Notes and Quotes from Minnesota's 37-21 Win Over Illinois State

Game Notes
#22/24 Minnesota 37 (2-0), Illinois State 21 (1-1)
Sept. 11, 2004
Attendance: 34,006

Minnesota:
The opening kickoff became the first play at Minnesota to use the Big Ten's new instant replay system.
Linebacker Kyle McKenzie registered Minnesota's first tackle for loss of the season in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Jared Ellerson has now had a catch in the last nine games in which he has played. Ellerson missed the Sun Bowl last season with an injury.
Ellerson recorded his first receiving touchdown since Oct. 25, 2003, at Illinois.
With his TD catch in the first quarter, Ellerson moved into a tie for 12th place on the school's all-time list with eight.
Cornerback Trumaine Banks registered his first interception of the year and second of his career in the first quarter.
The first quarter lasted 51 minutes in real time.
Defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery registered Minnesota's first sack of the season and the third of his career in the second quarter.
Defensive end Eric Clark recorded the second sack of his career in the third quarter.
Quarterback Bryan Cupito had the first reception of his career in the third quarter on a pass from Barber III (his second pass of his career).
Running back Laurence Maroney posted a career-long 80-yard run in the third quarter for a touchdown. Maroney's previous long rush was 47 yards against UL Lafayette on Sept. 20, 2003.
Maroney's 80-yard TD run was the longest rushing play since Byron Evans had a 93-yard touchdown run against Memphis on Sept. 19, 1998.
Maroney collected his seventh career 100-yard rushing game. He has had 100 yards or more in six of the last seven games.
The game marked the fifth time in their careers that Barber III and Maroney have rushed for 100 or more yards in the same game.
The 80-yard touchdown pass from Bryan Cupito to Ernie Wheelwright marked career highs for both players.
The 80-yard TD pass was the longest passing play of the season and the longest since an 80-yard TD pass by Asad Abdul-Khaliq to Aaron Hosack on Oct. 25, 2003, at Illinois. Abdul-Khaliq had an 82-yard TD pass to Jared Ellerson on Oct. 4, 2003, at Northwestern.
Wheelwright now has three career receptions for three career touchdowns.< BR> Cupito registered the first multi-passing touchdown game of his career.
Cornerback Ukee Dozier recorded his second career interception in the third quarter.
Minnesota posted its first multi-interception game since having two picks on Oct. 4, 2003, at Northwestern.
Fullback Justin Valentine had a career-long 34-yard reception in the third quarter.
With his two touchdowns, running back Marion Barber III moved into third place on the school's all-time career rushing touchdown list with 28. He needs six more TDs on the ground to move into a tie for second place with his father, Marion Barber (1977-80).
Barber III recorded the 10th 100-yard rushing game of his career. He passed Chris Darkins (1992-95) and Paul Giel (1951-53), and now stands alone in fifth place on the school list for 100-yard rushing games. He needs two more 100-yard games to move into a tie for fourth place with his father Marion Barber (1977-80).
Barber III recorded the eighth multi-touchdown game of his career and his second of the season.
Barber III moved into eighth place on UM's career rushing yards list tonight. Barber III now has 2,234 yards in his career. He needs 31 yards to surpass Francis "Pug" Lund (1932-34) in seventh place.
Barber III moved into fourth place on the school's career punt return yards list, surpassing Rick Upchurch (1973-74). Barber now has 451 career punt return yards and needs 74 to pass Rodney Heath (1993-96) in third place.
Ellerson needs 43 receiving yards to move into the top 10 on UM's career receiving yards list. He now has 1,224 career receiving yards.
Minnesota has scored at least 20 points in 19 consecutive games - the longest streak in school history.
Minnesota has rushed for at least one touchdown in 19 straight games. < BR> Minnesota has not been shut out in a school-record 74 games. The last time UM was blanked on the scoreboard was in a 31-0 loss at Iowa on Nov. 22, 1997.
Minnesota's streak of not allowing an opposing player to rush for 100 yards was snapped at 15 games as former Golden Gopher Demetrus Johnson rushed for 104 yards. The last time: Anthony Davis & Brooks Bollinger of Wisconsin, Nov. 23, 2002.
Minnesota has amassed more than 300 total yards in 17 straight games dating back to the 2002 season.
Minnesota has compiled more than 400 total yards in 10 straight games dating back to last season.
Minnesota has rushed for over 200 yards as a team in seven straight games dating back to last season.
UM has had 500 or more yards of offense in six of its last eight games, including the last two.
Minnesota has rushed for 300 or more yards in the last two games after posting that total in five games last season.
Minnesota's 100 points in the first two games of the season sets a modern era record and ranks fourth all-time. The 100 points are also the most points in consecutive games in the modern era and are the most in consecutive games all-time since collecting 122 points in two games in 1926.
Minnesota has won 14 straight games against non-conference opponents. UM has not lost to a team from outside the Big Ten since falling to Toledo, 38-7, to open the 2001 season.
The Golden Gophers are 24-6 in non-conference games under Glen Mason. UM is 16-2 under Mason at home in non-conference contests.
Minnesota is 290-97-16 all-time in non-conference games.
Minnesota is 71-66-2 all-time at the Metrodome. The Golden Gophers are 40-12 against non-conference teams at the Metrodome.
Minnesota is 8-0 vs. NCAA Division I-AA teams, including a 2-0 record against Illinois State.
The Golden Gophers are 7-1 under Glen Mason following the team's season opener and 6-2 under Mason following home openers.
Minnesota allowed over 400 yards for the third consecutive game. The Golden Gophers allowed 400 or more yards five times last season.

