CEDAR FALLS - The bull's-eye in college wrestling knows no certain color.

Last week it was the black and gold of Iowa, and this week it is the blue and white of Penn State.

Iowa State and Minnesota have also worn the target on their backs, and next week, it could easily be some other program.

Certainly, the first part of the Division I college wrestling season has been anything but predictable.

Three teams - Iowa, Iowa State and Minnesota - spent time at the top spot before losing home duals. The Hawkeyes were the latest casualty - a 19-14 loser to Oklahoma State last Saturday.

Iowa's loss sent prognosticators back to the drawing board, and this week Penn State emerged as the new No. 1 team in the country. The Nittany Lions' new lofty ranking will be tested this weekend at the Cliff Keen NWCA National Duals at the UNI-Dome.

And if the Duals are anything like the early part of the season, it is anybody's ballgame.

"As much as we can, we don't focus on that aspect," said Penn State coach Troy Sunderland of his team's new No. 1 ranking. "It is nice to be acknowledged and it's a great honor, but obviously it is going to be put on the line and tested by the best teams in the nation this weekend."

Of the top 10 teams in the most recent NWCA/InterMat Division I team rankings, only No. 3 Oklahoma State will not be in Cedar Falls this weekend for the most prestigious collegiate dual tournament in the nation.

It is widely believed any number of teams could win it all, including two-time defending champion Minnesota.

Penn State ascended to the top seed by virtue of its 5-0 record but has wrestled just once since winning 21-18 in Stillwater, Okla., on Dec. 9 - a 34-10 dual victory over Cornell on Jan. 4. The Nittany Lions have beaten their five dual opponents by a combined score of 151-42, winning 38 of 50 bouts.

"We kind of revamped our schedule … didn't go The Midlands or Southern Scuffle … to make this our marquee event as far as preparing for the Big Ten and NCAA championships," said Sutherland. "We need to stay grounded and focused. The paper rankings don't mean anything at this point. We just need to get better.

"We have had a great fall, which kind of culminated in the win over Oklahoma State. The kids have been progressing, but I think they can wrestle a lot better."

Penn State owns two National Duals titles, but they came in 1991 and '93 when the event was called the National Team Duals.

"That was a great weekend (in 1993) in Nebraska where the team came together … we gelled together as a single unit … as a single team," said Sunderland.

Host coach Brad Penrith of Northern Iowa knows his team's chance of winning it all is a long shot, but he still expects his Panthers to be competitive.

UNI is coming off a victory over then-No. 10 Tennessee-Chattanooga and will face No. 7 Michigan in the preliminary round. It will be the Panthers' (1-2-1) fifth consecutive dual against a top-10 opponent.

"Obviously, we are going to have a pretty tough customer the first time around," said Penrith. "We will see what happens after that. Hopefully our guys will go in with the same kind of fire and the same kind of attitude they did when we went down to Tennessee."

Defending champs return in the top three divisions: Minnesota (Division I), Nebraska-Kearney (Division II) and Augsburg (Division III).

In addition, there are 12 Iowa teams competing - Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Upper Iowa, Luther, Wartburg, Cornell, Coe, Buena Vista, Morningside, Northwestern and Iowa Central.

Upper Iowa is back in the tournament after a one-year absence and is seeded sixth in Division II. The Peacocks open with Indianapolis.

"We are trying to showcase Division II and show that we can compete with that upper echelon. It's a challenge … but we feel we've got six real solid wrestlers that feel they can win every time out there," said UIU head coach Heath Grimm.

Since the meet splitinto brackets based on NCAA divisions six years ago, only two teams have ever advanced to the Division III championship match - top-ranked Wartburg College and second-ranked Augsburg College. The Knights and Auggies have split the six title matches, with Augsburg evening the title race a year ago with a 22-10 victory in the finals.

Those two teams will be favored again this week, while third-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse, Luther College and Delaware Valley figure to be in contention.

"I know we're ranked first, but we have to earn it," said Wartburg head coach Jim Miller. "This is a great opportunity to try to do that. This is an important event for us.

"We have wrestled pretty good, but we haven't got to a point where every single guy is at their best. That is where we have to get."

Other teams looking for repeat championships are Lindenwood in NAIA, Iowa Central in NJCAA, Grand Valley State in the NWCA (Club) Division and Cumberlands in the Women's division.

Action gets under way today at 9 a.m. The championship bouts are Sunday at 3 p.m.

Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com