In each of the past eight seasons, the Wisconsin offense has featured a 1,000-yard rusher, ranging from the 1994 Rose Bowl MVP (Brent Moss) to the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner (Ron Dayne) to the 2000 Big Ten sprint champion (Michael Bennett).

Many wondered what the Badgers would do for an encore after Dayne. Enter Bennett, a junior, who picked up 290 and 293 yards in two of his first three games last season and finished third in the nation with 1,681 yards.

Exit Bennett, a one-year starter who opted to leave school early for the NFL. Given that the only returning letterman at tailback (Broderick Williams) blew out his knee during spring practice, the rushing streak is now in jeopardy. At that, Williams was no sure thing with just eight career rushes for 26 yards.

"Our overall offensive personnel dictates that maybe we won't be the same type of offense that we have been," conceded the tailback-friendly Barry Alvarez, who has three conference titles and 6-1 bowl record during his 11-year run in Madison. "We may have to emphasize some other things."

Brace yourself, but Wisconsin's offensive focus has actually shifted from the running back to the quarterbacks: Brooks Bollinger, who has a 17-3 record as a starter, and Jim Sorgi, who came off the bench last season to rally the Badgers to wins at Michigan State and Indiana.

Bollinger, a junior, has proven to be a dangerous weapon on the ground, rushing for 913 career yards, including 127 against Minnesota last year.

And when Bollinger was injured, Sorgi started against Purdue and showed that he could move the chains, too, completing 21 of 29 passes for 243 yards and two scores in an overtime loss.

The Badgers won't commit to a one-back, multiple-receiver attack. But they will incorporate some of the spread into their game plan. They'll rely heavily on Lee Evans and Nick Davis (one of the leading kick returners in the Big Ten), along with Byron Brown and David Braun. And one or two incoming freshmen could factor into the mix.

With so many unproven running backs, the Badgers likely will resort to tailback-by-committee. Tyron Griffin is the power back. Jerone Pettus is the scat back. Anthony Davis is the fastest back (4.3 in the 40). All three are redshirt freshmen.

For the past three seasons, Chad Kuhns has been the blocking back, leading interference for Dayne and Bennett. He might also line up as a single setback at times this season.

The inexperience extends to the offensive line, where the only returning starters are center Al Johnson and left tackle Ben Johnson. They're juniors, and cousins.

Senior Wendell Bryant will again anchor the defense at tackle. One of the most dominant players in college football when he's at the top of his game in big games, he did not follow teammates Jamar Fletcher and Michael Bennett into the NFL early ... even though he probably would have been the highest pick of all.

With a year of being able to improve and show his "A" game consistently, Bryant could play his way into the top handful of NFL picks in April.

The interior rotation will include Jake Sprague, Darius Jones, Delante McGrew, Ben Herbert, Chuck Smith and, perhaps, Anttaj Hawthorne, an incoming freshman with impressive credentials.

The Big Ten's leading tackler, Nick Greisen, will return at middle linebacker, where he will be flanked by Bryson Thompson and Jeff Mack.

Three-year starting cornerback Mike Echols finally gets his chance to emerge from the shadow of his roommate, Jamar Fletcher, who left for the NFL with his 21 interceptions (five of which he'd taken back for touchdowns).

Joey Boese, Michael Broussard, B.J. Tucker, Carlease Clark have playing experience in the secondary.

The Badgers liked to think of punter Kevin Stemke as their 12th defender. He was a four-year fixture who was huge in putting the defense in comfortable field position; Wisconsin led the nation in net punting last season. Kirk Munden, a sophomore walk-on, was the only punter who auditioned in the spring.

The Badgers also must replace Vitaly Pisetsky, the All-Big Ten kicker in 1999. Redshirt freshman Adam Espinoza and sophomore Mark Neuser might share the job.

Sizing up his team's inexperience, Alvarez confirmed, "We have to be realistic and understand that we have a lot of guys who are going to be playing for the first time. We're building a different team personality."

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