PENN STATE This time, Gophers are ranked

Four years ago, Minnesota pulled off a huge upset.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Joe Paterno says he doesn't have time to think about the last time Minnesota visited Penn State. After all, that was four years ago, and he has all he can handle preparing his Nittany Lions for this year's 24th-ranked Minnesota team.
But truth be told, it is a game most in the Penn State program would just as soon forget.
On Nov. 4, 1999, the Nittany Lions were riding high, 9-0 and ranked No. 2.
Kevin Thompson led an offense that was averaging 35 points a game. The defense, with Courtney Brown, LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short -- Brown and Arrington went on to be the top two picks in the NFL draft -- might have been the most talented ever to play for Penn State.
Minnesota ended their national championship hopes, though, with a stunning 24-23 victory in Beaver Stadium.
Improbable pass
First Billy Cockerham completed the most improbable of passes on fourth-and-16, bouncing it off the hands of Ron Johnson to Arland Bruce, who had to dive to make the catch at the 13-yard line. Three plays later, Dan Nystrom kicked a 32-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.
"I remember after the game all the guys crying. I had never seen a bunch of grown men cry like that before, but there wasn't a dry eye in the entire locker room after that," said offensive tackle Damone Jones, who was a freshman redshirt that year. "Just to watch all those hopes and dreams come to a crashing halt -- that was something I'll remember forever."
Jones isn't the only one. For many Penn State fans, that Minnesota loss signaled the end of an era.
That Penn State team went on to lose its last three regular-season games. The Nittany Lions redeemed themselves with a 24-0 rout of Texas A & amp;M in the Alamo Bowl, but back-to-back losing seasons followed -- the first consecutive losing seasons at Penn State since Joe Paterno arrived as an assistant coach in 1950.
Reversal of fortune
In the 44 games before the Minnesota loss, the Nittany Lions were 36-8. In the 44 games since, they are just 22-22.
In fact, Penn State (2-2) nominally will be the underdog today against a Golden Gophers (4-0) team that is beating its opponents by an average of 34 points per game.
But Minnesota coach Glen Mason isn't buying it, saying Penn State's record doesn't reflect the team's quality
"They got behind early to a good Boston College team. Against Nebraska they got the ball, down 15-to-10 and then they fumbled," Mason said. "If they don't fumble on that last drive, they probably would have beaten Nebraska."
Linebacker Andy Ryland, who also was a redshirt freshman when the Gophers beat Penn State four years ago, said as much as that loss hurts, he won't be thinking of it today. He'll be thinking about the team's two losses this year.
"I think what makes this game important for us is the fact we're 2-and-2 right now," Ryland said. "You hear the whispers, and we're trying to go out there and become a good football team and prove to ourselves and to the country that we're a good football team.
"Also it's an important game because it kicks off our Big Ten season. This can determine a lot as far as our standings. If you look at it as revenge and all of those things, you start flooding your head with other ideas. We've got to go out there and play our game as a team, not for revenge but for our Penn State team this year."