The ISU wrestling team doesn’t have time to dwell on last week’s loss to Iowa.

The seventh-ranked Cyclones (3-1) face another top Big Ten opponent Friday night: fifth-ranked Minnesota.

“The schedule was set so that we got real solid, tough competition before Christmas,” said coach Bobby Douglas. “They don’t get any better than Minnesota and Iowa, so we are accomplishing what we set out to do. We are wrestling well, but we just have to get some more points on the board.”

As far as any lingering effects from the Hawkeye dual, Douglas said his team has kept things in perspective, using the setback as a learning experience.

“The loss stung a little bit, but it was only a dual meet and it’s November,” he said. “We’ve got work to do, obviously, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There were a lot of positives that I saw, and we are going to build on the positives.

“Some guys really found out a lot about themselves, and I think some are a lot better than they thought they were. Obviously, we made mistakes, but every time you are trying hard you are going to make mistakes. I can accept mistakes in November.”

Iowa State has another rivalry winning streak on the line Friday against Minnesota (5-0). The Cyclones have taken three straight from their northern neighbors and lead the all-time series, 41-10.

The Cyclones will be heading into the meet on the back of Trent Paulson, who was recently ranked No. 1 by NWCA/ InterMat.

Minnesota, however, has three All-Americans of its own, headlined by second-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad. The senior has won 40 of his last 41 matches, avenging his loss to NCAA champion Steve Mocco once this season.

Sixth-ranked Travis Paulson (13-0) will endanger his unbeaten record against seventh-ranked Matt Nagel. He split his two matches with the Gopher last season.

Third-ranked Mack Reiter – last year’s 133-pound Big Ten champion – poses a top test for Cyclone Jesse Sundell.

“They have a really good team this year. I think it’s going to be a dog-fight,” said senior Nate Gallick, who earned a tech fall victory last year over Minnesota’s Manuel Rivera. “I think they match up real well with us and that it’ll be a great dual.”

Kurt Backes will face Minnesota’s Roger Kish, who is ranked 11th by InterMat. The 184-pounder beat the Gopher, 8-3, last season, and is looking forward to another test before the winter break.

“They’ve got a lot of tough kids, so we are going to have another good meet,” Backes said. “It’s more experience; that’s all it is. And it’s the last match before the break and we get some downtime, so we are going to wrestle our hardest.”

The dual will start at 7 p.m. Friday in Minneapolis and will air on FSN North at 5 p.m. Saturday.