The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Slowly but surely, No.21 Minnesota has scaled the rankings by beating opponents such as Southwest Texas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Buffalo.Some see the Golden Gophers (7-1, 3-1) as a threat to sneak into the race for the Big Ten championship as they head into today's showdown against No.6 Ohio State. Iowa (8-1, 5-0) leads the way, with the Buckeyes (9-0, 4-0) right behind.

By virtue of the fact they're still hanging around, the Gophers are already a valid threat, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

"October is for pretenders. November is for contenders," he said, quoting former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce. "That's the truth. We understand in November, that's when the decisions are made."

But there are others, including Buckeyes safety Donnie Nickey, who see Minnesota as just another paper tiger propped up by a weak schedule.

"Their competition ... they definitely haven't seen anybody like us. I don't think they've seen a defense as strong as ours, especially against the running game," Nickey said. "You've got to take into account who they played."

Minnesota leads the Big Ten in rushing with almost 300 yards a game on the ground. Terry Jackson and Thomas Tapeh each has topped 100 yards rushing in the last three Gophers games.

In his first season as a starter, Jackson is the top rusher in the conference with 171 yards a game - more than 50 yards more per league game than second-place Antoineo Harris of Illinois (118.5). Tapeh is fifth in the Big Ten in rushing at 115 yards a game.

"I don't know if we're a great rushing team, but I'm very pleased with the way we've been rushing the football," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said.

Mason, a former Ohio State player and assistant under Woody Hayes, also served under Bruce in the early 1980s on the same staff with Tressel. They were the two finalists for the job when Tressel was hired two years ago.

The last time Mason brought a team to Columbus, the Buckeyes were 5-0 and ranked No.5 early in the 2000 season. The Gophers pulled off a 29-17 upset.

Ohio State will be close to full strength today. Freshman sensation Maurice Clarett should be back at tailback after missing all but six plays of last Saturday's win over Penn State because of a nerve injury in his left shoulder.

He needs just 108 rushing yards to break Robert Smith's freshman record at Ohio State of 1,126 yards.