Ron Dayne, when he made Heisman Trophy history for the Wisconsin Badgers 20 years ago, beat out some special college football players for the famed stiff-arm piece of hardware.

Here is how the 1999 Heisman Trophy vote turned out at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York:

Dayne won with 2,042 points, based primarily on 586 first-place votes, worth three points apiece. He also received 121 second-place votes at two points apiece.

The runner-up in 1999 was Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech. He gained 285 second-place votes, by far the most second-place votes in the field. He finished with 994 points, making Dayne’s victory a comfortable one.

Joe Hamilton was a fine college player, but it’s the next four players on the Heisman voting list from 1999 which show how excellent Dayne’s season was. He beat out players we still remember today. One will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The third-place finisher in the 1999 Heisman voting was none other than Michael Vick. He was a freshman who led Virginia Tech to that season’s BCS title game, the 2000 Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Vick — a predecessor to Lamar Jackson in playing style and overall dynamism on the field — electrified college football at a level few other players had matched. Ron Dayne’s 1999 season stood above Vick’s. That is a statement about the Wisconsin running back and his considerable quality.

The fourth-place finisher? Drew Brees of Purdue. Ever heard of him? I gather you might have. Before Brees won a Super Bowl and became a genuine NFL legend, he was a Purdue legend, winning the Big Ten one year after the 1999 season. He guided the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl against Washington, giving him a piece of football immortality in West Lafayette and giving him his first great moment in black and gold (the college version) before moving to New Orleans and donning those same colors as a pro.

Chad Pennington — hardly an all-timer but not a scrub, either — finished fifth in the 1999 Heisman voting tally. Peter Warrick, arguably the best big-game player in the 1999 season, given what he did to lift Florida State to Bobby Bowden’s second national championship with the Seminoles, finished sixth. SIXTH!

Ron Dayne didn’t beat a weak Heisman field in 1999. He beat a strong one. This can’t be forgotten or diminished, 20 years later on Heisman Night.

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.

Ron Dayne was already a Wisconsin legend entering his 1999 senior season with the Badgers. He had rushed for 339 yards in a game in his freshman season in 1996. He ran four 200 or more yards four times as a freshman. He ran for over 2,000 yards in his freshman season. His 1997 and 1998 seasons weren’t as great as 1996. Dayne rushed for “only” 1,457 and 1,525 yards, with “only” 15 touchdowns in each of those seasons. Dayne rushed for over five yards per carry in those two seasons. His 1998 campaign carried Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl triumph over UCLA, the second time in six seasons Wisconsin had won the Rose Bowl under Barry Alvarez.

Then came his senior season.

Dayne became the Big Ten’s all-time leading rusher (at the time) in the early stages of the 1999 season against Cincinnati. He sprained his left ankle in that same game against Cincy, but played on and didn’t allow hardships to slow him down.

Dayne ran for 167 yards against Ohio State, and later 214 against Michigan State.

Against Purdue, Dayne passed Indiana running back Anthony Thompson on the Big Ten’s all-time career touchdown list with 69.

Then, in the regular-season finale against Iowa, Dayne passed Ricky Williams of Texas to set the new NCAA Division I career rushing record. Williams had set the record the year before, in 1998. Dayne finished his collegiate career with 6,397 regular-season rushing yards. Including bowl games, Dayne collected 7,125 rushing yards in his four seasons at UW.

The final tally for Dayne’s 1999 season: 337 carries for 2,024 rushing yards, six yards per carry, and 20 touchdowns.

The big-picture reality which magnifies Ron Dayne the most: His statistics and production went hand in hand with team success. These weren’t empty-calorie stats for a bad team. Wisconsin needed the yards Ron Dayne gained. The Badgers needed the touchdowns Ron Dayne scored.

Ohio State had a top-two-caliber team in 1996. Michigan won the national championship (split with Nebraska) in 1997. Ron Dayne then helped Wisconsin win Big Ten and Rose Bowl championships in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. A legendary runner who created legendary successes, Ron Dayne will always remain a Badger football — and sports — icon.