Illinois State
Running back Demetrus Johnson's 43-yard run in the first quarter was the longest rush Minnesota has allowed since Michigan State's Jason Teague had a 60-yard run on Oct. 18, 2003.
Today's game marked the first time in school history that the Redbirds faced a ranked Division I-A opponent.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Minnesota Head Coach Glen Mason
"I would like to recognize Denver Johnson and his coaching staff. They out coached us, outplayed us and out fought us. I feel very lucky to have won this game and I hate feeling lucky. We better get better quick with our upcoming schedule or we're going to be in a whole lot of trouble."

"We made way too many mistakes. After the Toledo game, where we basically made none at all, to play like this is extremely disappointing."

"We didn't have a let down today. I don't believe in the term let down in college football. You work so hard for so long for 11 games, that you should be able to step out on the field and play hard every game."

"They simply outplayed us. I've coached teams like Illinois State before so I knew how they were going to approach this game. The great thing about college football is that it's not about individual players, it's about the team. Whatever team plays better on any given night is going to give themselves a chance to win."

"I didn't like any phase of our game period. A big part of college football is discipline and we aren't a very disciplined team right now. Blame that on me. That's all my fault."

Minnesota Quarterback Bryan Cupito
"I don't think we took them lightly, but if I play like this next week, we will not win. Marion (Barber) carried us in the first half. That's what Laurence (Maroney) and Marion do, but we can't count on that every game."

"I think that the first couple of poor drives took the wind out of us. We thought we'd score a lot more."

Minnesota Running back Laurence Maroney
"This is a nice wake up call for us. We've got to play everyone like we are playing the number one team. It didn't go the way we wanted it to go and we underestimated this team. It shows that we have to take them all serious from here."

Minnesota Wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright
"I don't think we took them lightly, we just played to their level of football. We should have stepped up. In the game of Notre Dame against Michigan, it shows that it's anybody's game."

Minnesota Cornerback Trumaine Banks
"We didn't come ready to play and we didn't play hard enough. It's always disappointing when you don't get the results that you expected. But it's over and we'll get set for Colorado State. It's definitely a wake up call. We don't want to make the same mistakes again and we'll work them out in practice."

