Wisconsin 17 Stanford 9
Wisconsin defeats Stanford 17-9 in the 86th Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2000 before 93,731 people. The Badgers become the first Big Ten team ever to capture the Rose Bowl Game two years in a row, and all-time national ground game leader Ron Dayne (7,125 yards in four seasons) is Player-of-the-Game on both occasions. Dayne runs 200 yards through Stanford's defense and scores the game-turning touchdown for a Rose Bowl career rushing yardage of 446 yards and a record 30 points on five touchdowns.
Stanford gains 3-0 and 9-3 leads during the first half action, but it can't run the ball on the ground (a minus five yards for the day) and flubs two kicking chances to ruin Coach Tyrone Willingham's hopes of scoring an upset. Stanford's Mike Biselli and Wisconsin's Vitaly Pisetsky trade field goals to start the scoring before Stanford's Kerry Carter climaxes a 45-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown. A bad center snap ruins the extra point try.
Trailing 9-3 in the third quarter, Heisman winner Dayne bolts 64 yards, his touchdown four yards around left and the successful conversion giving Coach Barry Alvarez' Badgers a 10-9 lead which they never relinquish. A 30-yard pass from Todd Husak to DeRonnie Pitts to the Wisconsin six sets the stage for a Stanford field goal try of 23 yards but a bad center snap gives Mike Echols time to block Biselli's kick. Wisconsin increases its lead to 17-9 on two passes from Brooks Bollinger to tight end John Sigmund and a Bollinger on-yard scoring keeper plus a successful conversion. Stanford experiences futility thereafter to finish the season 8-4 compared to Wisconsin's 10-2.