By Damon Martin

Over the past seven years, only one team has been able to stop the Penn State dynasty when it comes to team championships at the NCAA tournament, and that was the Ohio State University back in 2015.

Wrestling under head coach Tom Ryan, the Buckeyes were upstart contenders who put on a stellar performance from the start of the tournament until the end to win the school's first-ever national championship.

In 2018, Ohio State is once again in the hunt for a title, but it's going to be a battle through every round with Penn State, a team which is still ranked No. 1 in the country.

In fact, PSU accounted for the only loss on OSU's record this season in dual meets, edging the Buckeyes in a razor-close set of matches that ended with the Nittany Lions winning by one point on Feb. 23.

Olympic gold medalist and Ohio State senior Kyle Snyder won that day in Happy Valley, PA, but ultimately his Buckeyes came up short in the team totals. As disappointing as that defeat was for the team, Snyder believes that loss is what will motivate Ohio State to embrace the grind that much more for the NCAA tournament that kicked off in Cleveland on Thursday.

"If you take a step back and look at the dual from a different perspective, it's actually a very positive thing," Snyder told FloCombat. "I think already guys made adjustments, working smarter and harder. By the time the NCAA's are underway, we'll be even more prepared. I truly believe that Ohio State is destined to win the NCAA tournament this year.

"That dual meet's going to be a positive."

While the two powerhouse teams from the Big Ten may end up having some competition in the team scores once Saturday night's finals roll around, Snyder believes the winner will ultimately be determined between Ohio State and Penn State.

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Of course, Snyder has his own showdown to look forward to with Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon, who picked up a win over the two-time world champion during a dual meet earlier this season. 

Snyder got his revenge by beating Coon in the Big Ten tournament, and he hopes to carry that momentum into this weekend as he looks to bring Ohio State a second national title.

While Snyder may be destined for a showdown against Coon, he knows many of his teammates will run across high-profile Penn State wrestlers during the course of this tournament.

"Without a doubt, we're the two best teams in the NCAAs," Snyder said. "And when that's the case, you're going to wrestle again in some individual matchups."