The Minnesota Gophers have been in the NCAA spotlight and on the wrestling community radar for the entire 2024-25 NCAA season. And how can they be avoided? The Gophers have, after all, been undefeated all season. The team that’s ranked at #8 shut down their first three opponents with ease. And then went on to even have a 39-0 win against North Dakota State on November 22. At the forefront of the juggernaut of wins was the controversial Gable Steveson!

Steveson, the two-time national champion and Olympic gold medalist, had returned to the mat for the 2024-2025 season after a break of 980 days against North Dakota. All he needed was just 1:50 to earn an 18-3 tech fall. Two days later he followed it up with a 20-4 tech fall in Minnesota’s 44-0 win over Campbell, setting the tone for the season. However, the last matchup against their first Big 10 opponent turned out to be rather dismal for Steveson’s team.

Gable Steveson’s team’s longest streak now stands broken

“I think we’re as ready as we can be,” said the Gophers coach, Brandon Eggum, just a few days ago, right before they went up against the Nebraska Huskers. Turns out, Eggum’s team was not as ready as he thought! The No. 6 Nebraska came in with grit and took the Gophers down 21-13. This was the first loss of the 2024-25 season, which broke their 10-match winning streak!

A streak that had been the longest for the Gophers since 2014. So what exactly happened? It is no news that in December, the Gophers team was hit by the flu bug, which had already broken spirits and performances. However, Eggum’s spirit with him saying, “We are tough at every single weight; we are a problem at every single weight,” had brought hopes up. Unfortunately, even the hopes brought up were futile.

Even ranked wrestlers failed to perform against Nebraska. No. 11 ranked Tyler Wells went on to have a 4-1 defeat at 133 pounds. Meanwhile, at 141 pounds, No. 8 Vance VomBaur put up a good fight only to fall 12-10. By the time the heavyweight big names came in, the tides had already turned in favor of the Huskers. So what about Gable Steveson? Well, Steveson, unlike the Gophers, kept his momentum up.

Steveson went on to win over No. 24 Harley Andrews with a 19-4 win. The win gave Minnesota a 13-9 lead. Steveson dominated the bout dealing Andrews three takedowns and scoring himself another four points with nearfall. The Husker scored on escapes, but the Gopher’s technical fall streak remained intact after Steveson won 19-4. But the team could not capitalize or keep up with the momentum. However, these were not the only wins the Gophers had. Its upperweight champions did come through. Especially at 184 pounds and 197 pounds.

Max McEnelly went on to win a 16-6 major decision over No. 6 Silas Allred in the 184-pound weight class. And let’s not forget the win Isaiah Salazar had. Salazar went on to win 8-0 at 197 pounds. The lower classes could not keep up with the precision that the Huskers came in with. However, while the first Big 10 duel is gone, all is not lost for the Gophers.

So what lies ahead for the Minnesota Gophers?

As Brandon Eggum puts it, “Right off the bat, these two (Nebraska and Michigan) will be two great tasks for our guys.” Evidently, Nebraska was a task for the Gophers. But as Coach Eggum sees it, “We’re excited for the match-ups, and we’re ready for them.” If Nebraska was this hard, it is possible that Michigan ranked at #13 could be an equally rough opponent. After Michigan, the Minnesota Gophers will be going to Wisconsin and Northwestern.

The last time Minnesota faced Wisconsin was on February 16 last year when the latter lost 12-28. In the same month, they had also defeated North-Western 39-0. However, the road ahead is indeed for the Gophers.

As February begins, on the 2nd, the Gophers go up against Rutgers. This is to be followed by a duel against Ohio State on Feb 7th and Purdue on Feb 9th. Last but not least, they go against Iowa on Feb 14th. However, none of these names seem to shake the Gophers. As Gable Steveson’s coach puts it, “What I see is all 10 guys are coming out and they’re wrestling well.”