Minnesota Cornerback Ukee Dozier
"We feel that we took a step back and we've got take care of all of the mistakes as players and as a team. We came out not very prepared and we were disappointed with having an improvement in our defense and then took a step back."

"We felt that we were more focused when we played against Toledo. We learned from our mistakes."

Minnesota Nose tackle Anthony Montgomery
"We underestimated this team. From the film, we saw that they played hard, but as a Big Ten team we should have dominated the game. It's a wake up call. We've got to come in and play hard and not take anyone lightly."

Illinois State Head Coach Denver Johnson
"I don't believe in moral victories. Our intent from the get go was to try and win this game, not gain respect. Let me tell you something, losing to these guys doesn't hurt any less then losing to anyone else."

"I proud of what we got done. Hopefully we can grow from this. Honestly it's an honor for me to stand on the opposing sideline from Glen Mason. He's a real gentleman of the game. That program of his is maturing. It is a tribute to his longevity and I have the utmost respect for him."

"I have a hard time mitigating losses. We played okay defensively, got some stops, made them punt a few times and got some turnovers. Those two 80-yard touchdowns that we gave up, were critical mistakes. Without those errors, we would have had a good shot to win."

"I tip my hat to the Gophers. It's hard not to look past a team like us. I wish them the best of luck. They have a good shot of winning the Big Ten and possibly getting a BCS bowl bid."

Illinois State Defensive Back Joe Walkins
"Nobody felt we could come out and play. Everybody doubted us, but we know we're Illinois State. We came out the underdog, but we came out to show we that we can play. We came out to win the ball game, not just to play tight. Coach has been putting in a new game plan. They were saying that because we're Division I-AA, their second- string players would be playing a lot, but we showed them that we were here to win the game."

Illinois State Quarterback Yance Vaughan
"I'm really proud of my guys. The guys played with their hearts all the way through. The never gave up. I'm proud of my team."

On Demetrus Johnson: "He was huge running and catching. With his total yards, he had a great game. He's one of the hardest workers on the team and I have the utmost respect for him."

On his offensive line: "I thought they did a great job. The third quarter, the defense came after me, but I don't think I took any hits. Those guys get more tired than anybody else, but they never gave up."

"We've got nine games left. Our goal is to win the Gateway championship and to get into the playoffs and take care of business."

"Coach told us not to be surprised when we go up and down the field. Last year, when we would get down to the 10-yard line, we would get surprised, but Coach told us to expect those types of things this season. I didn't expect to throw for over 400 yards, but I'm not really concerned with any statistical numbers."

Illinois State Running Back Demetrus Johnson
On his performance,"My offensive line made holes, and I ran through them, and for a while it worked pretty well."

On playing his former teammates, "I tried to stay away from the whole thing, I cut off all phone calls, especially to Darrel Reid. He's my former roommate and it was great to see him again. He did the most talking at me during the game and it was all good natured, but he's talks everyone."

"It doesn't matter to me to go out and make a point. I just wanted to have fun. It was always my dream to play Big Ten football and I think that I showed what I can do against a good Big Ten defense. I'm very happy with my performance, but I wanted a win. I wasn't playing for myself, even with the story lines. The number one objective is always to win."

"I think we surprised them and that was our plan. It was obvious that we were over matched, but still gave them a run for their money."

"I definitely made the right move. Don't get me wrong, I love this city, the players, the coaches, but there comes a point in your life when you have to look out for ourself."

Illinois State Linebacker Boomer Grigsby
"We weren't out there to earn respect. We play to win. I think Minnesota knows that now and I think anyone who watched this game, knows that. We always play to win and they may be deeper and have more scholarships, but we were right with them until the end of the game."

"You take those two 80-yard touchdowns away and it's a different game. I give Minnesota a ton of credit. I feel that we responded pretty well. We did as well as we could against one of the top running back corps in the country."

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