1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1999 Wisconsin Badgers football
1999 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–9 vs. Stanford
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Barry Alvarez (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Brian White (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Smashmouth
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Cosgrove (5th season)
Base defense	4–3
MVPs	Ron Dayne; Chris McIntosh;
Captains	Ron Dayne; Jason Doering; Chris Ghidorzi; Chris McIntos; Donnel Thompson;
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium

1999 Big Ten Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 $	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 7 Michigan State	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 5 Michigan %	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 11 Penn State	5	–	3	10	–	3
No. 18 Minnesota	5	–	3	8	–	4
No. 24 Illinois	4	–	4	8	–	4
No. 25 Purdue	4	–	4	7	–	5
Ohio State	3	–	5	6	–	6
Indiana	3	–	5	4	–	7
Northwestern	1	–	7	3	–	8
Iowa	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 10th year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 392 to 145. It was Wisconsin's first outright championship since 1962 (the 1993 and 1998 championships were shared). They defeated No 22 Stanford, 17–9, in the 2000 Rose Bowl for the third Rose Bowl victory of coach Barry Alvarez's tenure (and program history).

Senior running back Ron Dayne gained 1,834 rushing yards and won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award. He broke the NCAA Division I-A (now known as NCAA Division I FBS) career rushing record, ending his career with 6,397 rushing yards.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	11:00 a.m.	Murray State*	No. 9	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	MSC	W 49–10	77,527
September 11	11:00 a.m.	Ball State*	No. 9	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN Plus	W 50–10	75,807
September 18	2:15 p.m.	at Cincinnati*	No. 9	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	FSN	L 12–17	27,721
September 25	2:30 p.m.	No. 4 Michigan	No. 20	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (College GameDay)	ABC	L 16–21	79,037
October 2	2:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 42–17	93,524
October 9	11:00 a.m.	at No. 25 Minnesota	No. 20	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 20–17 ^OT	63,108
October 16	11:00 a.m.	Indiana	No. 17	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	W 59–0	78,243
October 23	11:00 a.m.	No. 11 Michigan State	No. 17	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN2	W 40–10	78,469	^[2]
October 30	11:00 a.m.	at Northwestern	No. 11	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN+	W 35–19	42,292
November 6	2:30 p.m.	at No. 17 Purdue	No. 10	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	W 28–21	67,308
November 13	2:30 p.m.	Iowa	No. 9	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	ABC	W 41–3	79,404
January 1, 2000	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 22 Stanford*	No. 4	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 17–9	93,731	^[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	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									9	10	8	7	7	8	7	Not released

Game summaries

At Ohio State

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

Date: October 2
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
Game attendance: 93,524
TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler, Dean Blevins & Lynn Swann

Source: USA Today

Personnel

Roster

1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`81`	Mark Anelli	So
RB	`29`	Michael Bennett	So
RB	`24`	Erik Bickerstaff	Fr
QB	`5`	Brooks Bollinger	Fr
WR	`19`	David Braun	Fr
WR	`17`	Demetrius Brown	Fr
FB	`25`	Marcus Carpenter	Sr
WR	`88`	Chris Chambers	Jr
G	`54`	Dave Costa	Jr
RB	`39`	Carlos Daniels	So
WR	`22`	Nick Davis	So
RB	`33`	Ron Dayne (C)	Sr
WR	`3`	Lee Evans	Fr
RB	`4`	Eddie Faulkner	Jr
G	`60`	Bill Ferrario	Jr
G	`76`	Josh Jakubowski	Jr
C	`72`	Al Johnson	Fr
OT	`64`	Ben Johnson	Fr
G	`56`	Jason Jowers	Fr
QB	`12`	Scott Kavanagh	Sr
OT	`57`	Philip Koch	Jr
FB	`41`	Chad Kuhns	So
OT	`71`	Brian Lamont	So
OT	`75`	Chris McIntosh (C)	Sr
WR	`1`	Ahmad Merritt	Sr
C	`70`	Casey Rabach	Jr
TE	`87`	Dague Retzlaff	Jr
C, G	`53`	Rob Roell	Sr
TE	`85`	John Sigmund	Jr
QB	`19`	Jim Sorgi	Fr
OT	`68`	Mark Tauscher	Sr
RB	`38`	Matt Unertl	Jr
WR	`9`	Conroy Whyte	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`6`	Joey Boese	So
DE	`77`	Wendell Bryant	So
LB	`47`	P. J. Cannon	Fr
S	`31`	Carlease Clark	So
S	`8`	Jason Doering (C)	Jr
LB	`52`	Mark Downing	So
CB	`36`	Mike Echols	So
DE	`96`	John Favret	Jr
CB	`2`	Jamar Fletcher	So
LB	`16`	Chris Ghidorzi (C)	Sr
LB	`49`	Nick Greisen	So
LB	`42`	Ben Herbert	So
DB	`11`	Devery Hughes	Fr
LB	`19`	Roger Knight	Jr
DE	`78`	Ross Kolodziej	Jr
LB	`45`	Dan Lisowski	So
NT	`98`	Eric Mahlik	Jr
DB	`30`	Ryan Marks	Jr
DE	`48`	Delante McGrew	So
DE	`9`	Sam Mueller	Jr
S	`26`	Bobby Myers	Sr
S	`15`	Tim Rosga	Sr
DB	`22`	Jason Schick	So
DE	`93`	Chuck Smith	So
DE	`99`	Jake Sprague	So
LB	`32`	Bryson Thompson	So
LB	`44`	Donnel Thompson (C)	Sr
CB	`23`	B. J. Tucker	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`20`	Vitaly Pisetsky	Sr
LS	`86`	Mike Solwold	Jr
P	`14`	Kevin Stemke	Jr

