Everything you forgot about Ron Dayne's magical 1999 run to the NCAA all-time rushing record

JR Radcliffe
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ron Dayne runs for a record 37 yard run, setting an NCCA rushing record in the second quarter against Iowa on November 13, 1999.

Wisconsin's battle against Iowa on Saturday comes nearly 20 years to the day of another match against the Hawkeyes that marked one of the most important games in Badgers history, even without much drama in a 41-3 outcome.

On Nov. 13, 1999, Wisconsin crushed the Hawkeyes, Ron Dayne set the new NCAA Division I career rushing record and the Badgers clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Dayne went into the Iowa game needing 99 yards to pass the record established one year earlier by Texas standout Ricky Williams.

Dayne got that and then some against Iowa, rushing 27 times for 216 yards. He sealed up the record with 4 minutes 32 seconds left in the first half when he ripped off a 31-yard run in front of the Wisconsin bench. 

The play was the first of a seven-play, 83-yard drive that culminated in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brooks Bollinger to Chris Chambers with 1:18 left. When Vitaly Pisetsky added the extra point, the Badgers' lead was 27-3.

Wisconsin improved to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten.

"I just can't put into words how I feel," said Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez afterward. "What a great way to finish 10 years: back to back championships. That record, undisputed champions, going to the Rose Bowl again. I don't know how it can get any better."

You probably remember the run and a few other details surrounding that momentous occasion. But do you remember all this?

Dayne didn't play full games early in the season

Wisconsin's running back Ron Dayne breaks away for a long gain in the first half against Murray State Saturday, Sept. 4, 1999, in Madison, Wis. Dayne rushed for 135 yards and scored three touchdowns as Wisconsin won 49-10.

Wisconsin opened the year with a 49-10 win over Murray State and a 50-10 win over Ball State, but Dayne didn't play in the second half of the opener and didn't play the fourth quarter of the latter. He only amassed 293 yards against lesser foes and got most of his 158 yards against Ball State late. He cleared 100 yards with 3 1/2 minutes to go before halftime.

"There was no reason to put Ron back in there in the second half," Alvarez said after the Murray State game. "There are 10 games left. There is a lot of football left. There will be games he will be carrying in the fourth quarter. Don't panic. Ron will get plenty of touches."

Alvarez began getting some heat for not giving Dayne more opportunities to inch closer to the record.

Sprained ankle hurt against Cincinnati

Ron Dayne fumbles in the end zone and Cincinnati's Jeff Burrow recovers for the Bearcats in 1999.

Many Badgers fans remember the incomprehensible 17-12 loss to Cincinnati in Week 3, one week after Cincy suffered a 31-24 loss to NCAA I-AA foe Troy. Wisconsin was a 26-point favorite on the road and took a head-scratching loss ... sound familiar, 2019 Badgers fans?

Dayne was battling a sprained ankle in that contest, even though he did pass Archie Griffin for the all-time Big Ten rushing lead with his 28-carry, 231-yard performance. It was his fourth-highest rushing total as a Badger, but his fumble at the 2-yard line midway through the fourth quarter is what everyone remembers.

Michigan: Zero yards on eight attempts?

Wisconsin's Ron Dayne (33) lays on the ground as the Michigan defense celebrates a fourth down stop in the fourth quarter Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999, in Madison, Wis. Watching is Wisconsin's Bill Ferrario (60). Michigan won 21-16.

Michigan, which topped Wisconsin by a 21-16 count one week after Cincinnati, held Dayne to zero yards on eight attempts in the second half. He finished with 14 carries for 88 yards overall. His Heisman Trophy hopes were suddenly fading.

"I could care less," Michigan linebacker Dhani Jones said of Dayne's Heisman hopes. "Heisman-schmeisman. It's just an award that goes to supposedly the greatest player for that year. I'll let the voters decide that." 

Ohio State: A second half for the ages

As memorable as the Cincinnati loss that season: the surging rally past Ohio State. Wisconsin scored 42 straight points to dominate at Ohio Stadium, 42-17, with Dayne ultimately posting 161 yards of rushing and 5.0 yards per carry. 

Minnesota: Surviving in OT

Dayne was held in check by Minnesota (80 yards on 25 attempts) in a game the Badgers won in overtime on Pisetsky's game-winning field goal. But Dayne's 11-yard run around left end on first down in OT got the Badgers off to a fast start, and Wisconsin prevailed, 20-17.

Indiana: 'This is not a democracy'

Everything was clicking in a 59-0 win over Indiana, with Wisconsin racking up 705 total yards. Dayne had 167 yards, but the rushing game racked up 461 total, with Michael Bennett also getting 114 yards on six carries with two touchdowns. Dayne reached 1,000 yards for the season and became the fourth player in NCAA history with four straight 1,000-yard seasons.

