MEGAN DAVIS: Hello Gopher fans! It’s Megan Davis and…

REGAN GUIRGUIS: Regan Guirguis.

DAVIS: With the Minnesota Daily and you’re listening to the Gold Standard, a podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota sports. Today is our first episode back. Super exciting stuff. The Daily is gonna start publishing again. I am now the sports editor and Regan, our lone sports reporter.

GUIRGUIS: Yeah! 

DAVIS: Ready for action. So you might be hearing our voices a lot with the Gold Standard. But obviously the big news is it is straight into football. We had our first game against Buffalo. 

GUIRGUIS: Which was closer than I really thought it was going to be. 

DAVIS: That is exactly what I thought. I looked at the score and I was like, guys, these were supposed to be the easy wins to lead us into the season. 23-10 is not the score you want to see if you want to finish with a winning record I think.

GUIRGUIS: Yeah, I do think it was closer than, I believe really anyone thought it was going to be. However, I do have to say that I think that, you know, it’s hard. It was Lindsey’s first full game. 

DAVIS: Yeah. 

GUIRGUIS: Like a full fledged game that he played. It wasn’t exactly like the stakes of a game like Wisconsin or Iowa or anything like that, you know, it is the first game of the season. And I think that it really showed areas that he kind of needs to improve on, as well as maybe a couple of gaps in our defense.

So I think it was a telling game of maybe some of the weaknesses that our team is showing kind of at the start of the season. But, you know, they did still win. And so I feel like we have potential to grow. Like I think the game was a perfect thing to show areas in which we need to improve and grow on. 

And I think that P.J. Fleck and everyone kind of sees that. It’ll be great to kind of see how Lindsey and everyone kind of develops as the season goes forward.

DAVIS: Yeah. I will say, like we did get a new defensive coordinator. And so I’m not super shocked that, you know, maybe they’re gonna need one more game to kind of really work out the kinks of the defense and make it more effective. And Drake Lindsey did throw for 290 yards, which in college football is pretty good. 

I’m not super worried about the Gophers, not quite yet, because we do have Northwestern State coming up for our second game, and they’re gonna be at home and Northwestern State is coming off of a 20 game losing streak.

GUIRGUIS: Yeah. So they didn’t win a single game last season. 

DAVIS: Yeah. So you know, if there’s any time to figure out your offense and figure out your defense, it’s gonna be against a team like Northwestern State. So hopefully they can figure it out before we play Rutgers.

GUIRGUIS: And you know, to give our team a bit of grace as well, like I said, first, first game of the season. There’s gonna be a lot of kind of hiccups, stupid mistakes that are gonna be made. Gaps in defense. Just stuff like that. It’s just, it’s bound to happen. Buffalo’s not a terrible team, they had a good season last year. 

Also, I did a feature story on Drake Lindsey this summer. And one of the things he talked about was how closely him and Max Brosmer worked together last year. They’d stay in the same hotel room together and they’d talk, they’d watch film, they’d talk about the game. 

And I mean, obviously Max has played a couple of the preseason games with the Vikings, which is awesome. He had his first NFL touchdown a few weeks ago, you know, all the, all those good things. So I really do have quite a bit of faith in Lindsey. I think the real test will be those bigger, more competitive away games.

I mean, he’s got a hard schedule ahead of him. It’s Ohio State, it’s Oregon, it’s Iowa, all of which are not at home. But yeah, I have quite a bit of faith in him and his kind of abilities, especially since him and Max worked so closely together last year.

DAVIS: Yeah. 

GUIRGUIS: And also my prediction is realistically, I think like best of all worlds is 10-2. We lose against Ohio State. We lose against Oregon. 

DAVIS: Oh, wow. That is, I mean.

GUIRGUIS: That’s like, that’s like best, right? 

DAVIS: That is best, best. 

GUIRGUIS: I think we’re gonna lose against Iowa. Which is unfortunate. And don’t. 

DAVIS: Out of all the games, why Iowa?

GUIRGUIS: I think Iowa has had a bit of a leg up on us for a while. 2023, they won at Iowa, but it was the first time in years that they won against Iowa. I just think that the way things are looking, the way that our team looked last year it just really depends on, on where we’re at, and I just don’t know if we’re ready enough.

