While the end result may not be in question on Friday or Sunday when Penn State wrestles at Ohio State and Illinois, a handful of individual bouts will be.

Fans at Ohio State’s sold-out Covelli Center Friday night in Columbus should be entertained three or four times over when the No. 8 Buckeyes (13-2/5-1) entertain No. 1 Penn State (12-0/6-0) at 7 p.m. on BTN.

Marquee bouts on Sunday in Champaign against No. 13 Illinois (9-3/4-3) at 2 p.m. on B1G+ will be less prevalent but a few are still worth a watch.

It’s the Lions’ lone away double dual of the regular season and they could improve their winning streaks to 14 on the season and 70 over a five-year span. While it’s a challenging weekend, it’s also an opportunity to hone skills, according to Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson.

“This week will be a fun test for us,” he said. “A lot of it’s just practice in our focus and our approach to the matches, having a good attitude, enjoying what we’re doing, being ourselves, like we always talk about. It’s taking advantage of every opportunity, and really taking advantage of it by just competing the way we want to compete.

“So it’s just good practice to do that, right? Because you’ve got to seize the opportunity of the lifetime, and the lifetime of the opportunity, as the saying goes. And so every time you compete, you get a practice doing that, and we look forward to it.”

The biggest bout of the weekend is a fifth rematch between Penn State’s Beau Bartlett and Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez. The two wrestled three times last season as well as during an exhibition all-star match at the beginning of this season, and each time the score was 4-1. Mendez won the two that counted most, topping Bartlett 4-1 in the Big Ten and NCAA finals.

Sanderson said Bartlett must match positions with Mendez, score when he has the opportunity and create those opportunities with hustle and effort. “Bo’s been looking great. And he’s a competitor, so it should be a fun match,” Sanderson said.

Bartlett enjoys the challenge but is trying to keep it in perspective. “I tried to come out really hot at the beginning of the year, in the All Star match, and I think I put extra pressure on myself,” Barlett said. “So I’m just thinking it’s another match. I’m in the right direction, and we’ll have more goes. We’ve had some before. Right now I think I’m doing everything right, so I’m having fun with it.”

Penn State could be without starters Braeden Davis at 133 and Tyler Kasak at 157. Davis is 50-50 to compete, according to Sanderson, and would face either No. 11 Nic Bouzakis or Ben Davino, both tough outs. If he’s held out once again, Kyison Garcia would get the call.

Kasak entered into concussion protocol twice last weekend and would be replaced by either David Evans or Connor Pierce, Sanderson said.

A few other highlight bouts include Penn State’s second-ranked Shayne Van Ness against No. 7 Dylan D’Emilio at 149, No. 2 Levi Haines vs. Ohio State’s fifth-ranked Carson Kharchla at 174 and No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet vs. OSU’s No. 9 Nick Feldman at 285.

Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso, a sixth-year guy from Nazareth and a four-time All-America, missed last season after suffering a gunshot wound in a carjacking incident. The teenager responsible was charged as an adult. Sasso has been in the Buckeyes’ lineup and is 12-7 and ranked 20th, and coach Tom Ryan passionately explained recently that Sasso is not himself and probably never will be but said his comeback has been greatly inspiring to the team.

Sasso did not compete last weekend and Brandon Cannon is listed at 157 this week. Regardless, Penn State’s Sanderson said he also admires what Sasso has been able to accomplish.

“It’s really impressive, right? Having gone through what he went through and to be able to get back and compete at a high level is really, really impressive,” he said.

“We’ve talked about that a couple times, and maybe I shouldn’t say this, but people beat him, and they’re flexing on him. It’s a miracle he’s alive, and he’s out there competing like a champ. So it’s pretty cool.”

When the Lions hit Champaign on Sunday, the best chance for the Fighting Illini put points on the board come at 133 and 157. If Penn State’s eighth-ranked Davis can go at 133, he would face No. 4 Lucas Byrd, the two-time All-America coming off a medical redshirt.

Illinois’ Jason Kraisser at 157 is a sixth-year guy who wrestled previously at Campbell and Iowa State and would face either Evans or Pierce.

Also, Penn State four-time NCAA champ Carter Starocci is set to face Edmond Ruth at 184. Ruth is a Susquehanna Twp. graduate whose brother, Ed, was a three-time NCAA champ for Penn State. And 10th-ranked Luke Luffman, a redshirt senior and two-time NCAA qualifier, is set to face Penn State’s Kerkvliet at heavyweight.

Penn State returns home next weekend to face America on Feb. 21 in the Senior Night regular-season finale at Rec Hall.