But again, Dayne did not play in the second half, despite the protests of fans chanting for Alvarez to put Dayne back into the game.

"We take a vote," Alvarez said sarcastically when asked who's call it is to keep Dayne on the sidelines. "We give everybody a slip of paper -- `Should he go out or should he stay in?' We collect them, count 'em up and then go from there. Listen, I run the team. This is not a democracy."

Michigan State: No. 1 rushing defense? Not so much

Following a block thrown by Wisconsin right guard Dave Costa Jr. on Michigan State's Aric Morris, running back Ron Dayne has some running room during their game Saturday, October 23, 1999 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.

Michigan State came into their game against the Badgers with the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation, allowing 39.9 yards per game and 1.4 yards per carry. Dayne was more than equal to the challenge.

He finished with 214 yards on 34 attempts. When he ran for 152 yards in the first half, he had just 65 fewer yards than the Spartans had allowed in their first seven games total. 

"There's been some other guys that are a little more flashy; sometimes because of their great speed or big-play ability or whatever they flash to you and impress you," Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. "But down in and down out, he's just a tough guy to deal with, a tough guy to tackle. He's about as good as anybody as I've ever seen."

Sports Illustrated's famous list of 'disappointments'

Against Michigan State, Dayne passed Charles White of USC into third place on the all-time rushing list.

"It's been an absolute travesty," Badgers offensive coordinator Brian White said of the treatment Dayne had received in the press, including one midseason article in Sports Illustrated that ranked Dayne No. 6 on college football's top-10 biggest disappointments of 1999. "To be considered one of the top 10 disappointments in college football? Come on. It's ridiculous. It's asinine. That's one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tailbacks in college football history."

For what it's worth, Sports Illustrated atoned. Dayne was later the subject of a story with the title "Front-runner," with a picture of Dayne running free against Purdue in the penultimate game of the regular season. It was a story about the top contenders for the Heisman.

Dayne acknowledged at the time that he still had a copy of the first article — the one listing him as a disappointment — in his locker.

"It just motivated me to go out and play harder," Dayne said. "I didn't get mad and say they were horrible writers. It just motivated me."

Northwestern: It's the linemen

Wisconsin's Ron Dayne is congratulated by teammates after scoring the Badgers' second touchdown in the first quarter of action against Northwestern at Ryan Stadium in Evanston, Ill. October 30, 1999.

The offensive linemen for the Badgers that year included future NFL players Bill Ferrario, Dave Costa, Chris McIntosh, Casey Rabach and Mark Tauscher. All but Costa were drafted, and both Ferrario and Tauscher played with the Packers.

"Ron Dayne is a good back," Northwestern linebacker Kevin Bentley said after the Badgers beat the Wildcats, 35-16. "But it's their linemen that have made him what he is."

McIntosh, the future first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks, was one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy honoring the nation's best offensive lineman. He started 50 straight games for Wisconsin to close his career, becoming just the third player in Big Ten history to start at least 50 games. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, with Dayne earning Offensive Player of the Year.

Today, McIntosh serves as deputy athletic director at Wisconsin.

Quarterback Brooks Bollinger was named the league's Freshman of the Year.

Purdue: Passing Tony Dorsett and praise from Drew Brees

Ron Dayne bursts through big hole in the third quarter against Purdue, Saturday, November 6, 1999 in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Badgers beat the Boilermakers 28-21 and Ron Dayne ran 221 yards including a 41 yard touchdown run to win.

In a 28-21 win over Purdue, Dayne rushed for 222 yards on 32 attempts and passed Tony Dorsett for No. 2 on the all-time rushing list, now with 6,181 yards. 

"He's great," said Purdue quarterback Drew Brees — who today owns the all-time passing record in the NFL — of Dayne. "He's kind of been their team for the last four years. He's going to break the NCAA record next week and had a great day today. I think he deserves the Heisman."

Brees had been in the Heisman conversation but appeared to lose ground to Dayne in the head-to-head loss.

Who were the other Heisman candidates that year?

Former Georgia Tech star Joe Hamilton, one of the most prolific players in ACC history, is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dayne eventually ran away with the Heisman Trophy in 1999, with 586 first-place votes and 2,042 points total, more than double the total for second place. 

That second-place finisher was Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton, who threw for 3,060 yards and 29 touchdowns and also accounted for 734 yards on the ground and six scores. He took 96 first-place votes and 994 total points.

