The first set of highlight tapes Melvin Gordon Sr. played for his son starred Barry Sanders. It didn't take long for the wide-eyed kid from Kenosha, Wis., to realize it might be in his best interest to just watch instead of try to analyze.

"He's just one of a kind," Melvin Gordon Jr. said. "Everyone knows there is only one Barry Sanders. You can't be like him. You can try, but I don't think you'll be too successful. He's a legend. He had his own style of play, and I don't think anyone can fit that."

The same now could be said for Gordon. Wisconsin's 6-1, 213-pound junior running back enters Saturday's regular-season finale against the Gophers leading college football with 2,109 rushing yards and has Sanders' 26-year-old NCAA record of 2,628 yards in sight. This season, Gordon already has broken the FBS single-game rushing record and tied the Big Ten single-season record for rushing yards, and he will threaten the conference's single-season touchdown record.

He has built the résumé of a Heisman Trophy winner. Gordon arguably became the front-runner for college football's top honor after rushing for a record 408 yards and four touchdowns, in just three quarters, against Nebraska on Nov. 15.

A week later at Iowa, Gordon added 200 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran the ball five times in Wisconsin's final five-minute possession that ran out the clock and salvaged a 26-24 victory.

No one else like him

Everything Gordon has achieved the past three months has been compared to Wisconsin's long list of past high-profile running talent, but second-year coach Gary Andersen said you can't compare Gordon's style and efficiency. Like Gordon quickly realized about Sanders, Andersen is confident there is no one else like his star running back.

Melvin Gordon needs a mere yard against the Gophers to break the Big Ten single-season rushing record he shares with Wisconsin great Ron Dayne.

"No one comes to mind," Andersen said. "He's a special, special young man. The things he does on the football field are things I've never seen on the football field live. … Any time he gets the ball it's pretty amazing."

It has been this way since high school. Gophers senior defensive lineman Cameron Botticelli faced off against Gordon in the Wisconsin high school state football tournament and can't forget his tremendous speed.

At Kenosha Bradford, Gordon ran for nearly 1,100 yards as a junior, and his coach, Jed Kennedy, knew this sort of talent could eventually top 2,000 yards. Gordon rejected the goal by telling Kennedy that stats don't matter, all he wanted was a state championship. As a senior in 2010, Bradford lost in the state semifinals, but Gordon hit the 2,000-yard mark and became the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.

In the lead-up to the showdown against the Gophers, Gordon expressed that all the records and extra attention were never a part of his plan in returning for his junior season. He passed a potential first-round draft slot to return for a chance to play in a national championship, he said.

His good attitude was also on display this week after his freshly minted single-game rushing record lasted only seven days. Gordon celebrated Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine when he ran for 427 yards in a 44-7 victory over Kansas last Saturday. The two exchanged Twitter messages that included Gordon offering Perine advice on how to handle the bright spotlight shifted in his direction.

Seeking a showdown with Cobb

Saturday's Big Ten spotlight will be directed at Gordon and Gophers running back David Cobb. They are No. 1 and No. 3 in the Big Ten in rushing yards and have been the heart of each team's offensive success this season.

Cobb has said on social media that he will play Saturday despite a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the fourth quarter against Nebraska, but the Gophers list him as questionable for Saturday. Gordon said he wants Cobb at his best for another Big Ten running back showdown.

Even if Cobb can't play, the Gophers' biggest challenge will be finding a way to limit Gordon's big runs and slow down the rest of the Badgers offense.

"He's like a missile. And we better get him deactivated before he gets up there," Gophers coach Jerry Kill said. "Nobody's stopped him [this year]. And it's one of those things, he's going to get some yards and we have to make sure nobody else does anything."

In last year's 20-7 loss to the Badgers at TCF Bank Stadium, Gordon was limited to 69 rushing yards, but he had only 12 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. Senior running back James White ran 26 times for 125 yards.

Two years ago against the Gophers, Gordon was held to 20 yards on 10 carries, but White and Montee Ball combine for 341 rushing yards in a 38-13 victory. Wisconsin has won its past 10 meetings with the Gophers, and in each game the Badgers have had at least one 100-yard rusher.

Entering the season, Gordon told Fox Sports Wisconsin he wanted to be remembered like Ron Dayne, Ball and White. It's safe to say his legacy at Wisconsin will be "one of a kind," but another special effort this weekend will go a long way toward securing the Badgers' third Heisman Trophy and first since Dayne won it in 1999.

"I've always had high expectations for myself. I always expected to be good," said Gordon, who needs 1 yard Saturday to break the single-season Big Ten rushing record he shares with Dayne. "But I didn't think it would be this crazy and I would be playing this well."