Undefeated Gophers wary of Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Glen Mason insists there's little separating undefeated Minnesota from Northwestern, even if their records indicate otherwise.

"They're not far away," the Minnesota coach said. "And potentially we've got a good football team, but we're not far away from going the other way. It's that fine line that you deal with, and we're dealing with it right now."

The No. 21 Gophers (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are coming off a 24-20 win over Penn State. They play at Northwestern (2-3, 0-1) Saturday and are looking to improve to 6-0 for the first time in 43 years.

Minnesota has won six in a row dating back to last season. The last time they did that was 1961, when they went to the Rose Bowl.

Although their nonconference schedule wasn't the toughest in the nation -- the Gophers beat Tulsa, Troy State, Ohio and Louisiana-Lafayette -- they were impressive in the win at Penn State.

Gophers at Northwestern

Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday

Radio: KKIN-AM

In the win, Marion Barber III rushed for 134 yards to lead a Minnesota rushing attack that gained 250 yards. Barber leads the team with 466 yards rushing and has 11 touchdowns, though he's had help. Four Gophers have rushed for at least 200 yards this season.

Minnesota is third in the country in rushing with 284 yards per game.

"It can be fun for us and it can definitely cause headaches for defenses because they don't know how to approach us," quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq said.