Michael Vick of Virginia Tech, a freshman at the time, took third with 319 points, just ahead of Brees. Vick finished the year with 2,065 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions, with another 682 yards rushing with nine scores. Brees threw for 3,909 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Other notables in the Heisman voting that year were Chad Pennington in fifth, future No. 4 overall draft pick Peter Warrick in fourth, Shaun Alexander in seventh, future No. 7 overall draft pick Thomas Jones in eighth and future No. 2 overall draft pick Lavar Arrington in ninth. Dayne was drafted the same year as those players atin 11th.

Warrick picked up felony charges for a shoplifting and received a two-game suspension and wasn't invited to the ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club, leaving only five finalists on hand.

With two weeks to go, Hamilton was the leader in the Scripps Howard News Service weekly Heisman poll, though his lead had been shrinking.

Penn State plummets, and a huge Michigan loss ... at Illinois

UW fans hold up towels honoring Ron dayne during a celebration honoring Dayne after the game Saturday, November 13, 1999 at Camp Randall in Madison, WI. Dayne set an NCAA record for rushing, while Wisconsin secured the Big Ten title and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State had the inside track for a spot in the Rose Bowl, but the Nittany Lions lost in back-to-back weeks. That included a 31-27 setback against Michigan that was announced on the Camp Randall public-address system in the first quarter of the game against Iowa, assuring the Badgers and their fans that a win would give Wisconsin a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the nation when it lost to Minnesota the week earlier, 24-23. The Lions went on to lose a third straight game Nov. 20 at Michigan State, 35-28, and finished 5-3 in league play. Michigan and Michigan State both finished 6-2.

Michigan, which took down Wisconsin to open the Big Ten season, suffered losses to Michigan State (34-31) and Illinois (35-29) in consecutive weeks in October. The latter game was huge to keep the Wolverines (led by quarterback Tom Brady) from rising up and snatching a Rose Bowl spot from Wisconsin. Illinois scored four straight second-half touchdowns for the upset win, even as 24 1/2-point underdogs. Sound familiar? Rocky Harvey's 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown gave Illinois a 1-point lead with 2:42 to play.

Michigan had been ranked No. 4 before losing to the Spartans a week earlier and No. 9 in the battle with Illinois.

End of an era for running backs?

Wisconsin tailback Ron Dayne poses with the 1999 Heisman Trophy following the awards ceremony on Dec. 11, 1999, at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. Dayne finished his collegiate career with 6,397 yards, the Division 1-A rushing record.

Both Ricky Williams in 1998 and Dayne topped four quarterbacks to win the Heisman Trophy, but the increased emphasis on the passing game has been noticeable in the Heisman distribution since. The next eight winners were all quarterbacks, and since Dayne, only two non-quarterbacks have won the award: running backs Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry in 2015, both of Alabama.

When Dayne won, it meant only one of the previous six winners had been a quarterback (Danny Wuerffel of Florida in 1996). Charles Woodson, the future Packers star, won the award as a cornerback in 1997. Before Wuerffel, Colorado's Rashaan Salaam and Ohio State's Eddie George won the award as running backs.

Dayne was only No. 2 in national rushing as a senior, kind of

Before the Rose Bowl, Dayne had amassed 1,834 yards on 303 carries (6.1 average) and 166.7 yards per game with 19 touchdowns. That total was just shy of LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU, who had 1,850 yards rushing. Dayne went on to rush for 200 yards in the Rose Bowl and outpaced Tomlinson with bowl yardage figured into the equation for the season, 2,034 to 1,974.

The worst team in the Rose Bowl

One year earlier, college football analyst Craig James called Wisconsin the worst team to ever play in a Rose Bowl, even though Wisconsin was ranked No. 9 in the nation. The Badgers went out and toppled UCLA, 38-31. Dayne ran for 246 yards (one shy of Charles White's Rose Bowl record).

Dayne was named Rose Bowl MVP a second time

Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne trots into the end zone to score touchdown during the third quarter of their game against Stanford Saturday, January 1, 2000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

He didn’t match his incredible showing against UCLA the year before, but he did rack up 200 rushing yards and scored to help the Badgers to a 17-9 win over Stanford for a second straight Rose Bowl trophy. His 30 career points scored in the Rose Bowl set a record, and his five touchdowns over two seasons tied the all-time mark, set by Michigan’s Neil Snow in 1902. 

He's not the NCAA's all time leader because ... reasons, I guess

The NCAA still refuses to calculate bowl yardage in career rushing statistics before the year 2002, which naturally gives more recent rushers a bit of an edge with extra games. While Dayne's 7,125 career yards should be tops, ahead of Williams' 6,592, the official record book acknowledges Donnel Pumphrey of San Diego State with 6,405 yards as the true rushing leader. Pumphrey graduated in 2016 and had the benefit of bowl yardage figured in, while Dayne is only given credit for his regular-season total of 6,397. Ricky Williams is listed third at 6,279.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.