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PASADENA, California (Ticker) -- Wisconsin began 2000 by accomplishing something no other Big Ten Conference team could during the 20th century. The fourth-ranked Badgers became the first team in league history to win consecutive Rose Bowls, using Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne and a stifling defense to defeat No. 21 Stanford, 17-9. Dayne, the leading rusher in Division I-A history, carried 34 times for 200 yards in his final collegiate game, including a four-yard touchdown early in the second half that made him the top scorer in Rose Bowl history with 30 points. A native of Berlin, New Jersey, Dayne totaled 446 yards in two Rose Bowl appearances. He rushed for 246 yards -- one short of the Rose Bowl record -- in last year's 38-31 victory over UCLA. Dayne joined Southern California's Charles White (1979-80) and Washington's Bob Schloredt (1960-61) as the only players to twice win the Rose Bowl MVP. The Badgers (10-2) improved to 3-3 all-time in this game. They have won the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl championship three times in the last seven years after failing to complete the double before the 1993 season. Making its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1972, Stanford (8-4) had one final chance to tie after Wisconsin's Vitaly Pisetsky badly missed a field goal with 2:18 to play. The Cardinal reached the Badgers 44-yard line, but a pair of false-start penalties on right tackle Greg Schindler stalled the drive and quarterback Todd Husak slipped on 4th-and-12 from the 47. Husak completed 17-of-34 passes for 258 yards and was sacked four times. Stanford and fellow Pac-10 Conference members Washington, UCLA and USC have won consecutive Rose Bowls. Southeastern Conference member Alabama also did it in 1926-27. Dayne's longest run was a 64-yarder scamper on the second play from scrimmage of the second half. It put the ball on the 11 and two plays later he scored from four yards out to give Wisconsin a 10-9 lead. While Dayne was racking up yards on the ground, Stanford could not do the same. The Cardinal came in averaging over 153 rushing yards but was held to minus-five rushing and 259 total yards. A sack by linebacker Ben Herbert early in the fourth quarter forced Stanford's Sean Tolpinrud to punt from his own end zone and Wisconsin took control at the Cardinal 40. On 4th-and-2 from the 32, Brooks Bollinger hit tight end John Sigmund for a seven-yard game. It was Sigmund's first catch of the season, but one play later he was on the receiving end of a 22-yard pass. Bollinger's one-yard plunge shortly thereafter provided the Badgers with an eight-point advantage. Bollinger was 7-of-14 for 105 yards and Chris Chambers had 76 yards on five receptions for the Badgers, who totaled 331 yards. After a scoreless first quarter, the teams traded field goals in the first 5:41 of the second period. Mike Biselli connected from 28 yards for Stanford and Pisetsky answered with a 31-yarder. Kerry Carter capped a seven-play, 45-yard drive with a one-yard run 2:03 before halftime. The extra point was blocked, however, and Stanford took a 9-3 lead into the intermission. Stanford's Troy Walters, who broke his wrist in practice Tuesday, was a surprise starter and caught three passes for 52 yards. The Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver, Walters had 74 catches for 1,456 yards and 10 TDs during the regular season. The Cardinal are 5-6-1 all-time in the Rose Bowl, including a 49-0 loss to Michigan in the inaugural contest on January 1, 1902. This game came 49 days after Wisconsin ended the regular season against Iowa on November 13, the earliest finish in school history.
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