MADISON, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Ron Dayne's pursuit of history should get off to a big start when he leads 10th-ranked Wisconsin against Division I-AA foe Murray State.

It is both schools' season opener.

Dayne enters the season 1,717 yards shy of passing Texas' Ricky Williams, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner, for the all-time Divison I-A lead in rushing. He needs to average just over 156 yards per game to break the mark and the Badgers begin their season with three overmatched foes -- the Racers, Ball State and Cincinnati.

"Ron is a very unassuming player and tries to deflect the attention," Badgers coach Barry Alvarez said. "He has never let it go to his head. But there is a great deal of attention and I as a coach have to address it. I tell the offensive lineman how great would it be to block for the guy who is the all-time leading rusher."

The rushing record stood for nearly 22 years before Williams knocked Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett from the perch in November. Now, barring injury to the 5-10, 253-pound Dayne, it appears the mark might be set for the second time in a year.

Dayne has averaged 142.6 yards per game during a career beset by a string of nagging injuries. He currently ranks 19th on the all-time list with 4,563 yards despite missing three games, including a contest with San Diego State last season.

The Badgers are 11-1 when Dayne receives at least 30 carries in a game, with the only loss coming at Penn State in 1998 when he carried 30 times for 126 yards.

"We've had games where Ron hasn't had very good numbers and we haven't blocked very well," added Alvarez. "It starts with the offensive line. If they don't block well, we don't have a chance. We're a tailback-oriented offense. I think early on, we thought he could get it done himself. But then we've had times where our third tailback has to answer the call. So its not just the Ron Dayne Show."

Attempting to stop the hulking Dayne, the Racers will have to draw on their experience against Division I-A opponents in recent years, but it appears an overwhelming task.

Last season Murray State suffered a 43-9 loss at Brigham Young and in 1990 dropped a 49-7 decision to Northern Illinois and was beaten, 68-0, by Louisville. The Racers do own a 1-0-1 record against Miami, but the last meeting of that series came in 1932.

Murray State does have a potential record-setter of its own in senior quarterback Justin Fuente, a former transfer from Oklahoma. Fuente already owns four of the top 10 single-game passing performances in school history.

Wisconsin is 82-25-3 in season openers but a surprisingly poor 5-4 under Barry Alvarez.

MURRAY STATE Season schedule and results	WISCONSIN Season schedule and results
Sep. 4 @Wisconsin 12:10pm ET Sep. 11 @Southern Illinois 2:30pm ET Sep. 18 SE Missouri St 7:00pm ET Oct. 2 @Western Kentucky 8:00pm ET Oct. 9 Tennessee Martin 7:00pm ET Oct. 16 Eastern Illinois 4:00pm ET Oct. 23 Samford TBA Oct. 30 @Tennessee Tech 3:00pm ET Nov. 6 Eastern Kentucky 2:30pm ET Nov. 13 @Tennessee State 2:30pm ET Nov. 20 Kentucky Wesleyan TBA	Sep. 4 Murray State 12:10pm ET Sep. 11 Ball State 1:10pm ET Sep. 18 @Cincinnati 3:15pm ET Sep. 25 Michigan 2:00pm ET Oct. 2 @Ohio State TBA Oct. 9 @Minnesota TBA Oct. 16 Indiana 2:00pm ET Oct. 23 Michigan State 2:00pm ET Oct. 30 @Northwestern TBA Nov. 6 @Purdue TBA Nov. 13 Iowa 2:00pm ET