Dayne heard them urge him to go pro, to take the money and run, literally. It reached a crescendo following his 246-yard, four-touchdown performance in Wisconsin's Rose Bowl win in January.

	Ron Dayne needs 1,717 yards to break Ricky Williams' all-time NCAA rushing record.

What better time to go, they said, a perfect cap to a great college career. Instead, he tossed the advice aside like so many would-be tacklers.

The reason, everyone figured, must have been like Dayne himself -- big.

Like the 499 yards he needs to pass ex-Ohio State tailback Archie Griffin as the Big Ten's career rushing leader. Or the eight rushing TDs he needs to eclipse the Big Ten mark of 61 held by Indiana's Anthony Thompson.

Or the 1,717 yards he needs to surpass former Texas star Ricky Williams as the NCAA's all-time Division 1A rushing leader. Or a chance to play for the national championship in the second season of the Bowl Championship Series.

In truth, the reason was the smallest, most unassuming aspect of Dayne's increasingly colorful life.

He stayed at Wisconsin for a baby girl. Her name can be found written on the tape that he wears on his left wrist. It's featured prominently -- along with Dayne himself -- on the cover of the Wisconsin media guide.

"My daughter," Dayne said. "I didn't want to be away from her as long as I would have been if I had gone to the NFL."

Jada is 21 months old. Her mother, Alia Lester, is a student at Wisconsin. Going pro was not an issue for them. That fact made it a moot point for Dayne as well.

"If you have a daughter or son, you know what I'm talking about," Dayne said. "I want to be close to my daughter. The money ... It will still be there."

The move left observers as surprised and confused as the UCLA tacklers who tried to slow his Rose Bowl MVP performance. Not head coach Barry Alvarez, who knows the 5-10, 250-pounder as well as anyone.

"I wasn't really surprised he decided to stay," Alvarez said. " ... He still had some goals he wanted to achieve."

While the No. 10 Badgers have been characterized as a plucky bunch of overachievers, Dayne has carried weighty expectations since his freshman season, when he ran for 2,109 yards.

That season included a 50-carry effort against Minnesota, a 339-yard day against Hawaii and an single-game, per-carry average of 12.7 against San Jose State.

Two years ago his production dropped to 1,457 yards, followed by last year's 1,525.

Impressive. But the numbers provided a target for critics who said not only were his best days behind him, but they were a result of inferior opponents.

His senior season will provide him the opportunity to silence the naysayers. More important, it will allow him time to grow as a person. It's a process that began when an uncommunicative freshman arrived in Madison. Today Dayne is a self-assured senior who has embraced fatherhood and the challenges that come with it.

Alvarez, who is not given to hyperbole, has no doubt the direction Dayne will take.

"I have to believe he is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate," Alvarez said. "He has a legitimate chance to break the NCAA rushing record. He really showed a lot of character and class by making the decision to come back for his senior year."