Sentinel photo by JEFF SHOMO Penn State's Connor Mirasola moves in on Oklahoma's D.J. Parker in the 197 lb. weight class on Friday night.

UNIVERSITY PARK — In 1979, the Whispers charted a Top 40 R&B hit with the song “And the Beat Goes On.”

After its performance Friday night in the season opener at the Bryce Jordan Center, the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team could adopt that hit as its theme song.

Even with three backups in the lineup and three wrestlers making their dual meet debut, the Nittany Lions blanked No. 18 Oklahoma 45-0 for their 72nd consecutive dual meet win.

Penn State piled up five technical falls, a pin, two major decisions and two decisions while amassing a 35-1 advantage in takedowns. To be fair, Oklahoma was without the services of six starters, which is never a winning strategy against the Nittany Lions.

“I think our guys wrestled well. (It was) the first match of the year, first folkstyle match of the year for a lot of these guys, first match in a long time,” head coach Cael Sanderson said.

“So, yeah, I thought they did well. You know, Oklahoma didn’t have some of their guys in the lineup. But our guys wrestled hard and scored a bunch of points. We’ll just keep getting better, and our shape will just continue to improve also. But, good first match.”

The dual started at 197 pounds and backup Connor Mirasola got the dual and the season off to a promising start with a dominating win. The redshirt freshman converted four takedowns against No. 8 D.J. Parker and added a point for riding time for a 13-3 major decision to get the Nittany Lions rolling.

No. 11 Cole Mirasola, Connor’s twin, pushed Penn State’s lead to 7-0 with a steady, workmanlike 5-2 win over No. 24 Juan Mora. Mirasola scored on a nifty counter takedown in the first and added an escape and riding time point for the win.

“Lightning” Luke Lilledahl lived up to his nickname, scoring on a slick takedown in the final seconds of his 125-pound bout to secure a 14-4 major decision over Conrad Hendriksen. Lilledahl tallied four takedowns in his win.

Blue-chip recruit Marcus Blaze made his Nittany Lion debut at 133 pounds and his awesome potential was on full display. Blaze expanded a 3-1 lead after one period to 14-3 after two with an escape, three takedowns and a penalty point. Blaze tilted Tyson Charmoli for four in the third to end the match in 5:13 by an 18-3 score.

“I think it’s just like a dream come true. I think when you’re a little kid, you dream of moments like that, just to wrestle in front of a big crowd. So, it was just super fun. And I love the energy that the Penn State fans bring,” Blaze said.

No. 11 Aaron Nagao returned to competition after two injury filled years and turned in a rollicking. 9-5 win over Alex Braun at 141. Nagao used a first-period takedown, two reversals and 3:06 in riding time with a stifling leg ride to earn the win.

Penn State led 19-0 at the break with a host of hammers on deck in the second half of the lineup.

Top-ranked 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness looked like he was in midseason form. He dominated Layton Schneider 20-1 in just 5:29. Van Ness scored three decisive takedowns, turned the Sooner twice for four points each and accumulated nearly four minutes of riding time.

Joe Sealey increased Penn State’s advantage to 29-0 with a dominating 19-4 technical fall in 5:47 over Sooner backup Landyn Sommer. Sealey, subbing in for expected starter P.J. Duke, accumulated six takedowns in the rout.

Defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Mitchell Mesenbrink added yet another technical fall to the Nittany Lions’ tally and it took him just 2:45 to do it. Mesenbrink scored five takedowns on Owen Eck and added a four-point turn for the domination.

At 174, just seconds into the match, top-ranked Levi Haines hit his chin on his opponent’s head and it left him on a knee and stunned. He went into concussion protocol but a few minutes later he sprinted back to the mat and proceeded to look just fine. Haines scored a takedown and turned No. 33 Carter Schubert for quick 7-0 lead. He then hooked up a bow and arrow in the second period and decked the Sooner in 4:15.

With Penn State leading 40-0 and one match remaining, Ohio State transfer Rocco Welsh, the second-ranked sophomore made his debut for the Nittany Lions. Paired with backup Anders Thompson, Welsh added yet another technical fall, as he used six takedowns to help fashion a 19-4 win in 5:28 to close out the dual.

“It’s been a pretty crazy journey. Coming out of high school. I don’t know if I saw myself here, but I’m just really grateful where it’s brought me. Grateful to be here at Penn State,” Welsh said. “And there’s no nowhere like Penn State, wrestling in this; it’s one of a kind. You know, my freshman year, I wrestled a lot of different places, but this was definitely the craziest place. So I’m just grateful to be here.”

No. 1 Penn State 45

No. 18 Oklahoma 0

(Friday at University Park)

197: Connor Mirasola, PSU, maj. dec. No. 8 D.J. Parker, 13-3.

285: No. 11 Cole Mirasola, PSU, dec. No. 24 Juan Mora, 5-2.

125: No. 3 Luke Lilledahl, PSU, maj. dec. Conrad Hendriksen, 14-4.

133: Marcus Blaze, PSU, won by tech. fall over Tyson Charmoli, 18-3 (5:13).

141: No. 11 Aaron Nagao, PSU, dec. Alex Braun, 9-5.

149: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, PSU, won by tech. fall over Layton Schneider, 20-1 (5:29).

157: Joe Sealey, PSU, won by tech. fall over Landyn Sommer, 19-4 (5:47).

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU, won by tech. fall over Owen Eck, 19-4 (2:45).

174: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU, pinned No. 33 Carter Schubert, 4:14.

184: No. 2 Rocco Welsh, PSU, won by tech. fall over Anders Thompson, 19-4 (5:28).

Attendance: 8,003.

Takedowns: Oklahoma 1; Penn State 35.

Records: Oklahoma 0-1; Penn State 1-0.

Next match: Penn State at Army Black Knight Invitational, 10 a.m. Nov. 23.