For those out there who wanted to boil the Heisman race down to one game, your winner is Ron Dayne.

For the more enlightened of you out there, who take into consideration the subtleties of the season, the nuances of the ups and downs of a player's season and reserve judgment until the very last moment, you might want to jump on the Dayne Train about now as well.

Dayne and the Wisconsin Badgers got the better of Drew Brees and Purdue in a late-season Heisman showdown. The Badgers' 28-21 victory came because Dayne refused to shrivel in the big game, and Brees didn't quite have enough chutzpah to pull the upset.

With a 32-carry, 222-yard performance Saturday firmly in his hip pocket, Dayne sits 99 yards away from breaking Ricky Williams' NCAA Division I-A career rushing record of 6,279. He'll try to break the record next week against Iowa, the nation's 110th rated rushing defense.

Elsewhere on our list, Brees jumped over Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton because the Purdue QB's performance in defeat stood out more than Hamilton's in Tech's 45-38 loss to Virginia. Alabama's Shaun Alexander, who is still hampered by an ankle injury, fell out of the top five with a 14-carry, 18-yard effort in the Tide's narrow 23-17 win over LSU. Joining the list is Virginia's Thomas Jones, who outshined Hamilton by gaining 213 yards on 39 carries.

Here's a look at our top five following last Saturday's action:

RON DAYNE -- WISCONSIN		STATS
1.	Breaking it down: So this is what Dayne can do when he plays the whole game. His big performance in another big game nearly cements the award with one game left on Wisconsin's schedule.	Opponent at Purdue Season	Car-Yds 32-222 276-1,618	TD 1 18
DREW BREES -- PURDUE		STATS
2.	Breaking it down: Had a strong game but couldn't capture the elusive win, dropping Brees' record against ranked teams to 2-4. Led Purdue with a career-high 85 yards rushing on 18 carries.	Opponent vs. Wisconsin Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 36-64-350 286-470-3,334	TD-INT 1-2 26*-11 *includes four rushing TDs, one receiving TD
JOE HAMILTON -- GEORGIA TECH		STATS
3.	Breaking it down: Couldn't finish off the rally against Virginia, but his 282 yards of total offense did make him the ACC's career leader in total offense.	Opponent at Virginia Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 18-26-233 Rush-Yds 14-49 136-203-2,116 111-512	TD-INT 2-1 0 19-6 6
THOMAS JONES -- VIRGINIA		STATS
4.	Breaking it down: A strong string of games has rocketed Jones up the charts. The Cavs' main weapon has rushed for 783 yards in his last four games.	Opponent vs. Georgia Tech Season	Car-Yds 39-213 Rec-Yds 1-2 274-1,486 18-117	TD 2 15
CHAD PENNINGTON -- MARSHALL		STATS
5.	Breaking it down: Nearly perfect -- four of his six incompletions were dropped. Marshall's hopes of a major-bowl bid are still alive, as is the Thundering Herd's 13-game winning streak.	Opponent at Kent Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 19-25-209 203-297-2,798	TD-INT 3-0 31*-9 *includes two rushing TDs