Head coach

Barry Alvarez

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Brian White – Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs
Kevin Cosgrove – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
Joe Baker – Outside Linebackers/Special Teams
Tim Davis – Tight Ends
Phil Elmassian – Defensive Backs
Jeff Horton – Quarterbacks
Jim Hueber – Offensive Line
Henry Mason – Wide Receivers
John Palermo – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
Bernie Wyatt – Director of Football Operations

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

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

Statistical accomplishments

The Badgers gained an average of 145.1 passing yards and 279.9 rushing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 181.3 passing yards and 120.4 rushing yars per game.^[4]

Quarterback Brooks Bollinger completed 75 of 126 passes (59.5%) for 1,028 yards, eight touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 145.8 passer rating. He also tallied 445 rushing yards.^[4]

Running back Ron Dayne gained 1,834 rushing yards on 303 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. Dayne also led the team with 120 points scored on 19 rushing touchdowns.^[4]

Wide receiver Chris Chambers was the team's leading receiver with 36 catches for 502 yards.^[4]

Kikcer Vitaly Pisetsky converted 44 of 46 extra-point kicks and 15 of 18 field goal attempts for a total of 94 points scored.^[4]

Defensive back Jamar Fletcher led the Big Ten with seven interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.^[4]

Nick Davis returned 15 kickoffs for 394 yards and two touchdowns. His average of 26.4 yards per kickoff return led the Big Ten. He also returned 18 pounts for 249 yards, an average of 13.8 yards per return.^[4]

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^[5]
Ron Dayne, Maxwell Award^[6]
Ron Dayne, Walter Camp Award^[7]
Ron Dayne, Chicago Tribune Silver Football (Big Ten MVP)
Ron Dayne, Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player

2000 NFL draft

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

^[8]^[9]

References

^ "Maxwell Football Club - Ron Dayne". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
^ Tom Mulhern (October 24, 1999). "Rush to judgment: Badgers look good; Dayne, defense dominate Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1D, 9D – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rose Bowl 2000". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "1999 Wisconsin Badgers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
^ James Alder. "College Football Awards - Maxwell Award". About.com Sports. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
^ Tim Hyland. "The Walter Camp Award". About.com Sports. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
^ "2000 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
^ "2000 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[1] "Maxwell Football Club - Ron Dayne". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.

[2] Tom Mulhern (October 24, 1999). "Rush to judgment: Badgers look good; Dayne, defense dominate Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1D, 9D – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Rose Bowl 2000". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.

[stat-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "1999 Wisconsin Badgers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2025.

[5] "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2007.

[6] James Alder. "College Football Awards - Maxwell Award". About.com Sports. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2008.

[7] Tim Hyland. "The Walter Camp Award". About.com Sports. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2008.

[8] "2000 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

[9] "2000 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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1	Ohio St	Wiley 1-yard run (Stultz kick)	Ohio St 7-0

2	Ohio St	Stultz 35-yard field goal	Ohio St 10-0

2	Ohio St	Germany 40-yard pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick)	Ohio St 17-0

2	Wisconsin	Pisetsky 42-yard field goal	Ohio St 17-3

2	Wisconsin	Pisetsky 25-yard field goal	Ohio St 17-6

3	Wisconsin	Dayne 3-yard run (two-point conversion failed)	Ohio St 17-12

3	Wisconsin	Dayne 11-yard run (two-point conversion failed)	Wisconsin 18-17

4	Wisconsin	Pisetsky 27-yard field goal	Wisconsin 21-17

4	Wisconsin	Dayne 1-yard run (Pisetsky kick)	Wisconsin 28-17

4	Wisconsin	Faulkner 1-yard run (Pisetsky kick)	Wisconsin 35-17

4	Wisconsin	Dayne 2-yard run (Pisetsky kick)	Wisconsin 42-17

Wisconsin Badgers football
Venues	Randall Field (1895–1916) Camp Randall Stadium (1917–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Minnesota Nebraska
Culture & lore	Bucky Badger "On, Wisconsin!" Marching band "Jump Around" Tall Grass Game Crazylegs
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023) Oregon (2024)
National championships in bold