McCullough finds spotlight again with Dayne on sideline

MADISON - Ron Dayne stood out on the Wisconsin sideline Saturday, his imposing 5-foot-10, 261-pound frame clad in bright red with his helmet hanging helplessly by his side. Here was the nation's third-ranked rusher, stuck watching his teammates challenge the nation's top defense without him - and doing it well.

Carl McCullough, a senior who has served as Dayne's patient understudy the past two seasons, ran for 102 yards on 20 carries. Combined with quarterback Mike Samuel's use of the option 15 times for 49 yards, McCullough helped the Badgers to 235 yards of total offense against a Michigan defense that surrenders less than 200 yards per game on average.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Wisconsin was able to move the ball on the ground against the Wolverines, even with its star, running back Ron Dayne, on the sidelines. The Badgers piled up 154 yards rushing, the most by any Michigan opponent this season.

"He played very hard, really gave us a spark and lifted all of our kids up in the first half," when he ran for 57 yards on 13 carries and almost single-handedly moved the Badgers down the field for a touchdown, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "The way he ran and the way he finished runs, how physical he was - he was impressive."

As big a role as he played, McCullough wasn't expected to do so much. Dayne, a sophomore who severely sprained his right ankle in Wisconsin's upset of Iowa last week, didn't practice for most of the week but attempted to play. He participated in warmups but experienced tightness in the ankle as game time approached and the temperature dropped below 30 degrees.

"His ankle did loosen up," Alvarez said. "We thought he was going to be able to go. But ... he wouldn't have been at full strength, and I didn't want to take any chances. He wouldn't have been full speed, and we didn't feel as though he would be effective."

Michigan defensive end Glen Steele said the Wolverines were looking forward to playing against Dayne, who averages 143.9 yards per game and has rushed for more than 200 yards eight times in his 18-start career. Steele even went so far as to say he was "sad" to see Dayne on the sidelines. "I really wanted a chance to play against him," he said.

But as it turned out, the Wolverines' defense had enough trouble without Dayne in the picture. They entered the game No. 1 in the Big Ten against the run and sixth in the nation, leaving Camp Randall Stadium banged and bruised by McCullough, a talent who had been waiting for his time.

McCullough was Wisconsin's punishing back before Dayne arrived. At 6-foot-3, 229 pounds, McCullough pounded his way to 1,038 yards in 1995, becoming just the third sophomore in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards (Heisman Trophy-winner Alan Ameche and Wisconsin career rushing leader Billy Marek were the others).

Then came Dayne, and McCullough saw the ball half as much the next season, finishing with 534 yards. The trend continued this year, getting so bad, McCullough played in just four games previous to Saturday's. And even with Dayne out, Alvarez gave the ball to redshirt freshman running back Eddie Faulkner at first.

When that didn't work and the Badgers' first two drives stalled in four plays each, McCullough got his chance. He gained eight yards on his first carry, the most Wisconsin had gained on any play to that point, and he took off from there.

Alvarez gave him the ball 10 times on the Badgers' next drive - during which the Badgers ran 14 plays - and McCullough responded by gaining 44 yards. The Badgers ended up kicking a field goal to reduce Michigan's lead to 13-3, getting the crowd back into the game and stealing a bit of momentum.

McCullough broke a 22-yard run to open the second half. Samuel took over from there, running the option often and eventually scoring a touchdown on a one-yard run to put his team within a touchdown of the lead. The option "killed us," said Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, who slipped late in the fourth quarter and gave up just the second touchdown reception to a Michigan opponent this season.

The Wolverines were able to recover from Samuel's score with an 85-yard drive that culminated in a field goal. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr called that the "key to the game," but the damage was done already. Poor tackling doomed Michigan to its second-worst defensive performance this fall.

"We had trouble tackling and made mistakes we can't afford to make," Steele said. "Wisconsin played hard; their backs played hard. If you don't tackle against people like that, they're going to make their yards."

WARREN ZINN/Daily Russell Shaw just missed his third touchdown of the season when Wisconsin's Leonard Taylor caught him from behind on the one-yard line after a 39-yard catch.

11-17-97