Dunn looks back to move ahead Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 13 December 1999 A visit to his own history helps the Bucs running back deliver a breakout performance. The 65,536 fans at Raymond James Stadium saw Detroit's silver and blue uniforms, but to Bucs running back Warrick Dunn it looked more like the orange and blue of the University of Florida. It appeared Dunn was playing in Tampa, but a part of him was back home in Baton Rouge, La., playing for Catholic High. When the former Florida State standout began sprinting down the field after catching a second-quarter screen pass from Shaun King, he wasn't just running away from the Lions, he was running back to the success that had gotten him into the NFL. "Tonight, I ran the way Warrick Dunn ran in college and high school," said Dunn, who turned the screen pass into a 68-yard reception, the longest of the season and his career. "Before the game, I just went back and I watched some film of how I ran in college and how I approached the game in college. I just tried to come back out and play my type of game and adjust my game." Dunn's catch and run reversed the momentum in Tampa Bay's first-place showdown against Detroit, and it reversed a frustrating trend of negative runs, shoestring tackles and near breakaways for Dunn. He entered the season with a career rushing average of 4.3 and a proven reputation as a big-play specialist. But prior to Sunday, Dunn's longest run from scrimmage was 29 yards and his longest reception was 27 yards. Then last week, he missed the Monday night game against Minnesota with a sore left ankle, the latest in a myriad of nagging injuries. But King said Dunn continued to work hard and remained professional. "He was frustrated like anybody would be who was used to making big plays," King said. "It says a lot about his character that he never came out and said anything negative. He just kept working and tonight he reaped the benefits of that." Dunn looked to the past to improve his future. He left the Westshore Marriott after the team's final morning meeting Sunday, went home and popped in a tape from those halcyon Seminole days where he finished as FSU's career leader in rushing yards for coach Bobby Bowden. "I watched a lot of Seminoles highlights and broke out some high school highlights," Dunn said. "Coach Bowden's favorite quote is great players make great plays in big games. I was used to doing that in college, so it was just motivation. "It made me realize where I've been and where I need to get back to. I didn't just watch myself. I watched how the defense, how aggressive those guys were, and I saw how the guys played hard in college. I even watched some (Derrick) Brooks highlights. It makes you hungry and it makes you want to get out and perform to your best." In a game full of big plays, coach Tony Dungy said Dunn's may have been the biggest because it re-energized the team and the crowd after an emotional win againstMinnesota. Guard Frank Middleton, who threw the key block on the play, went a step further about the importance of the reception. "Once he did that, we knew were going to win," Middleton said. "Whenever you get a big play like that from Dunn, you know, he never does one big play. It's always one big play, then he just gets into his groove and you know two or three more are coming." Dunn added a 28-yard reception in the third quarter and finished with six receptions for 115 yards. While he netted only six yards on eight carries, he did have two runs for a total of 30 yards negated by penalties. "Hopefully, this is the start of where I should have been all year," Dunn said. Asked how long he would relish the Bucs' division-leading status and his renewed success, Dunn paused, look at his watch, and said, "Just for a few hours."