Dayne's 3 TDs Lead Wisconsin

September 4, 1999 / 5:20 PM EDT / CBS/AP

At times on Saturday, it almost looked like Ron Dayne could break Ricky Williams' national rushing record that very afternoon.

Dayne rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns despite sitting out the second half as No. 9 Wisconsin pounded Division I-AA Murray State 49-10.

The Badgers' senior tailback, who entered the season needing 1,717 yards to pass Williams, got 20 carries as Wisconsin's starters easily scored on their first six possessions against the undermanned Racers.

Wisconsin led 42-7 at halftime, and coach Barry Alvarez elected to hold Dayne out of the second half.

"It was just a gut feeling, just common sense," said Alvarez, himself hobbling after he reaggravated a knee injury on the sideline and watching the second half from the press box.

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"There was no reason to put Ron back in there in the second half. I felt that would have been humiliating to Ron and to Murray State at that point."

Dayne's 135 yards gave him 4,698 for his career, moving him ahead of five runners including Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas and Marshall Faulk into 14th place on the NCAA's career rushing list.

"It just felt good to get contact," Dayne said. "I need to improve on getting a little quicker to the hole. I felt like I wasn't getting to the hole quick enough."

He needs 1,582 yards in Wisconsin's 10 remaining games to pass Texas' Williams for the record. Wisconsin's offensive line, which features four returning starters, had its way with the Racers as the Badgers racked up 265 rushing yards.

"He's certainly a big powerful back, but he uses his blocking very well," Murray State coach Denver Johnson said. "He's got those big old offensive linemen in front of him, and you just can't stop him."

Wisconsin moved the ball at will in the first half, while 66 of Murray State's 112 first-half offensive yards came on Shadrach Jackson's touchdown run in the first quarter.

Dayne rushed for 26 yards on his third carry and scored a 3-yard touchdown on the Badgers' opening drive. He added a second TD about three minutes later on a 15-yard rumble.

"I've never tckled anybody like him," Racers defensive tackle Steve Williams said. "We were just bouncing off him, and he just kept running."

His third touchdown came on a 14-yard run that capped a 72-yard drive in the second quarter. His 135 yards were seven below his career average of 142.6 per game, but his powerful performance earned him at least one supporter in the race for the Heisman Trophy.


	Ron Dayne needs 1,582 yards in Wisconsin's 10 remaining games to pass Texas' Ricky Williams for the career rushing record. (AP)

"He's like George W. Bush right now," Johnson said. "He's the only one anyone's talking about. I hope he wins it."

Nick Davis, the Big Ten's top punt returner as a freshman last year, returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. He was helped when the Racers' last tackler ran into an official.

Backup tailbacks Matt Unertl and Eddie Faulkner also ran for first-half touchdowns for the Badgers. Fullback Marcus Carpenter caught a second-half touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who split time with senior starter Matt Kavanagh.

Murray State's wide-open passing offense didn't pose a problem for the Badgers, mostly because they hounded Racers quarterback Justin Fuente on every play with an impressive pass rush.

Fuente, who set four school passing records last season after transferring from Oklahoma, was 10-for-26 for just 97 yards, and he threw an interception into Wisconsin's end zone that killed the Racers' only sustained offensive drive.

Fuente was clobbered by blitzing Badgers on consecutive plays in the second quarter, and he left the field woozy but refused to come out of the game. Johnson said Fuente's passes became erratic after those hits.

The game wasn't totally positive for the Badgers, however. Starting wide receiver Chris Chambers, the only Big Ten Conference wideout to average more than 20 yards per catch last season, left the game in the first half for X-rays on his wrist.

Alvarez said the X-rays revealed a fracture in the hand, but that Chambers may be able to play next week against Ball State with a cast on the break. Chambers caught four passes for 34 yards before leaving.

Alvarez had fluid drained from his right knee earlier in the week. He coached the first half on crutches from the sidelines and retreated to the press box for the second half.

Murray State added a final field goal with 6:29 to play when Greg Miller's 45-yard kick bounced off the cossbar and through the uprights. Vitaly Pisetsky, who won Wisconsin's kicking job in training camp, was perfect on seven extra points, but the first field goal attempt of his career was blocked.

In the second half, Wisconsin's Kevin Stemke uncorked a career-best 77-yard punt that, combined with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, stranded the Racers inside their 1.