Living up to your own blistering reputation is pretty tough. But Penn State had a fine New Years in Chattanooga.

The odds-on favorite to win its eighth title in nine years, and with a penchant for bonus points, PSU sets the bar high in terms of expectations. In assessing their performance, you almost want to hold them accountable for not just winning, but dominating.

 But the Lions broke the point record at the Scuffle with 216.5 points, toppling the previous high mark of 198 held by Oklahoma State.

Outside of 125, all nine Nittany Lion starters placed third or better with a total combined record of 46-3, and 33 of those wins coming with bonus.

Before the tournament Nomad wrote the preview with his predictions. We'll use that as a baseline and discuss if the Penn State wrestlers met those expectations and how they looked doing so.

125: Gavin Teasdale - Did Not Compete

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance: The bad news is that PSU still doesn't have proven point scoring potential at NCAAs this year. But there are two pieces of good news. 1) Gavin Teasdale was originally entered. So it seems like he's close to making his debut. 2) Penn State doesn't need a considerable contribution out of 125 to continue their streak of NCAA titles this year. Anything they get out of the weight is gravy.

Willie's Grade: Incomplete

133: Roman Bravo-Young - 3rd Place

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 3rd Place

The Performance: RBY came into the tournament on fire; he was 6-0 with all bonus. On day one he wrestled a bit slower of a tempo, winning 4-3, 4-1 and 8-6 OT. He got off to a roaring start on day two, however, jumping out to an 8-2 lead against Austin Gomez after the first period. In the second, Gomez went where he likes to be -- upper body -- and got the fall.

RBY rebounded to take third. Very strong for a true freshman in his first major. And although I'm sure he'd love to have that situation back, there is some optimism in that he was superior before that. I don't think you walk away from RBY's performance any more or less certain of his ability.

Willie's Grade: B

141: Nick Lee - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: Champion

The Performance: Lee entered the tournament a perfect 9-0 with all bonus and left it as the champ with a 15-0 record. He "suffered" his first non-bonus win, a 6-3 decision over talented Stanford freshman Real Woods, who is still (as of now) in redshirt.

Outside of Woods, Lee didn't hit anyone ranked. In fact, he hasn't hit a ranked opponent this year. But his scoring is up and he's decimating everyone in front of him. You have to feel good about his tourney.

Willie's Grade: B+

149: Broc Berge - 3rd Place

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance: A blue chip recruit in his first year of starting service, Berge took his first official loss in a 3-2 bout against #6 Mitch Finesilver. His quality wins included Jared Prince and #7 Jarrett Degen.

A loss to the sixth-ranked guy in the country isn't terrible, especially for a freshman. But the low scores might be concerning; Berge was in a lot of lower scoring bouts and seemed to be reliant on counters at the Scuffle.

From a stock up/down perspective, Berge will likely move from #13 to around #8. A win and a close loss to two top 10 guys is encouraging for a first-year starter. Right now he seems like a fringe AA candidate. 

Willie's Grade:  B

157: Jason Nolf - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Pin, pin, 14-point major, pin, first period tech. Nolf is among the biggest locks of the year and one of the sport's most prolific scorers.

Theoretically, I guess you could give him a C if a C is the baseline. I mean, isn't that what we expect out of him? But how can you get better then those results? I guess you can look at Bo's results. 

Willie's Grade: A

165: Vincenzo Joseph  - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Despite being 2-for-2 at the big dance, Cenzo has had some close ones over the last two years. At the Scuffle, he had a 6-4 win over Shane Griffith (who finished third) and a 6-5 win over Chance Marsteller in the finals. 

Marsteller, who placed fourth last year, was the best win by a PSU wrestler at the tournament. Close matches, sure, but Cenzo remains the man to beat at 165 nationally.

Willie's Grade: B+

174: Mark Hall - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: For Mark it was a ho-hum showing; he just got the job done. He didn't hit a ranked guy until the finals where he wasn't very offensive in a 5-1 over Joe Smith that went down to the wire. 

Smith looked incredible the entire tournament, so while the tightness of the score may be a tad surprising, I'm not selling any Mark Hall stock, are you?

Willie's Grade: B

184: Shakur Rasheed - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Rasheed continued racking up bonus. He posted three majors and a fall before recording his only non-bonus win with a 4-1 decision over Hunter Bolen (who had beaten Jacobe Smith earlier).

Rasheed's ledger is nearly identical to Nick Lee in that he's been destroying all comers but not hitting the top guys yet. Still it's another sign in the positive trajectory as a solid AA in a weight where everything seems up for grabs behind Myles Martin.

Willie's Grade: B+

197: Bo Nickal - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Five pins, four that came in the first period. If you're scoring at home, you can't do better than that. Only the average field prevents a plus sign from appearing next to that grade.

Willie's Grade: A

285: Anthony Cassar - Runner-Up

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: On one hand, Cassar came in as the #1 seed and with possible expectations of winning a title this year.

On the other, he was runner-up by majoring four straight guys to the finals.

The 3-2 loss to White cools the jets on title talk. Cassar's certainly in the mix, but I think most will be more reserved with that prognostication now.

For a guy who's been so utterly prolific (undefeated with just one non-bonus win) this season, it was kinda odd to see Cassar not just lose, but to not score.

I'm not dinging Cassar for a one-point loss to White, who might be the #2 guy in the country (as it stands now with Dhesi losing and Stoll still questionable). But I'm dinging him for not scoring. 

Willie's Grade: B-

The Penn State Nittany Lions at Southern Scuffle - Champions

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: I'm looking at this through the lens on how the PSU Scuffle performances increases/decreases the team's chances for an NCAA team title. And though 125 is still wholly unanswered, Penn State's Scuffle confirmed what we thought about their core and point-scoring ability.

Nolf, Cenzo, Hall and Nickal are clear title contenders. Lee and Shak have been beasting everyone in front of them, even though they haven't hit the top guys. 

Look at Penn State's tournament in this context -- its nine true starters combined to lose just three bouts. Those losses were to #9, #6 and #5.

The Lions scored bonus in 33 bouts and set the point record in a field where Oklahoma State, with 188 points, was just 10 shy of the old record as well.

Most importantly, another hurdle crossed where it appears the Nittany Lions are well on their way to another NCAA team title. 

Willie's Grade: A