I’ll never forget it. It was a sunny Saturday in early November, 1999. I was sitting with Pat, Chas, Harlan, and John in the group’s seats high up in old Pitt Stadium. The Panthers were getting their butts kicked by the Miami Hurricanes, if my memory serves me right. But this story isn’t directly about Pitt.
As unbelievable as this seems today (just four years later), Penn State was then the second ranked team in the country — heading towards a seemingly inevitable clash with Florida State for the national championship. About 130 miles east-northeast of Pitt Stadium, the mighty Nittany Lions were in Beaver Stadium hosting a massive underdog: the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The surprisingly pesky Gophers, under the direction of Head Coach Glen Mason (one of my favorites), avoided a knockout punch all day long. Finally, down 23-21 with less than a minute left, the Gophers converted a hail mary fourth down play that brought them into field goal range. Mason skillfully ran the clock down, and the Gophers kicked a field goal with no time left. The ball fluttered past Lavar Arrington’s outstretched hands and through the uprights.
The #2 ranked Nittany Lions lost, 24-23. One hundred and thirty miles to the west-southwest, Pitt Stadium erupted in such a loud cheer that the Panthers had to blow a time out in order to figure out what was going on. I, myself, yelled my head off, scaring the crap out of the little girl who was sitting in front of us.
The front page headline in the next day’s Altoona Mirror read “10 AND… OH NO!!!”
That 24-23 upset loss to lowly Minnesota knocked Penn State football into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. Since that fateful day in 1999, the Nittany Lions have gone 22-22. This tailspin, coupled with Walt Harris’s stunning rebuilding effort, is why our own Pitt Panthers are now the foremost college football program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I never would have believed that it could happen back in 1999, and neither could any of you.
Tomorrow, the Penn State Nittany Lions will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Beaver Stadium for the first time since that fateful day in 1999. So wherever you are tomorrow, take a moment and savor what all has happened to Pitt football since then.
I know where I’ll be. Sitting in Beaver Stadium rooting for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Hail to Minnesota and Glen Mason
