Dismantling outmanned opponents is another as Penn State's No. 1-ranked wrestling team celebrated last season's title and opened a new season with similar title hopes by thumping Kent State 52-3 Sunday before another sellout crowd of 6,496.

Penn State put together a nine-bout sweep after a match-opening loss and that streak included seven falls, two technical falls and 30 takedowns to none for the Golden Flashes (3-5).

What can fans and the rest of the college wrestling world take away from this match? More than you might think but certainly no big surprises. But let's look at three:

IT'S ALWAYS FUN TO WATCH NEW FACES And Roman Bravo-Young is more than a face in the crowd. The freshman 133-pounder from Arizona handled Kent's Tim Rooney, the same Rooney who lost 8-7 to Iowa's Austin DeSanto on Friday. Bravo-Young led 9-0 in the third period before running an arm bar for the fall in 5:31.

"It was really fun, a little nervous at first with jitters and stuff, but it was fun," Bravo-Young said. "I could hear the coaches, they were saying to work on my snaps and stuff, so I just moved my feet.

"I felt him (Rooney) start getting tired and in the third period I shoved him a little to get to the center of the mat because my adrenaline was flowing and I wasn't tired so I could have kept going.

"But this is what they do at Penn State so I just have to follow them,'' Bravo-Young said about the onslaught of bonus points scored.

And Verkleeren was equally impressive. Although he still must wrestle off against teammate Brady Berge to secure the starting job, he and Kent's Kody Komara each found themselves in a bodylock but Verkleeren found the power move to send Komara to his back for a fall in 1:20 at 149 pounds.

"He bodylocked me and I sent it…I sent it…full send to his back,'' Verkleeren said.

Verkleeren said there might have been a touch of concern that Komara might send him to his back. "But I'm pretty comfortable up there so I took the risk," he said.

HOW GOOD CAN THIS TEAM BE? Come on, with the proven lineup from 157 up and the budding talent down below, once again the potential – to say nothing of likelihood – for the school's eighth NCAA crown in nine years is overwhelmingly apparent.

The freshmen will have their moments, it seems, and sophomore Nick Lee is likely to be even more dependable than last season at 141. Then the fun starts with Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall, who own five NCAA titles among them at 157, 165 and 174.

Those three wrestled less than 10 minutes combined and scored 18 team points against the Golden Flashes. Shakur Rasheed looked like 184 just might be his weight class with a quick fall at the 1:13 mark over Andrew McNally, and Bo Nickal toyed with sub Shane Mast before pinning him in 2:06.

Nickal, No. 1 at 197, was supposed to wrestle second-ranked Kyle Conel but Conel aggravated a shoulder injury on Friday and did not take the mat for the anticipated 1 vs. 2 showdown.

Cassar, now up to 235 pounds of solid muscle, also slicked Billy Bolia for four takedowns and a couple of nearfalls for a technical fall.

"Guys in different weight classes looked very good," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "Cassar looked big and strong and Bo looked big and strong. Shak looked good down a weight.

"We have a lot to look forward to, keep getting better and enjoy the whole process. We're excited about the potential of this team this year.''

THE ATTITUDE WAS THERE: It's no secret that Kent State would not stand up to Penn State's talent. The Golden Flashes put out the effort, especially in their opening victory at 125 over Penn State's Devin Schnupp, but they weren't going to challenge overall.

That didn't stop the Lions from wrestling at 100-percent capacity with bonus points dancing in their heads and ultimately ending up on the scoreboard.

Nolf did not wear a knee brace and looked like his old self. Lee did wear a knee brace but still looked like his old self and Joseph, Rasheed, Hall and Nickal combined for 34 bout points and registered four falls in an aggregate 10:33.

"I just hope these guys go out there and just wrestle with some fire and enthusiasm," Sanderson said. "If they do that, they're going to do well and that's what they did today. Overall I think the team just looked really good."

NOTES: Penn State lost a wrestling recruit and gained one over the past few days. New York lightweight Adam Busiello, who verbally committed to the Lions three years ago as a freshman, opted to flip his choice to Arizona State. But Carter Starocci, a PIAA champion from Erie Prep; who this season is ranked No.3 in the country at 182 pounds after coming off a 46-0 junior season at 160, announced his decision on Saturday. He'll join previously committed recruits Aaron Brooks, Michael Beard, Joe Lee and Seth Nevills. … Three-time NCAA champion and two-time Hodge Trophy winner Zain Retherford took part in the banner-raising ceremony as yet another NCAA championship banner – the one from March 2018 in Cleveland – was raised to the Rec Hall rafters. He was accompanied by athletic director and associate AD Rick Kaluza. That ceremony followed the showing of a video highlight reel from last season's nationals. … Former Penn State NCAA champion David Taylor was honored at the break with a rousing ovation in honor of his October World championship in Budapest, Hungary, at 86kg (189 pounds).

125: Jake Ferri, KS dec. Devin Schnupp 12-8.

133: Roman Bravo-Young, PS pinned Tim Rooney 5:31.

141: Nick Lee, PS tech fall Cory Simpson 3:44 (18-2).

149: Jerod Verkleeren, PS pinned Kody Komara 1:20.

157: Jason Nolf, PS pinned Joe Andrassy 2:29.

165: Vincenzo Joseph, PS pinned Isaac Bast 3:40.

174: Mark Hall, PS pinned Dylan Barreiro 3:34.

184: Shakur Rasheed, PS pinned Andrew McNally 1:13.

197: Bo Nickal, PS pinned Shane Mast 2:06.

285: Anthony Cassar, PS tech fall Billy Bolia 5:14 (17-2).