# 1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season.

## Season

Wisconsin finished the regular season 9–2 overall (7–1 conference) and were sole champions of the Big Ten Conference for the first time since 1962 (the 1993 and 1998 championships were shared). They defeated #22 Stanford 17–9 in the 2000 Rose Bowl for the third Rose Bowl victory of coach Barry Alvarez's tenure (and program history) to finish the season 10–2.

### Ron Dayne

Ron Dayne gained 1,834 rushing yards as a senior. Dayne broke the NCAA Division I-A (now known as NCAA Division I FBS) career rushing record in the final game of the 1999 season against Iowa. Dayne ended his career with 6,397 rushing yards, eclipsing the record set the previous year by Ricky Williams of Texas.
Dayne rushed for 200 yards or more in a game a dozen times, including his final game, a 17–9 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Dayne had 200 yards on 34 carries and was named the Rose Bowl's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year. He became one of only three (now, four) players to win two Rose Bowl MVPs (Washington's Bob Schloredt, Southern California's Charles White, and Texas' Vince Young are the others).
Dayne won the Heisman Trophy, the second player in Wisconsin's history to receive this award, after Alan Ameche in 1954. He also received many other awards in this season and throughout his college career, including Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, and All-American placement. Dayne's career rushing total remains an NCAA record. Bowl games included, he amassed 7,125 yards, becoming the first player in NCAA history to total over 7,000 rushing yards. He is one of five players in NCAA history to rush for over a thousand yards in each of his four seasons.

### Individual awards and honors

* Brooks Bollinger, Big Ten Freshman of the Year
* Ron Dayne, All-America selection
* Ron Dayne, Doak Walker Award
* Ron Dayne, Heisman Trophy
* Ron Dayne, Maxwell Award
* Ron Dayne, Walter Camp Award
* Ron Dayne, Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player

### Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 11:00 a.m. | Murray State* | No. 9 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | MSC | W 49–10 | 77,527 |
| September 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Ball State* | No. 9 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN Plus | W 50–10 | 75,807 |
| September 18 | 2:15 p.m. | at Cincinnati* | No. 9 | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | FSN | L 12–17 | 27,721 |
| September 25 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 4 Michigan | No. 20 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (College GameDay) | ABC | L 16–21 | 79,037 |
| October 2 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Ohio State | | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 42–17 | 93,524 |
| October 9 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 25 Minnesota | No. 20 | MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe) | ESPN2 | W 20–17 $^{OT}$ | 63,108 |
| October 16 | 11:00 a.m. | Indiana | No. 17 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN | W 59–0 | 78,243 |
| October 23 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 11 Michigan State | No. 17 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN2 | W 40–10 | 78,469 |
| October 30 | 11:00 a.m. | at Northwestern | No. 11 | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | ESPN+ | W 35–19 | 42,292 |
| November 6 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 17 Purdue | No. 10 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | W 28–21 | 67,308 |
| November 13 | 2:30 p.m. | Iowa | No. 9 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (rivalry) | ABC | W 41–3 | 79,404 |
| January 1, 2000 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Stanford* | No. 4 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | ABC | W 17–9 | 93,731 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 20 | RV | 20 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Coaches Poll | 10 | 10* | 8 | 8 | 17 | — | 20 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | Not released |

## Regular starters

| Position | Player |
| Quarterback | Brooks Bollinger |
| Running Back | Ron Dayne |
| Fullback | Chad Kuhns |
| Wide Receiver | Chris Chambers |
| Wide Receiver | Nick Davis |
| Tight End | Dague Retzlaff |
| Left Tackle | Chris McIntosh |
| Left Guard | Bill Ferrario |
| Center | Casey Rabach |
| Right Guard | Dave Costa |
| Right Tackle | Mark Tauscher |
| Position | Player |
| Defensive End | Ross Kolodziej |
| Nose Tackle | Eric Mahlik |
| Defensive End | Wendell Bryant |
| Rush End | John Favret |
| Outside Linebacker | Roger Knight |
| Inside Linebacker | Donnel Thompson |
| Outside Linebacker | Chris Ghidorzi |
| Cornerback | Mike Echols |
| Free Safety | Jason Doering |
| Strong Safety | Bobby Myers |
| Cornerback | Jamar Fletcher |

## Game summaries
### At Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin | 0 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 42 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

## Team players in the NFL

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Ron Dayne | Running Back | 1 | 11 | New York Giants |
| Chris McIntosh | Tackle | 1 | 22 | Seattle Seahawks |
| Bobby Myers | Defensive Back | 4 | 124 | Tennessee Titans |
| Brooks Bollinger | Quarterback | 6 | 200 | New York Jets |
| Mark Tauscher | Guard | 7 | 224 | Green Bay Packers |
| Donnel Thompson | Linebacker | free agent | | Pittsburgh Steelers |