The story has been written, told and retold to the point where it gets the treatment of a Bambino-like curse.

And why not?

The story of Minnesota's dramatic 24-23 upset win in 1999 over then-No. 2-ranked, national-championship-hopeful Penn State is one that unfolds in a splendid sequence for such superstition.

First, came the Hail Mary pass on 4th-and-16. Then, the last-second field goal and, finally, the upset win that seemed to change the course of a program's history. As it is commonly told, the program that was changed was, of course, Penn State's, and with the Nittany Lions owning a 25-30 record since that game, it's tough to argue with that.

But often overlooked is what Minnesota and its head coach Glenn Mason have done in that same period of time. The Golden Gophers have gone 30-22 since that fateful game that crushed Penn State national title hopes in 1999. But that won-lost record, which is solid but not staggering, doesn't even begin to tell the story of the kind of program Minnesota has started to build in the past few season.

In their last 30 games, the Gophers are 22-8, and last season was a high point in the Mason era as Minnesota went 10-3 and won the Sun Bowl over Oregon. And if it weren't for close losses to Michigan and Michigan State, it could have been better yet. With numerous stars returned for this season, even more is expected.

"We won 10 games last year, and we're not real happy about that," Mason said at Big Ten media day in August.

So, how did Mason build an emerging college football power at a frigid metropolitan campus near pro-sports city? How did you get the top blue-chip athletes to start paying attention to Minnesota. Well, you don't at all actually. You simply get the player you can.

And then what do you do? Well, you coach them and you develop them -- better than everyone else.

Mason has built a program, so far, on turning rough-around-the-edges big boys into dominating linemen. He knew wasn't going to get the premier high school linemen, but that was OK.

"You can't go out and get a lineman that's 6-foot-4 and 280," Mason said. "He's going to go to one of the big schools ... You have to go after the guy

who's an inch too short or a step too slow. The guys the other schools aren't recruiting."

Guys like preseason All-America center Greg Eslinger, who was a little too undersized and a little too unfamiliar, as a native of Bismarck, N.D., for the "bigger schools" to chance.

Or guys like preseason All-Big Ten guard Mark Setterstrom, who is from a tiny school in the wild of Minnesota.

Even someone like the Gophers leading rusher Laurence Maroney, a top high school back who was the unquestioned jewel of Minnesota's 2003 recruiting class, wasn't on every recruiting guru's top 100 list.

But no matter how many winning seasons the Gophers have, it will never be entirely easy for Mason to get the best player to come to Minneapolis.

But there's no reason to think that will matter, since it hasn't so far. When good coaching finds the right formula, it's tough to stop.