Wisconsin Football: Wisconsin Badgers All-Time Team

By Jim Oxley | Dec 14, 2015

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All-Time Team: Running Backs

Ron Dayne: Quite possibly the best and most celebrated player in Wisconsin football history, Ron Dayne ran the ball for the Badgers from 1996-1999, setting the school record with 7,125 rushing yards in his career, setting the NCAA record at the same time. He’s one of a handful of running backs in college football history to have four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

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He totaled 71 touchdowns in his Wisconsin career, second most all-time in Badgers history. He’s the school’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, totaling 7,429 in his career, more than 1,500 yards more than the next closest Badger, wide receiver/returner Brandon Williams.

Dayne led the Big Ten in yards per game in three seasons – 1996, 1998 and 1999 – and finished his career with 33 games rushing for at least 100 yards. He averaged 151.6 yards per game over his career.

The Badgers won three bowl games during Dayne’s tenure, including back-to-back Rose Bowls. Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999, along with the Maxwell Award (1999), the Walter Camp Award (1999) the Doak Walker Award (1998 and 1999) and was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1999.

Dayne was a unanimous consensus first team All-American in 1999, and the Big Ten Running Back of the Year Award has been renamed the Ameche-Dayne running back of the year in honor of Dayne and Alan Ameche.

Dayne’s No. 33 was retired at UW in 2007, and he was inducted into the college football hall of fame in 2013.

Aug 22, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball (28) runs with the ball prior to the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Montee Ball: Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer round out the running backs on the all-time team as Montee Ball finished his Badgers career with 77 rushing touchdowns, 83 total, and 500 career points. His 39 touchdowns in 2011 alone set the NCAA record for single-season touchdowns.

He’s Wisconsin’s second-leading rusher as well, totaling 5,140 yards in his career, averaging 5.6 yards per carry in his time at UW. He had 26 career 100-plus yard rushing performances.

Ball is third all time at UW with 5,738 career all-purpose yards, and led the Big Ten in 2011 with an average of 137.4 yards per game. He also led the country in scoring with 16.9 points per game in 2011.

He was a consensus All-American in 2011 and 2012, won the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 as well as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2011, won the Doak Walker Award in 2012 and was a semi-finalist in 2011, was a two-time Maxwell Award semifinalist and finished fourth in Heisman voting in 2011.

Next: All-Time Team: Fullbacks