MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Glen Mason held up the game program, featuring Minnesota's 18 seniors, and declared it a fitting cover.

The seniors who Mason inherited when he replaced coach Jim Wacker three years ago lifted the Golden Gophers (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) to a 44-20 pasting of Indiana on Saturday.

	Indiana's Sharrod Wallace denies Minnesota's Luke Leverson a first-quarter reception.

"You look at the picture, I think it tells it all," Mason said as he held the magazine high. "Because there's what it takes to build a team."

Behind a 20-0 fourth-quarter blitz keyed by the seniors playing their last home game, the Gophers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten), reached seven victories for the first time since 1985 and handed the Hoosiers (4-6, 3-4) their fifth straight losing season.

Thomas Hamner (34 rushes for 174 yards) and Billy Cockerham (111 yards rushing and two TDs to compensate for a shaky passing day) were joined by cornerback Jimmy Wyrick and Luke Braaten as the senior saviors.

The Gophers, who commanded their highest ranking since 1985 after a 24-23 upset at then-No. 2 Penn State last week, were clinging to a 27-20 lead with 10 minutes left when Wyrick, picked on all day by Antwaan Randle El, returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown.

Randle El had gone 18 quarters without being picked off.

Seconds later, Braaten forced and recovered a fumble by A.C. Carter on the ensuing kickoff and Dan Nystrom's third field goal made it 37-20.

Byron Evans -- yes, another senior -- capped the onslaught with a 12-yard TD run.

"It was a great feeling for the seniors, me and my classmates who have been through the down times, to make plays in our last game here," Wyrick said.

"That's what we're here for," said senior Tyrone Carter, who last week set the NCAA Division I record for career tackles by a defensive back and on Saturday broke the school record for punt return yards in a season.

"Most of these guys weren't here when we were 3-8, but we built the foundation for the program's turnaround," Carter said. "It feels great to be a senior today. It feels great to leave a legacy."

Cockerham averaged almost 6 yards on 19 carries, overcoming three interceptions and a fumbled handoff to Hamner.

Mason, who has turned around programs at Kent, Kansas and now Minnesota, said he didn't mind that the seniors were Wacker's recruits, either.

"They're my guys," he insisted. "Jim Wacker did a great job leaving me some great quality kids."

Andy Payne's 30-yard field goal after Jason Czap recovered Cockerham's fumble at the Golden Gophers' 17 pulled Indiana to 24-20, but he missed a 33-yarder after Curtis Randle El, Antwaan's older brother, intercepted Cockerham's deflected pass in the Hoosiers' end zone.

The Gophers' fourth-quarter barrage began with a 25-yarder by Nystrom, who kicked a 51-yarder, a school record for a freshman, in the first half.

Levron Williams scored on pitches of 2 and 4 yards and an interception by Devin Schaffer led to Payne's 32-yard field goal as the Hoosiers took a 17-10 lead in the second quarter.

But Cockerham, who connected with Ron Johnson on a 39-yard TD, scored twice on 1-yard keepers in the final 4:05 before halftime as the Gophers went ahead 24-17. Cockerham's 10 rushing touchdowns this season are the most ever by a Minnesota quarterback.

Indiana coach Cam Cameron's top assistant, offensive coordinator Pete Schmidt, watched the game from a hospital room in Bloomington, Ind., where he began treatment Thursday for cancer of the lymph glands.

He advised but didn't call the plays for Randle El, the elusive sophomore star who gained 64 yards rushing, caught a pass and punted twice. But he was just 12-of-30 passing for 161 yards and was sacked four times.

"I was anxious," Randle El said. "They did a great job on defense. The biggest disappointment of the year is no bowl game, though."

And the Gophers' seniors ensured their first bowl berth.

Long after the game was over, the seniors meandered onto the field for several minutes, soaking up one last moment at the cavernous Metrodome.

"Today, the seniors stepped up and played their hearts out," Carter said. "We'll all leave here with the memory of knowing we gave it our all."

Especially in their farewell.