Related Links: Game summary Dayne sets rushing record as Wisconsin rolls over Iowa Dayne caps career with rushing record Top 25 roundup Big Ten roundup Ron Dayne's career statistics Forum: Does Dayne have the Heisman locked up?
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Even when a superstar running back doesn't make college football history.

But the confluence of those events Saturday at Wisconsin made it such an extraordinary day that a man known for being shy in public addressing almost 80,000 fans seemed normal.

"I just want to say thank you all, the fans, and I love you all," was all running back Ron Dayne had to say before giving up the microphone in a ceremony on the field after Wisconsin's 41-3 victory over Iowa.

The question -- posed in some local office pools -- wasn't if, but when, Dayne would break the NCAA record for career rushing yards. He did it with 4:32 remaining in the second quarter of the Badgers' regular-season finale. On first down from Wisconsin's 17-yard line, Dayne was 23 yards away from the record set last season by Ricky Williams when he ripped off a 31-yard run.

Fans waved the "Dayne 33" towels they were given as they entered the stadium. Play stopped briefly as teammates congratulated Dayne and an official handed him the ball. Instead of throwing it into the stands, as Dayne had said he might, he gave it to someone on the sideline.

He finishes with 6,397 yards, not including bowls, which the NCAA doesn't count. That's 118 more than Williams.

"I anticipate this record will last a long time for a few reasons," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "The trend in college football is going away from running teams. And you have to be a four-year starter. Now, after three years, if you have that kind of success, it's easier to go out (to the NFL), unlike what Ron did."

After Dayne's run and before the next play, a streaker ran the length of the field, did a Heisman pose at about the 10-yard line and then ran straight to police and gave himself up without a struggle.

Nobody booed. Hey, it's Madison, known by some as the Berkeley of the Midwest. And it was a welcome comic relief to some of the crass commercialism on display. Naturally, the shoe company that sponsors Wisconsin's athletic department couldn't let Dayne's moment pass without embarrassing self-promotion, flying an airplane around the stadium over and over with a banner that said "Run #33 Run" -- above the company logo.

More enjoyable tributes came from others. The athletic department unveiled a "Dayne 33" sign at Camp Randall Stadium during the postgame ceremony. Dane County, home of the University of Wisconsin, officially changed its name, for the day, to Dayne County.

Ron Dayne proudly wears his Big Ten championship hat after beating Iowa. (AP)

Before the game, outside the stadium, a student made himself into a human Heisman Trophy, painted bronze from head to toe, and struck the appropriate pose for picture after picture as fans walked past.

"If I would charge $5 a picture, I'd have two, three hundred bucks," said the student, Mike Drobac from Brookfield, Wis.

But pictures were free.

Dayne appears to be a lock for the Heisman, but he said after the game that if he had a vote, he'd still give it to Florida State's Peter Warrick.

"If he didn't have the off-field problems, he'd still be in the mix," Dayne said. "I'm not a voter. I just play and let them do that."

Going into the season, Dayne needed 1,717 yards to break Williams' record, an average of 156 per game. He needed 99 going into Saturday's game against Iowa's awful run defense -- ranked 109th in the country. The Badgers played a soft schedule this season. They didn't face Penn State or Illinois (which defeated Michigan and Ohio State on the road). Their nonconference games were against Murray State, Ball State and Cincinnati.

But nobody can accuse Alvarez of padding the record by using Dayne when games were out of reach against overmatched teams.

And the pressure on Dayne mounted as the season progressed. At one point, Sports Illustrated included Dayne on a list of the top 10 disappointments of the college football season.

But here he was Saturday, hugging Alvarez on the sideline when the coach came down from the press box. Alvarez said he'll have knee surgery Tuesday and hopes to be on the sideline for the whole game in the Rose Bowl.

"The moment I most remember was when coach came down on the field, hugged me and said, 'We finally got it,'" Dayne said.

Long before that, the final score had come in from Penn State's loss to Michigan. All the Badgers needed was a victory over the Hawkeyes for their second consecutive Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth.

Dayne said he'll take that over the record any day.

"Because we get a ring," he said. "I just get my name on the books for breaking the record."