DAVIS: I think that’s fair. This is the Big Ten. Especially with a school like Minnesota you’re always gonna be an uphill battle because especially with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington, like, recruiting over there is going to be so much easier than it is going to be recruiting for Minnesota. But I think, you know, a decent start, we got out with a win. 

GUIRGUIS: A win is a win. 

DAVIS: 290 yards is a good, good starting point. All we can hope for is that Lindsay is able to grow from here.

GUIRGUIS: And P.J. Fleck is P.J. Fleck. He has a real, a real impact on that team. I mean, just like talking to Darius Taylor and Drake Lindsey and Anthony Smith and all those guys, like, you can really tell that, that P.J. has a strong and positive impact on this team. And he is working really, really hard for the university and for Minnesota. And so are the rest of the coaches and yeah. So I have faith. 

DAVIS: I mean, you got that Koi Perich feature story coming out and I think he’s like, just a great example of like they’re all doing it for Minnesota. Like they don’t have these grandiose aspirations of, you know, I’m going to just transfer to the SEC because I wanna win. Like, they have a lot of pride in the fact that they are doing this for Minnesota.

Transitioning over to volleyball because they’ve had their start to the season, it’s been pretty good. 

GUIRGUIS: They’re playing St. Thomas today. 

DAVIS: They’re playing St. Thomas today. Basically besides losing against Texas A&M, the Aggies, who are ranked number nine and we’re ranked number 11. So, you know, odds we’re kind of not in our favor, but they’ve gone undefeated since.

I mean, they’ve only played Cal Poly and Ball State, but it’s a good start of the season. Mckenna Wucherer did red shirt for the 2025 season because last season she had a back injury and she’s really cautious about making sure that it’s fully healed before she gets out there.

And this was going to be her senior season, so at least redshirting, she’s got another year. But she will be missed. Coach Keegan Cook did say like, we’d much rather prioritize her health than see, you know, push her too far. But she was named preseason all Big Ten. So that’s, you know, sad but I hope she gets better and then hopefully next year she’ll be ready to go. 

But I think it’s okay because we did have some good recruits, and then they swept Ball State, but it was Jordan Taylor’s debut and she got the final kill of the match and she’s a freshman. So like, you know, if she’s debuting and she’s doing well this early, like, I’m super excited to see how the rest of her career with the Gophers go. 

GUIRGUIS: Basketball as well. 

DAVIS: Basketball’s starting soon.

GUIRGUIS: Will be exciting to see how Medved is. I think everyone is a bit anxious and excited for that as well.

DAVIS: The first men’s basketball game will take place October 16 against North Dakota State here at Williams Arena. And then October 25, we play North Dakota also at Williams Arena. So excited for those. 

I mean, obviously you’re not gonna get into your most intense matchups at the beginning of the season. I’m excited to see what Medved is bringing to the table especially because he brought some players along with him. And our team is kind of, you know, ever since Dawson Garcia graduated, left, you know. 

GUIRGUIS: We only have three players who are, who are still there from last year, so. 

DAVIS: Yeah, so it’ll be interesting to see kind of who steps up as leader of the team or, you know, who’s going to, who’s gonna get the most attention on the team. Because obviously that for the past years has been Dawson Garcia, but now that he’s gone, big shoes to fill.

GUIRGUIS: Yeah. And I think, you know, it’s, it’ll be good. I think this season for men’s basketball in particular, I’m hoping to see is a bit of like a rebuild. 

DAVIS: Oh yeah, yeah. 

GUIRGUIS: You know, getting everyone used to Minnesota. But also just, I’m excited to see, it’s not every day that a new coach comes in for a sport as impactful as men’s basketball. And especially since it’s a sport that Minnesota’s not necessarily known for. And to have a coach that just showed so much success at Colorado State.

DAVIS: He really helped raise that program a lot. 

GUIRGUIS: Oh, a hundred percent. And you know, and also the fact that he’s a former Gopher as well and now he’s coming back. I’m personally super excited just to see that kind of dynamic out on the court. I talked to a couple of them over the summer. I did an Isaac Asuma feature story, which was really cool, and it just, it seems like the vibes are up. 

