The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Mason reflects on ’99 upset
Former Gophers coach talks past against Nittany Lions ahead of Saturday’s meeting
Minnesota traveled to State College 20 years ago this week showing positive signs in Glen Mason’s third season as coach but lacking a signature win.
The Golden Gophers had dropped three of their previous four games by a combined 13 points to ranked opponents before facing No. 2 and unbeaten Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 6, 1999.
“We were still in that turnaround mode,” Mason said earlier this week from his home in the Twin Cities, where Penn State will play Minnesota Saturday in a battle of 8-0 teams. “I thought we were making progress. We were increasing our talent level and we were very competitive.
“By no means while getting ready to play Penn State with the talent that they had did I think we were close to that level.”
But on that sunny afternoon, Minnesota stunned the Nittany Lions 24-23 on Dan Nystrom’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, leaving almost all of the crowd of 96,753 apoplectic.
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the place.
“Beaver Stadium went silent,” Mason recalled. “Deafening silence. When he (Nystrom) kicked that ball — it was right down the middle — all of a sudden it went silent and everybody sat down. Kind of eerie. I still remember the scene.”
Mason did two things in preparation that helped the Gophers pull off the shocking upset.
Penn State had three first-team All-Americans on defense: defensive end Courtney Brown and linebackers LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short. Two weeks earlier, the Lions had stopped Purdue and Drew Brees four times inside the 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter before winning 31-25.
“I told our offensive coaches that those guys were unbelievable defensively on third down,” Mason said. “People get into a passing situation and they try to throw the ball. They can’t handle the pass rush and they go backwards.
“Our game plan is going to be patience. If we get to third down in a passing situation, if we run a quarterback sneak for no gain and punt the ball, we’re going to be ahead of the game compared to everybody else I’ve seen.”
Mason also noticed that Penn State had a knack for blocking kicks that season, which he called “uncanny.” Early in the week, he had two guys get down on their knees and two others stand on their backs with their hands up when Nystrom kicked extra points or field goals. As the week went on, he had a guy stand on a ladder with his hands up to try to block Nystrom’s kicks.
“By about Tuesday, he was making them over the guys’ hands,” Mason said, “so I got a ladder out there and had a guy stand on it. That guy kept blocking it. By about Thursday, the guy was still on the ladder and Dan was making them.”
The teams traded the lead four times before the final seconds, partly because Nystrom had missed an extra point.
Penn State led 23-21 and had a fourth down at the Minnesota 33, when coach Joe Paterno decided to punt rather than allow Travis Forney to try a 50yard field goal, even though he had made three, including two from 44 yards.
Minnesota took over at its 20 with 1:50 to go, when Mason surprised his assistant coaches by calling their Hail Mary play on first down.
“One of my coaches said, ‘It’s first down,’ and I said, ‘I know. I’ve run out of patience,’ ” Mason said. “We throw it up in desperation and Ron Johnson catches it at midfield. Now we got a chance.”
Billy Cockerham, who Mason said had once gone 0-for-16 in a spring game, found Johnson for 46 yards to the Penn State 34. After Arrington’s sack and two incomplete passes, the Gophers had fourth-and-16 when Mason called for the “Hail Jane.”
“It’s the same thing as the Hail Mary except the inside receiver breaks out,” Mason said. ”We threw it up, it was tipped and Arland (Bruce) caught it.”
Bruce dove and caught it inches from the ground for a 27-yard gain to the Penn State 13. Moments later, Mason sent Nystrom to try the game-winner.
“As Dan ran onto the field, guys were saying, ‘Don’t forget the ladder,’” Mason said. “If you look at the picture (that hangs in his home), those guys are so high in the air. I saw where someone said LaVar Arrington tipped it. He didn’t tip that.”
Arrington has said he tipped it, but no stories or videos from that day corroborate his story. He made a career-high 15 tackles that day.
“I’ve never gotten over that loss,” Arrington has said countless times since then.
Mason and Paterno had become friends during their coaching careers. After No. 1 Penn State edged Minnesota 16-15 in 1997 with the help of a pass interference call, Paterno went to the Minnesota locker room and praised the Gophers.
He later extended an open invitation to Mason to his house if Minnesota won at Beaver Stadium. Mason declined to take him up on that offer after the 1999 game.
“When Coach Paterno shook my hand, he kind of had a smile on his face and a tear in his eye,” Mason said. “A tear in his eye for his team and a smile on his face for my team.”
It was the beginning of a six-year tailspin for Penn State and an unforgettable loss that still haunts its fans.
The following week at home, the Lions blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to Michigan and a quarterback named Tom Brady. They went on to lose at Michigan State 35-28 in their regular season finale before finishing with a 24-0 win over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.
They had four losing seasons in the next five years.
Mason went on to lead Minnesota until he was fired in 2006, despite seven bowl appearances in 10 years and a 64-57 record. He works for Big Ten Network as an analyst and has not forgotten that afternoon in State College 20 years ago.
“I hear from Penn State fans all the time,” he said. “They are the best fans. They’re class through and through. When I used to do games, I did a number of Penn State games. People would always come over and ask, ‘Coach, how are you doing? Dang that ’99 season.’
“They were an awful good team and rolling towards a national championship. That derailed them.”