3-2 to Michigan's Myles Amine, the same third-ranked Amine who Hall beat 3-2 last week.

If it were to come down to heavyweight, Penn State's third-ranked Anthony Cassar (17-1) could face No. 19 Clay Singletary (15-4). Singletary lost 6-3 to Michigan's Mason Parris and Cassar put a 19-8 beating on Parris.

"He's a gamer and the bigger the match, the better he's wrestled," Sanderson said about Cassar. "That's what we've seen out of him. We're real happy with Cassar and how he's wrestling."

NOTES: … University of Iowa coach Tom Brands has suspended third-ranked 133-pound sophomore Austin DeSanto (14-1) for one match after being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct during Iowa's match at Nebraska on Sunday. DeSanto, the Drexel transfer from Exeter High School in Lancaster County, will sit out Iowa's Friday home match against Maryland. “I want to apologize to my opponents and teammates for my actions on the mat. I know they are disrespectful and there is no excuse,” DeSanto said in a school press release. “I accept the consequences of my behavior and the decision of Coach Brands, and have assured my teammates and coaches that I will better represent our team when I return.”