The Michigan Wolverines will travel to Columbus on Friday, January 26 to take on rivals Ohio State in one of the best duals of the weekend. The dual is set to begin at 7:00 pm (ET) and you can watch it live on Big Ten+. Before this premier dual goes down, check out a full preview with predictions for every match in the below article. 

Michigan vs Ohio State Probable Lineups:

125: #17 Michael DeAugustino, Michigan vs #21 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

133: #4 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan vs #10 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State

141: #19 Sergio Lemley, Michigan vs #3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

149: #6 Austin Gomez/Fidel Mayora, Michigan vs #7 Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State

157: #13 Will Lewan, Michigan vs #23 Isaac Wilcox, Ohio State

165: #8 Cam Amine, Michigan vs #12 Bryce Hepner, Ohio State

174: #3 Shane Griffith, Michigan vs #14 Rocco Welsh, Ohio State

184: #14 Jaden Bullock, Michigan vs #27 Seth Shumate, Ohio State

197: Bobby Striggow/Rylan Rogers, Michigan vs #23 Luke Geog, Ohio State

285: #4 Lucas Davison, Michigan vs #16 Nick Feldman, Ohio State

125: Michael DeAugustino, Michigan vs #21 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

6th-year senior and All-American Michael DeAugustino will be a favorite against Ohio State’s freshman Brendan “Middle School” McCrone. DeAugustino has several highly-ranked wins in his career and has victories over #20 Dean Peterson, #18 Tanner Jordan, and #27 Spencer Moore this year. However, McCrone should not be underestimated in this matchup and has had some impressive performances this year. McCrone is 13-7 on the year and ranked wins over #23 Jakob Camacho and #22 Trever Anderson, and is tough on top with 7 pins on the year. I’m still picking DeAugustino to win this match but I’m expecting a competitive match from start to finish.

Prediction: DeAugustino by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 3, Ohio State 0

133: #4 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan vs #10 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State

Dylan Ragusin is coming off two ranked wins including an overtime pin over returning All-American #5 Aaron Nagao. On top of that, Ragusin is currently 18-0 on the year and has been consistently one of the best 133-pound wrestlers in the country over the past 3 years. Ragusin proved in his match against Nagao that he’s a “gamer” and is sure to bring his best to the mat against Bouzakis on Friday night. 

With all that said, Bouzakis is still capable of pulling off the upset against Ragusin. Bouzakis has had a bit of an up-and-down year with losses to lower-ranked wrestlers like #21 Julian Farber, #20 Tyler Knox, #14 Vince Santaniello, and #19 Angelo Rini but big-time wins over #6 Kai Orine, # 12 Zeth Romney, #14 Vince Santaniello, and #15 Braxton Brown. 

Ragusin and Bouzakis’ match on Friday is really hard to predict but should be incredibly entertaining. Both wrestlers have big-move potential and I wouldn’t be surprised if this match ends in a pin from either wrestler. I’m playing it safe and picking Ragusin to win by decision because I believe he is the more complete wrestler.

Hear from Dylan Ragusin after his win over Aaron Nagao:

Prediction: Ragusin by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 6, Ohio State 0

141: #19 Sergio Lemley, Michigan vs #3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

Sergio Lemley is coming off the best weekend of his college career with an overtime win over #15 Mitch Moore and a competitive, 7-5 loss to All-American #2 Beau Bartlett. It’s also worth noting that those wins came just two weeks after Lemley took out 2-time All-American #27 Clay Carlson, 6-4. As a true freshman, Lemley has stepped up big time for Michigan this year but will face a huge challenge against Jesse Mendez on Friday night.

Mendez is currently 18-1 on the year with 16 of his wins coming by bonus points - 4 pins, 8 techs, and 4 majors. Mendez has jumped levels since his 6th place All-American finish last year and looks like a threat to win an NCAA title this year. I expect Mendez to continue his run of dominance against Lemley and push for bonus points against the true freshman.

Jesse Mendez's win over Ryan Jack in the finals of the 2023 CKLV:

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Prediction: Mendez by major decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 6, Ohio State 4

149: #6 Austin Gomez/Fidel Mayora, Michigan vs #7 Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State

All-American Austin Gomez missed Michigan’s dual meets last weekend while competing in Mexico to earn the right to be Mexico’s rep at the upcoming Pan-Am Olympic Games Qualifier. Gomez should be back against Ohio State this weekend and the Wolverines will lean on him to wrestle his best against fellow All-American Dylan D’Emilio. 

D’Emilio has been rock-solid all year for the Buckeyes with a 19-5 record with his only losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. D’Emilio also has ranked wins on the year over #15 Joe Zargo, #22 Ethen Miller, #28 Finn Solomon, #4 Jackson Arrington, and #8 Casey Swiderski. With D’Emilo’s consistency and Gomez’s lack of folkstyle matches this year, I’m picking D’Emilio to win a close decision.

Austin Gomez explains why he decided to come back to college wrestling for Michigan:

Prediction: D’Emilio by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 6, Ohio State 7

157: #13 Will Lewan, Michigan vs #23 Isaac Wilcox, Ohio State

Isaac Wilcox has taken over the starting spot at 157 pounds for the Buckeyes after Paddy Gallagher went down with an injury. Wilcox is 3-0 since his move to 157 after starting the first half of the year at 165 pounds for the Buckeyes but will face his biggest test at his new weight this Friday against Will Lewan.

