Dayne Carries Wisconsin to 37-3 Win

No secret to Wisconsin’s success this season. Ron Dayne keeps running and the Badgers keep winning.

The burly tailback set another school record Saturday, rushing for 190 yards, as the unbeaten and No. 9-ranked Badgers crushed Illinois, 37-3, at Champaign, Ill., to go 7-0 for the first time since 1912.

Dayne, who carried 39 times, ran for three touchdowns, giving him 45 for his career, one more than Billy Marek’s old school record set in 1973-75.

“He had a lot of yards after contact,” Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said. “He moved the pile a lot. There weren’t any creases for him to get big gains. He earned all his yards today.”

The Badgers are 4-0 in the Big Ten and Dayne, as usual, is the big reason.

Saturday’s performance marked his sixth consecutive 100-yard game, and the massive 260-pound tailback proved nearly unstoppable for the Illini (2-5, 1-3), often dragging two or three defenders as he racked up yards after being hit.

“I feel a lot stronger and the line is really coming to play,” Dayne said. “I felt like it was the best I’ve played this year because of the fact I had to work for it.”

Wisconsin’s dominant running game helped the Badgers to wear down the Illini defense by controlling the ball for almost 38 minutes to Illinois’ 22.

Illinois got a taste of what was in store on the Badgers’ first possession of the game.

Dayne rushed eight times for 41 yards in a 15-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a 46-yard field goal by Matt Davenport. The possession ate 6:16 off the clock.

Dayne’s first touchdown came after Illinois receiver Larry Davis fumbled a six-yard pass from Kurt Kittner with 6:22 left in the half. The ball was recovered by Jamar Fletcher at the Illini 26 and Dayne had runs of nine, four, five and eight yards to make it 10-0.

Illinois got only two first downs in the first half, rushed for minus-three yards, had the ball for only 7:13 to the Badgers’ 22:47 and finished with 40 offensive yards compared to the Badgers’ 226.

“We just self-destructed and lost the game,” Illinois running back Rocky Harvey said.

No. 12 Penn State 31, Purdue 13--Freshman tailback Eric McCoo rushed for 163 yards and one touchdown and Aaron Harris scored twice as the Nittany Lions turned in its first solid offensive showing in four games at State College, Pa.

McCoo’s 77-yard run set up Harris’ one-yard touchdown, giving Penn State (5-1, 2-1) a 28-13 lead after Purdue’s Drew Brees had engineered a touchdown to cut Penn State’s lead to eight points.

The Nittany Lions’ relentless pass rush pressured Brees throughout, but he managed to complete 39 of 57 passes for 361 yards and one interception. After passing for 1,116 yards and eight touchdowns in his last two games, he only had one touchdown pass against a defense that sacked him five times and harassed him into several bad passes.

Penn State’s offense, which had sputtered for three games, turned in four steady touchdown drives.

Kevin Thompson was 15 for 24 for 196 yards, rushed for one touchdown and set up one with a 45-yard pass to Corey Jones. Harris scored a four-yard touchdown on the next play to give Penn State a 21-6 lead.

Purdue (3-4, 1-2) answered with its first touchdown on Brees’ 16-yard pass to Gabe Cox. After Harris’ second touchdown put Penn State ahead, 28-13, Randall Lane bobbled the kickoff at the one, Purdue went three-and-out and didn’t threaten again.

Michigan 12, Northwestern 6--Freshman Justin Fargas cut loose for 120 yards in 31 carries and Tai Streets had a 30-yard touchdown reception in the Wolverines’ victory at Evanston, Ill.

Michigan (4-2, 3-0) is now 5-0 after a bye week under Coach Lloyd Carr. The defending co-national champions haven’t lost a road game after an off week since November 1940.

The loss spoiled homecoming for Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) and a big day for D’Wayne Bates. Bates, who missed almost all of last season because of a broken leg, caught eight passes for 112 yards, returned punts for the first time and even took his turn as quarterback for a few plays.

Michigan’s Tom Brady completed 12 of 20 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown.

With a steady rain falling in Chicago all afternoon, the tarp covering Ryan Field didn’t come off until two hours before game time. Within 90 minutes, the field was soaked.

Indiana 14, Iowa 7--Antwaan Randle El’s eight-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds to go lifted the Hoosiers to victory at Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers (3-3, 1-2) drove 75 yards in six plays, with a 31-yard pass to Tyrone Browning taking them to the Iowa nine. Frankie Franklin, who rushed for a career-high 146 yards in his first start, gained one yard, then Randle El faked a handoff and ran to his right for the touchdown. Levron Williams’ two-point conversion catch provided the final margin.

Iowa (3-4, 2-2) had one more chance, but a long pass by Randy Reiners was intercepted by Greg Yeldell at the Indiana 21 with one second to go.

The Hoosiers lost, 62-0, in Iowa City a year ago.