CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 19, 1998
MADISON, Wis. -- Ron Dayne and the Wisconsin Badgers usually don't whoop and holler when records are broken.
This
|
The bruising, 250-pound junior tailback set the school's career rushing record Saturday, gaining 108 yards as the 14th-ranked Badgers rolled over winless UNLV 52-7 at Camp Randall Stadium.
"We haven't really made much issue of records, but after thinking about it a while, the one great tradition we've had here are great running backs," coach Barry Alvarez said.
JUST LOOK AT THE LIST: ALAN AMECHE. Brent Moss. Terrell Fletcher.
And Billy Marek, who set the 3,709-yard school record from 1973-75.
"That rushing record has stood for 23 years. Of all the records Ron has, for me, and hopefully for him, that's the most meaningful one," Alvarez said.
With Marek looking on, Dayne rushed for 108 yards on 13 carries despite playing only about half the game because of a tender right ankle.
Dayne, who rushed for an NCAA freshman record 2,109 yards in 1996 and 1,457 last year, entered the game 33 yards shy of Marek's mark.
He darted past Marek with a 2-yard gain on his third carry. He's now at 3,785 yards.
Afterward, the two embraced.
"It's real special," Dayne said. "It was nice getting to meet him for the first time. A lot of people said he was big. If he was big, I must be humongous."
MAREK, WHO PLAYED AT 190 POUNDS and who now works for an Illinois sporting good company, said Dayne is better than he ever was.
|
|
Ron Dayne ran away with Wisconsin's rushing record Saturday.
(AP)
|
"Quite honestly, Ron can make a hole," Marek said. "I didn't have that luxury. His burst of speed is incredible with the amount of bulk that he carries."
Marek set the mark in 32 games. It took Dayne just 26.
Imagine how much faster Marek's mark would have fallen had Dayne started before his fifth game as a freshman, or had he not missed four games with injuries, including this season's opener.
Dayne said somebody rolled on his ankle on his first carry Saturday and it bothered him all game.
BEFORE DAYNE COULD BREAK THE record, the Rebels jumped out to a 7-0 lead when UNLV tackle Ted Darnell intercepted a Mike Samuel pass deflected by defensive end Talence Sawyer and rumbled 50 yards for the score.
"Our goal was to make something happen early," UNLV coach Jeff Horton said. "Boom! There it was. There was our chance."
Instead, the Rebels were blown out for the third straight week.
"I thought it was going to be a huge momentum change," Darnell said. "It was exactly what we needed."
And it was just the jolt the Badgers required, as well.
Wisconsin (3-0) scored on four of its next five possessions to take a 24-7 halftime lead on the strength of Dayne's 10 rushes for 101 yards.
FOLLOWING DARNELL'S TD, FRESHMAN Nick Davis returned the kickoff 63 yards to the UNLV 31. After Dayne broke the school rushing record with a 2-yard run on first down, Samuel spun in from the 1 for a touchdown.
Wisconsin made it 14-7 with a 90-yard drive capped by Samuel's 29-yard TD strike to Chris Chambers. The drive began when strong safety Leonard Taylor forced and recovered a fumble by Damon Williams following a 35-yard pass from freshman Chris Hayward.
Another 1-yard sneak by Samuel made it 21-7, followed by Matt Davenport's 44-yard field goal.
Samuel left in the second quarter with a bruised thigh and knee -- injuries that were termed minor by the Badgers. Backup quarterback Kevin Kavanagh's 82-yard TD to tight end Dague Retzlaff was called back by penalty.
KAVANAGH LATER HIT RETZLAFF WITH a 7-yard TD pass and added a 40-yard TD toss to Chambers for a 38-7 lead.
Darnell said Dayne wasn't the worldbeater he usually is.
"He ran hard, but he wasn't as shifty as we thought he'd be," Darnell said. "It wasn't like Ron Dayne was running us over."
Dayne left that to everyone else.
Matt Unertl's 1-yard TD run that made it 45-7 capped a 92-yard drive in which he carried five straight times for the final 49 yards.
Carlos Daniels got 82 yards on 17 carries as the Badgers outran the Rebels 325 yards to 23. Even when they tried to run down the clock, the Badgers scored. Jean Jourdain slipped through the line for a 13-yard TD on fourth down with 47 seconds left.