That’s what you want from a sports team. You want a sports team to be as excited about growing and developing as the fans are to see them do that. Yeah, I’m excited for the basketball season, both of them, both men’s and women’s basketball seasons this year. For sure. 

DAVIS: I will say I saw Medved when he went to the game against Washington for women’s basketball when they were doing their WBIT tournament. Just to, you know, that was like very recently after he was hired. But that was also the game that Amaya Battle put up 35 points, which, what a game to be at, really fantastic game. 

But I have very high hopes for a women’s basketball team. I feel like every time I get on the Gold Standard, I’m like, “Women’s basketball, women’s basketball.” But I think they’re just in a great place right now, and the season starts soon and I’m excited to see what they can accomplish. 

I think though men’s basketball has been lacking in March Madness Tournament appearances, I really think that the women’s basketball team has a good shot at it. They were so close last year, and I think one more push can really get them there. They were pretty much undefeated until they saw their first Big Ten opponent, and that was after Mara Braun suffered another injury. 

And now Mara Braun is back and they need her for the team if they really wanna go far. I mean, they went far last season, but the addition of Mara Braun will be such a weight off their shoulders. On to more women’s sports. 

GUIRGUIS: Soccer!

DAVIS: Soccer!

GUIRGUIS: Yeah. I mean, the Gophers had a really successful season last year. Obviously, got to the third round of the NCAA tournament. 

DAVIS: Yes.

GUIRGUIS: Lost against North Carolina, who ended up winning it all.

DAVIS: I was gonna say North Carolina at the time was ranked number two. So they did suffer a loss 0-3, which is sad. But to make it that far, you know, now they kind of know where they’re at. And they’ve had a good start. 

GUIRGUIS: They’re on a three game win streak, three game win streak. Lost against BYU, on August 14, but have won against Northern Illinois, St. Thomas and Marquette. And they play Brown tomorrow.

DAVIS: Yes. And if you didn’t know we have a lot of great players like Tatiana Cunningham, Paige Kalal, Ashley Thurk. They were all named to the preseason, Big Ten players to watch. Also I found this out, Tatiana Cunningham, this is her first season as a Gopher, she was named a captain in her first season. 

GUIRGUIS: Really? 

DAVIS: Yeah. And she transferred from San Diego State, but I was just, I was shocked, because obviously they’re not gonna hand out captain to anyone. So for her to be named captain in her very first season, incredibly impressive.

I will say they do have a very difficult season ahead. They were ranked number 10 in the preseason poll, and I know we do keep bringing this up, but having the Big Ten extended really does.

GUIRGUIS: Really, I mean, we’re, we’re playing both USC and UCLA at home. USC is ranked number five, UCLA is ranked number eight. We play number 20, Michigan State. Number nine, Iowa. We also play Michigan State at home, so there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of really good home games for women’s soccer. 

I know that there, their field’s kind of out there. But I do have to say, I went to a couple games last year with my friends, and probably some of the most fun I’ve had at a sporting event. Like, it was just so much fun. 

Even like win or lose, the energy’s always up. It might be a little bit of a trek for some people, but I promise you it is worth it. And it seems like we have some really, really good home games this year that are gonna be super competitive. So I would definitely highly recommend getting your butt out there and going and watching some soccer.

DAVIS: A hundred percent. Speaking of women’s sports, cross country has officially started, and I have talked to Ali Weimer a lot over the past year because I covered women’s track and field, and she won the Oz Memorial cross country race. 

Ali Weimer has been a star on both the track and field team and the cross country team, and she’s definitely someone to pay attention to as both seasons go on, because she’s just great at what she does, and she’s also so amazing to talk to. And that is kind of all I have. 

This episode was by Megan Davis and… 

GUIRGUIS: Regan Guirguis. 

DAVIS: And produced by Ceci Heinen. As always, we appreciate you listening in, and feel free to send a message to our email inbox at [email protected] with any questions, comments or concerns. 

I’m Megan Davis. 

GUIRGUIS: And I’m Regan Guirguis.

DAVIS: And this has been the Gold Standard.