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3 Takes: Taylor sparks No. 6 Nebraska's comeback win at No. 7 Minnesota

by: Bobby Schneider01/17/26bschneider33

Without two of its top athletes, No. 6 Nebraska wrestling (9-3, 2-0) came back to defeat No. 7 Minnesota (7-3, 1-1) Friday night in Minneapolis.

It took the Huskers until their sixth bout of the night to garner their first lead, with Brock Hardy (141) and Chance Lamer (149) missing from the lineup. However, even with two of its top grapplers absent, the Big Red kicked in championship-like resilience down the stretch to knock off the Golden Gophers 20-12 (AJ Ferrari’s post-match celebration docked Nebraska its 21st point).

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Here are the three biggest takeaways from NU’s win:

Taylor’s iconic comeback sparks NU

Nebraska lost three of its first four bouts, which included not a single takedown. And it appeared defending national champion Antrell Taylor (157) was doomed against redshirt freshman No. 19 Charlie Millard before the clock hit zero in the final period.

However, Taylor brought late magic in one of the best bouts in college wrestling this season. Trailing 5-3 with under 10 seconds remaining, Taylor landed NU’s first takedown of the night to garner a 6-5 lead. But most impressively, he kept pushing to get the pin with two seconds remaining. His coach was amazed.

“We knew it was coming all the time,” head coach Mark Manning jokingly said after Taylor’s pin on BTN.

The Huskers trailed 9-3 before the Millard, Nebraska, native evened it up with the pinfall. Taylor’s spark swung the momentum to the Big Red, as it won four of its five final bouts. The only loss following Taylor was No. 9 Silas Allred’s 4-1 loss in sudden victory to No. 3 Max McEnelly at 184. 

Araujo snaps losing skid, Minto picks up seventh-ranked win

No. 8 LJ Araujo (165) entered the dual with a three-bout losing streak, all of whom were against ranked opponents. And once again, the Nebraska redshirt freshman was tasked with taking on another upperclassman, No. 11 Andrew Sparks.

It was scoreless after the first period. However, Araujo took it to Sparks in the second by landing a takedown and hung on in a 6-2 decision. Most impressively, he had over a minute of riding time against one of the nation’s top seniors at 165.

Meanwhile, No. 6 Christopher Minto (174) kept his groove on the mat in full swing. In fact, Minto landed a team-high three takedowns in his 10-4 decision over No. 22 Ethan Riddle. It marked the sophomore All-American’s seventh-ranked victory of the season to improve to 13-2 overall.

McDanel & Ferrari bring it home

No. 12 Camden McDanel (197) stepped in with the Huskers up only three vs. No. 24 Gavin Nelson. Nelson defended the sophomore All-American’s strikes well in the first period to keep it scoreless. However, McDanel nailed a takedown in the second and a single-leg towards the end of the third to secure the 7-2 decision and put Nebraska up six with only one bout remaining.

After his legal troubles following NU’s 36-3 win over Purdue on Jan. 9, No. 4 AJ Ferrari returned to the mat with his hands full. He could’ve been flat with all the commotion surrounding him. However, Ferrari won an old-school heavyweight bout 2-1 over No. 10 Koy Hopke. In fact, the 2021 NCAA Champion nearly rode Hopke the entire third period — Ferrari’s figuring out how to win in all phases at heavyweight.

Other Results

***Making his return to his native state, sophomore Alan Koehler (125) gave his all against No. 9 Jore Volk. Although Koehler lost his bout 4-1 to open the night, his ability to hang with Volk further proved himself as NU’s top guy at 125.

***No. 9 Jacob Van Dee (133) picked up his 12th win of the season in a tight 1-0 decision over Brandon Morvari.

***Filling in for Hardy in his dual debut, freshman Jake Hockaday (141) only trailed 3-2 entering the final period against No. 10 Vance VomBaur. However, VamBaur’s veteran presence lifted him to a 7-2 decision.

***Nikade Zinkin (149) slotted in for an ill Lamer vs. No. 25 Drew Roberts and came up short in a 6-3 decision.

Between Koehler, Hockaday and Zinkin, the three underclassmen may have come up short. Yet each played a pivotal role on the scoreboard to prevent any bonus points for Minnesota. Manning has a bright future of youth on his roster.

Nebraska returns to action at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, when it hosts No. 4 Iowa (8-3, 1-1) at the Devaney Center. It can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

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