Mendenhall runs into Illinois' record book
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Illinois record book has begun to feel the wrath of junior running back Rashard Mendenhall.
The Niles West product set the school's single-season touchdown mark Saturday night with his swerving 33-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter of Illinois' 44-17 Big Ten win at Minnesota.
Mendenhall's 16th score of the season broke the record held by Howard Griffith, who set the mark in 1990 before going on to win Super Bowl rings as a Denver Broncos fullback.
Mendenhall, who tied Griffith with his 64-yard scoring sprint in the second quarter, also put himself on the doorstep to breaking Antoineo Harris' single-season rushing record.
Before leaving for good after his record-breaking score with 10:25 to play, Mendenhall rushed 17 times for 201 yards to get to 1,314 for the year. Harris posted 1,330 rushing yards in 12 games in 2002.
One last Mendenhall fact? He became the 13th runner in Illinois annals to break the 2,000-yard mark for a career. He's ninth on the all-time list with 2,172 yards.
New contributors: Sophomore Marques Wilkins arrived at Illinois as a ballyhooed four-star recruit -- one of the first guys to commit to Ron Zook along with Juice Williams.
Unlike Williams, Wilkins didn't have an immediate impact on the Illini.
In fact, the Decatur product never started a game, much less caught a pass, until Saturday, when he snared 2 first-half passes for 47 yards.
Former tight end Jeff Cumberland also earned his first start as a wideout and delivered big with 4 catches for 53 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown strike from Williams.
Sack attack: Illinois entered Saturday's game ranked 10th nationally in sacks with 3.22 per game.
The Illini seemed destined to improve their lot dramatically when defensive end Derek Walker and defensive tackle David Lindquist took down Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber on the Gophers' first full possession.
But Illinois didn't notch its next one until third-string end Antonio James hogtied Weber for his first career sack just before the end of the third quarter.
The Illini finished with 4 sacks and own 33 for the year. They need 7 more to equal the school record set by the 2001 Big Ten champs.
Personnel issues: Freshman slot receiver Brian Gamble (9 catches, 107 yards) did not make the trip to Minneapolis. It marked his third missed game due to either academic or behavioral issues.
Junior wideout Kyle Hudson didn't start, but entered the game in the second quarter.
Four-year starting guard Martin O'Donnell went out in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, though he looked to be in decent shape standing on the sideline and returned in the fourth quarter. Junior Eric Block took O'Donnell's spot.
Senior linebacker Anthony Thornhill, a special-teams staple, injured his right knee on kickoff coverage.
Point-a-minute: Illinois' 34 first-half points represented the program's highest halftime total since taking a 35-0 lead into the break against Indiana in 2002.