Bowl Blog: Gophers Turn the Tide in 2004

Leading into the 2008 Insight Bowl, Gophersports.com will take a look back at some memorable bowl moments in the history of Minnesota football.

The 2004 season got off to an impressive start as Minnesota, led by Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, jumped out to a 5-0 record and a No. 13 national ranknig. Unfortunately for the second year in a row, a late loss to Michigan would change the complexion of the season. The Golden Gophers would earn a trip to the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., and a matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide. It would be a chance for the Golden Gophers to secure their third straight bowl victory against a team from a BCS conference.

Leading up to the game:

The Golden Gophers entered the game knowing full well that the neutral site, The Coliseum, would instead be a virtual home game for the Crimson Tide with the Alabama faithful numbering around 40,000. Then-head coach Glen Mason at the Music City Bowl press conference the day before the game: "I went jogging this morning and I went by what I thought was an RV dealership. Turned out all the RVs were filled with Alabama fans. I turned my hat around and just kept running. We expected that and I think it's great. It's one thing to play a football game, but it's special to play in front of a packed house. That's the pageantry of college football." The game drew 66,089 fans in all.
Certainly the most intriguing matchup of the Music City Bowl was the Minnesota offense against the Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide boasted the nation's second-ranked defense, while the Gophers featured two future NFL running backs and two All-American linemen in Greg Eslinger and Marc Setterstrom and ranked fifth nationally in rushing offense.
Minnesota did dodge one bullet before the game. Often times during the winter break, the players will head home and then travel on their own to the site of the bowl game. All players arrived on time, expect for one who ended up in Knoxville instead of Nashville. Four years later, that player's identity is still a mystery.

The game:

The Golden Gophers struggled early against the vaunted speed of the Crimson Tide defense and committed three first-quarter turnovers. In fact, Alabama scored on its first offensive play of the game as Spencer Pennington found Le'Ron McLain for a two-yard touchdown after Alabama recovered a Minnesota fumble.
The momentum of the game changed late in the first quarter after Pennington was sacked by Anthony Montgomery. His fumble was picked up by Keith Lipka who rolled into the end zone to tie the game at 7.
Wrapping up his first season as starting quarterback, Bryan Cupito was injured towards the end of the first quarter. After missing a few plays and being severly limited by the leg injury, he returned to play the rest of the game. During his absence, Adam Ernst, entered the game and handed the ball off five times....it's all he could do as a shoulder injury suffered during the season made it impossible for him to throw the ball...a fact Alabama probably would've liked to have known about.
Minnesota took its first lead of the game after driving 53 yards in nine plays as Barber scored from five yards out. Rhys Lloyd would later add a 27-yard field goal to give the Gophers a 10-point lead.
Alabama closed the gap to 17-14 with a late first half touchdown. The Crimson Tide finished the first half with negative two yards rushing.
After forcing a three-and-out to start the second half, Minnesota drove 68 yards in 11 plays to set up another Lloyd field goal.
The 20-14 lead held late into the fourth quarter. Pinned deep in its own territory with a stiff wind, the Golden Gophers opted for a safety and to kick the ball back to Alabama.
After the Crimson Tide had driven to the Minnesota 19-yard line, the Gopher defense stood tall and held Alabama on four straight possessions to seal the victory.

Following the game:

Minnesota's defense, playing under new coordinator David Lockwood, held Alabama to 0-for-11 on third down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
Alabama had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. Barber finished with 187 yards (over 100 in the first half alone), while Maroney racked up 105 yards.
Cupito attempted just 12 passes, but his toughness and resolve to stay in the game earned a great deal of respect from his teammates and set up a career in which he would own virtually all of Minnesota's passing records.

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