The Wisconsin Badgers will ignore the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday night, because Jonathan Taylor won’t be there… when he should be. We have seen many great Wisconsin running backs this century: Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon carried the baton earlier this decade before passing it to Taylor.
On the very first day of this century — and millennium — the greatest Wisconsin running back of them all played his final college football game. The first day of the century, you say? Darn. Since the 2020s are about to begin, that means Ron Dayne’s last game in a Wisconsin uniform is about to hit its 20th anniversary.
The day was Saturday, January 1, 2000. Y2K. The world’s computer systems, electric grids, and other vital superstructures did not get hijacked or dismantled. Anyone who stocked up on rations did not have to go to a bunker, let alone stay there for any period of time. We survived the passing of calendars from 99 to 00. Then it was time for Ron Dayne to bridge the old century with the new, having already established the NCAA Division I career rushing record late in the 1999 regular season. Including Dayne’s previous bowl games, however, he had another milestone to reach: 7,000 career rushing yards. He entered that day with 6,925 rushing yards with postseason games added in. He needed only 75 yards to hit 7,000.
Wisconsin’s opponent that day was an 8-3 Stanford team which wasn’t expected to put up a big fight against the Badgers. Wisconsin wasn’t supposed to beat UCLA in the 1994 or 1999 Rose Bowls, but in 2000, the Badgers were hefty favorites. Wisconsin loved playing with a chip on its shoulder in Pasadena, but this time around, Stanford had the chip, and after one half of football, the Cardinal led the drifting Badgers, 9-3.
Just exactly WHO was going to do something about it in the second half? Enter the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner. Ron Dayne had enough.
On the first drive of the second half, Dayne ran for 73 of the 80 yards Wisconsin traveled to give the Badgers a touchdown and a 10-9 lead. Dayne ran right up the gut for 64 yards to set up his score two plays later. Dayne continued to power the ball through Stanford’s defense in the second half while occasionally making defenders miss with his big-man dexterity. The relentlessness of Dayne’s running carried him to the 200-yard mark on 34 carries.
Dayne didn’t “back-door” into the 7,000-yard milestone, meaning that he didn’t have a mediocre 78-yard game which enabled him to barely stumble across the magic number, in a way which would have impressed no one. Dayne crashed through the barrier and, most importantly, produced yards which were central to Wisconsin’s winning second-half performance. The Badgers won, 17-9. Dayne won back-to-back Rose Bowls alongside Barry Alvarez and all the players who were along for both rides.
There was a sense of awe and wonder throughout the world when a century and millennium passed before our eyes in real time. Being able to experience that moment was special and memorable.
So was being able to watch Ron Dayne’s Wisconsin career and his final game as a Badger. That game is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Time flies when you’re having fun. Ron Dayne certainly did at UW.