Score by Quarters
Stanford
0
9
0
0
9
Wisconsin
0
3
7
7
17
After a 1999 Rose Bowl Game in which there was a record 1,035 yards of combined total offense, the 2000 Rose Bowl Game was expected to have more of the same. Both Wisconsin and Stanford entered the game averaging more than 35 points per game and were ranked among the top 10 in the nation in scoring.
What the 93,731 in attendance saw that day was a whole lot of the unexpected – Wisconsin beat Stanford, 17-9.
The one constant was Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, who became just the third player in Rose Bowl Game history to repeat as Player of the Game. Dayne followed his near record-breaking 246-yard performance in 1999 with a 200-yard game in 2000. He scored his fifth touchdown in his Rose Bowl Game career, breaking the modern record (post 1947) and equaling that of Neil Snow all the way back in the inaugural game in 1902.
“He’s a Heisman Trophy winner, an All-American and won three MVPs in bowl games. We’ve come to expect him to play well, so it’s not a surprise to us,” said Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez. “It will be tough to lose him; he’s special.”
The first half was the true defensive showdown. Dayne was allowed just 46 yards on 12 carries, most of that coming on a 20-yard dash, and the Wisconsin offense was held to just 113 total yards and 3 points. The Cardinal mustered 143 total yards and a few scores to take a 9-3 halftime lead.
“Especially in the first half, our run defense was pretty solid,” said Stanford Head Coach Tyrone Willingham. “(Dayne) may have had one long run in the first half, but other than that, the majority of his runs were 2-3 yards. Anytime you can limit a truly great back, as he is, to that kind of yardage, I think you are being very productive and positioning yourself to win. And we were definitely in that position.”
But, true “greatness” can only be contained for so long. On the second play from scrimmage in the second half, Dayne broke free for 64 yards, taken down at the Stanford 11-yard line. He finished what he started two plays later, with a 4-yard touchdown run.
“Ron’s run gave us momentum, a little rhythm,” Alvarez said. “In the same respect, it puts them back on their heels a little bit.”
Although it didn’t necessarily open the flood gates, that score would be all the Badgers would need. Their cause was helped tremendously by their run defense, which, at the end of the game, had given up minus 5 rushing yards, a Rose Bowl Game record.
With the win, Wisconsin became the first Big Ten school under the modern agreement (1947-present) to repeat as Rose Bowl Game champions.
Attendance
93,731
Weather
Overcast; 58 degrees
Scoring
Second Quarter
Stan – Biselli, 28-yard field goal
Wis – Pisetsky, 31-yard field goal
Stan – Carter, 1-yard run (Husak’s run for the 2-point conversion failed)
Third Quarter
Wis – Dayne, 4-yard run (Pisetsky kick good)
Fourth Quarter
Wis – Bollinger, 1-yard run (Pisetsky kick good)
Coaches
Stanford: Tyrone Willingham
Wisconsin: Barry Alvarez
Fun Fact
In the 2000 Rose Bowl Game, the Wisconsin Badgers become the first Big Ten team ever to capture the Rose Bowl Game two years in a row.
Individual Stats
Rushing
Stan: Wire 5-6; Allen 6-4; Carter 6-3; Borchard 2-3
Wis: Dayne 34-200; Kuhns 2-10; Bollinger 12-9; Bennett 1-6; Daniels 3-3
Passing
Stan: Husak 17-34-258; Borchard 1-1-6
Wis: Bollinger 7-14-105
Receiving
Stan: Pitts 6-81; Uso 3-60; Walters 3-52; Davis 3-44; Moore 1-23; Wire 1-4
Wis: Chambers 5-76; Sigmund 2-29
Punting
Stan: Tolpinrud 8-306
Wis: Stemke 8-347