Between the Quotes: Mason's magnificent meltdowns

Here's our guy Glen's top five, bottom to top, and all inside the Hubert H. Humphrey House of Horrors:

5. Oct. 7, 2006: Penn State 28, Gophers 27, overtime. Jason Giannini clanks PAT off left upright after Eric Decker's outstanding touchdown catch in OT. Trumaine Banks breaks up Penn State's fourth-down pass, Gophers run madly onto field, failing to see penalty flag for interference that came after a request from rival coach Joe Paterno. Nittany Lions score in three plays, then pull off one of those tricky extra points for victory.

Mason: "I'm very proud of my players. They played a whale of a ballgame."

4. Oct. 28, 2000: Northwestern 41, Gophers 35. Gophers lead 35-14 after Asad Abdul-Khaliq's touchdown run with 5:34 left in the third quarter. Northwestern scores the final 27 points, including a 45-yard Hail Mary on the game's last play from Zak Kustok to Sam Simmons.

Mason: "Some games are harder to lose than others. My players poured their hearts out."

3. Sept. 29, 2001: Purdue 35, Gophers 28, overtime. Purdue, trailing 28-25, is at its 3-yard line with 19 seconds left and no timeouts. Purdue completes two passes for 66 yards, and the Boilers run out for a field-goal attempt as the officials place the ball for a first down with 1 second remaining. Travis Dorsch kicks a 48-yard tying field goal. Purdue scores in overtime, then an apparent touchdown pass to the Gophers' Antoine Henderson is questionably ruled out of bounds.

Mason: "How do we bring these kids back from the ground? That will be a challenge."

2. Oct. 15, 2005: Wisconsin 38, Gophers 34. The Gophers, rushing for 411 yards, lead 34-24 when Gary Russell's 1-yard touchdown run caps a 19-play, 80-yard drive that consumes 7:48. Wisconsin goes 71 yards in seven plays and 77 seconds to make it 34-31. The onside kick gets booted 30 yards backwards and Laurence Maroney recovers at his 8. On fourth down, punter Justin Kucek drops the snap and gets the punt blocked, and Wisconsin's Ben Strickland recovers in the end zone for the winning TD with 30 seconds left.

Mason: "Crazy."

1. Oct. 18, 2003: Michigan 38, Gophers 35. The Gophers, unbeaten and No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, lead 28-7 entering the fourth quarter. The Wolverines score 31 points in the fourth and get the victory, despite allowing more yards rushing -- 424 -- than any Michigan team in history.

Mason: "We've been here before."