MADISON, Wis. – Robert Holcombe never had a chance.

Coming off a school record four consecutive 100-yard games, the Illini senior from Mesa, Ariz., carried high hopes into Saturday's clash with Wisconsin's human bowling ball, Ron Dayne.

But a suffocating Badger defense brought Holcombe to a screeching halt, and five 300-pounders in the Badger offensive line carved out holes that turned the confrontation into a mismatch.

Dayne banged and grinded for 207 yards on 28 carries, his eighth career game over 200 in just 15 starts. His assault Saturday was advancing toward his 289-yard spree at Illinois last year when he began sharing time with Eddie Faulkner early in the third quarter. Dayne, bothered by a sore ankle, carried just twice in the fourth stanza.

A thoroughly bottled-up Holcombe ran 23 times for 63 yards, a 2.7 per-carry average indicating how many times he was greeted by Badgers near the line of scrimmage. Holcombe had three runs of more than 5 yards, his longest a 16-yarder in the first quarter. Holcombe's second-half production the last two games is 21 yards.

"The running and passing games complement each other," Holcombe said. "Sometimes when one isn't working, it's hard to get the other working. You have to produce on the ground and in the air.

"They brought a lot of guys. They loaded the box and took a chance of giving up the big play, and we couldn't get it."

Except for a 46-yard completion from Tim Lavery to George McDonald-Ashford, big plays again evaded the Illini.

"Defensively, we knew Wisconsin would use a scheme to stop Holcombe," UI coach Ron Turner said. "We had to make plays in the passing game to be successful. If they're going to bring eight or nine guys up to stop Holcombe, we've got to catch the ball one on one. Our quarterback didn't perform as well as he's capable, and our receivers weren't as good as they can be."

An 11-for-31 aerial effort was too erratic to sustain the UI attack.

"Offensively, they knocked us off the ball," Turner added. "Samuel is the best running quarterback we have faced, and they mixed in the option very well. Samuel got outside on us several times, and Dayne hurt us inside. Wisconsin used a good mix of plays."

The upshot of the 31-7 game was a step forward for Dayne in his all-conference quest, and a step back for Holcombe.