Lewan is a two-time All-American but has fallen in the rankings recently after suffering losses at the CKLV in December to #10 Ed Scott, #12 Peyton Robb, and #7 Daniel Cardenas. Despite those losses, Lewan still only lost a 2-1 bout last weekend to #1 Levi Haines after giving up a late stalling call. Lewan will look to get back on track against Wilcox but it definitely won’t be easy. I expect a low-scoring defensive battle decided by a takedown or riding time point.

Prediction: Lewan by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 9, Ohio State 7

165: #8 Cam Amine, Michigan vs #12 Bryce Hepner, Ohio State

Similar to Lewan, Amine is coming off a rough patch in his season losing two of his last three matches to Caleb Fish (6-4) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (11-1). Despite those losses, Amine’s still a 3-time All-American, and Wolverine fans shouldn’t be worried about what he’s capable of on the mat. 

However, Amine will face a test in Bryce Hepner who defeated Amine last year at the Cleveland State Open, 6-4. While Hepner does have the win on his ledger over Amine, he hasn’t started for the Buckeyes since 2022 when he failed to make the NCAA Tournament at 157 pounds. This year Hepner is 8-2 on the year with his only ranked winning coming against #32 Chris Moore and losses to #5 Dean Hamiti and #4 Julian Ramirez. Hepner is capable of knocking off Amine again but I’m picking Amine to win a close decision.

Prediction: Amine by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 12, Ohio State 7

174: #3 Shane Griffith, Michigan vs #14 Rocco Welsh, Ohio State

NCAA Champion and 3-time All-American Shane Griffith has had an up-and-down year for the Wolverines in his transition up to 174 pounds. Griffith struggled at the CKLV dropping a match to #27 Lorenzo Norman. However, he bounced back strong three weeks ago with an overtime win over #4 Cade DeVos. What Griffith will we get Friday night against true freshman Rocco Welsh?

Welsh has looked impressive since taking over the starting spot from injured Carson Kharchla. Welsh is 14-1 on the year with ranked wins over #15 Max Maylor, #29 Jared Simma, and #33 Alex Faison, and his lone loss coming against Edmond Ruth. Welsh wrestles a hard-nosed style and will want to make his match against Griffith as ugly as possible on Friday. Welsh isn’t known for racking up a ton of points and I expect this match to come down to a takedown or ride out and has high potential to go to overtime. I’m picking Welsh to record his first win in his college career on Friday in Columbus - call it a “gut feeling” or lack of confidence in Griffith right now but I think Welsh matches up great against Griffith and will come out on top Friday night.

Shane Griffith shares why he thinks he can win an NCAA title this year:

Prediction: Welsh by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 12, Ohio State 10

184: #14 Jaden Bullock, Michigan vs #27 Seth Shumate/Ryder Rogotzke, Ohio State

Jaden Bullock has been a pleasant surprise for Michigan this year at 184 pounds with ranked wins this year over #24 Brian Soldano, #18 Layne Malczewski, #11 Dylan Fishback, #31 Jacob Armstrong, #19 Aaron Ayzerov, and #20 Shane Liegel. Bullock is strong on his feet and should be considered the favorite against Seth Shumate or Ryder Rogotzke. Both Shumate and Rogotzke have shown glimpses of being able to compete against some of the best guys in the country but have lacked the consistency to give me the confidence to pick either against Bullock.

Prediction: Bullock by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 15, Ohio State 10

197: Bobby Striggow/Rylan Rogers, Michigan vs #23 Luke Geog, Ohio State

197 pounds is a weight that Ohio State needs to win if they want to win this dual. The good news for Buckeye fans is that Geog should be considered the favorite against either Striggow or Rogers. Geog’s best strength is on his feet and if he’s wrestling his best, he might be able to pick up bonus points in this match.

Luke Geog talks about how he feels his abilities stack up at 197 pounds:

Prediction: Geog by decision

Dual Score Prediction: Michigan 15, Ohio State 13

285: #4 Lucas Davison, Michigan vs #16 Nick Feldman, Ohio State

If all of my predictions hold, and the dual starts at 125 pounds, this dual will come down to the heavyweight matchup between Lucas Davison and Nick Feldman. Two-time All-American Davison is the favorite here and has had a solid year with a 10-2 record and his only losses coming to #3 Yonger Bastida and #1 Greg Kerkvliet. 

Beyond the dual meet implications, this match is highly intriguing for Nick Feldman and will help project what our expectations for Feldman should be for the rest of the year. Feldman was the top recruit out of the class of 2022 but has dropped matches this year to #13 Owen Trephan and #3 Yonger Bastida. Feldman also looks a little undersized and has struggled to finish his leg attacks against some of the bigger heavies. Davison won’t be that much bigger than Feldman and with Feldman’s athleticism, I expect this to be a very competitive bout. I’m taking Davison to win by decision but won’t be surprised if Feldman pulls off the upset.

Lucas Davison's win over Taye Ghadiali at the 2023 CKLV:

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Prediction: Davison by decision

Final Score Prediction: Michigan 18, Ohio State 13

How Can Ohio State Defeat Michigan In Columbus?

All it takes is Ohio State winning one match where I have them losing and they win the dual. Now, it’s important to point out that I gave Ohio State upset wins at 157 and 174 with Welsh over Griffith so that means the Buckeyes will have to pull off three upsets to win the rivalry dual in front of their home crowd. Whatever happens, this is sure to be an incredible dual and one you’re not going to want to miss!