Alex Brantley’s favorite five Bearcats Sports Moments

4.) Unranked Bearcats Defeat No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers & Eventual Heisman Trophy Winner Ron Dayne 17-12. (September 18, 1999)

To properly put this upset into context, one must remember this game took place during an era of mediocrity for Bearcats football. Often times the athletic department was forced to give away tickets free for televised games, in an effort to not have Nippert Stadium look embarrassingly empty. Also adding to the uniqueness was a Big Ten Conference power like the Wisconsin Badgers agreeing to play the Bearcats, let alone coming to Nippert Stadium to do so. Then came the Badgers actual football team led by senior running back Ron Dayne, who would finish the 1999 season as college football’s all-time leading rusher with 7,125 career rushing yards. Most expected the 5’11”, 270 pound bruising tailback and his Badger teammates to run all over the Cats’, who were coming off a surprising loss the previous week against unheralded Troy University.

The Cats’ didn’t exactly slow the eventual Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne down, who still rushed for 231 yards and a touchdown on a sprained ankle, but the Cats’ played inspired ball for head coach Rick Minter and benefited from two key fumbles by the Badgers. Dayne fumbled the ball into the end zone turning it over in the fourth quarter as Wisconsin was poised to take the lead. The final blow was delivered later in the game when Badgers’ punt returner Nick Davis muffed a punt with 5:01 left in the ball game, which was recovered by the Cats’.

That turnover was enough for UC to turn it into a 41yard field goal and the Cats’ held on for a 17-12 victory. It was one of the most remarkable wins in program history and definitely a highlight during an otherwise unremarkable 3-8 campaign for the Cats’. In addition to Ron Dayne going onto win the 1999 Heisman Trophy, the Badgers finished the season ranked No. 4 nationally with a 10-2 record following a Rose Bowl victory over Stanford.