Bobby Douglas seems to be having the same thoughts as most ISU fans.

Although the focal point of this weekend is Sunday’s dual against fifth-ranked Nebraska, the veteran coach is wondering how the “Beauty and the Beast” experiment will “play out.”

The Hilton Coliseum floor will host both the wrestling and women’s gymnastics programs at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Huskers (11-5, 1-2 Big 12) are the Cyclones (11-6, 1-2) final regular-season opponent.

“It should be interesting; I don’t know what to expect,” Douglas said. “It could be great for the program. It’s mixing two Olympic sports.”

He said, depending on how successful the event is, Sunday could be the first-annual “Beauty and the Beast.”

“If it plays out well, it’ll be something we’ll do in the future,” Douglas said.

Top-ranked senior Nate Gallick (141) represented the Cyclone wrestlers on the promotional posters for the event. He will be wrestling in the final home dual of his career, along with Jesse Sundell (133).

Gallick said he has respect for the gymnasts.

“That’s some hard stuff that they do,” Gallick said. “Just like wrestling, I think they’ve got to be very dedicated, and a lot of their life revolves around gymnastics.”

The meet is intended to draw more attention to both programs.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” junior Kurt Backes said. “It will just bring a lot more attraction to gymnastics and wrestling. It should be fun.”

When it comes to the competition, Nebraska represents one of the toughest challenges for the Cyclones to date.

They finished third at National Duals in January and have beaten Big 10 powers Iowa and Michigan.

The main muscle of the Husker lineup is in Big 12 Champion B.J. Padden (197) and three-time NCAA qualifier Jacob Klein (174), but the Huskers have displayed their overall team strength throughout the season.

“Nebraska is a very good dual meet team,” Douglas said. “They have one of their most experienced teams I’ve seen. They have a lot of ranked wrestlers and a lot of good wrestlers.”

Nebraska has six wrestlers ranked in the top 15. Padden (19-3) is rated second, and Klein (18-3) is listed at fourth.

Freshmen Vince Jones (11th, 184) and Paul Donahoe (9th, 125), sophomore Jon May (15th, HWT) and juniors Dominick Moyer (18th, 141) and Marc Harwood (15th, 165) are also ranked.

Iowa State leads the all-time series between the schools, 76-13-2, but Nebraska has won 10 of the last 17 meetings.

“They have a good team,” said Backes, who moved up to sixth in the 184 rankings. “They came on strong at National Duals, and they have beaten a lot of good teams – they’ve beaten teams we’ve lost to.”

Backes said he hopes the team finishes the season strong.

“We lost to Missouri, so we are 1-2 in our conference. We’d at least like to finish 2-2,” Backes said.

After Sunday, the Big 12 Tournament is the next wrestling meet for the Cyclones.

It will also be held at Hilton Coliseum, but Gallick (27-0) said he has mixed emotions about finishing his dual career.

“As for me, it is my last time wrestling [in a dual] in Hilton [Coliseum], so I’m kind of sad and excited at the same time,” Gallick said.