All Nick Feldman had to do was avoid losing by eight.
That was North Carolina State's only shot with its 17th-ranked heavyweight Owen Trephan. Trephan had to win the match by at least eight points or pin the 18th-ranked Feldman for the Wolfpack to beat Ohio State either by tiebreaker or outright.
The first period went scoreless. Feldman took a 1-0 lead escaping from the bottom position, Trephan responded in kind to open the the third period and tie things 1-1.
Trephan made things interesting with a takedown – worth three points in 2023 after an NCAA rule change upped them from two – before allowing Feldman to escape and scoring another takedown.