IRVING, TEXAS ? Erik Bickerstaff’s stat line in his debut with the Dallas Cowboys was nothing remarkable: nine carries for 41 yards, two kickoff returns for 24 yards.

What is remarkable: The last time he played that much he was a junior. In high school. Seven years ago.

Since then, Bickerstaff has faced dead end after dead end, escaping them all like only a shifty running back could.

Convinced he could make it to the NFL, he refused to give up on his dream. He certainly had plenty of chances — such as this time last year, when he was a janitor cleaning Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium.

“I just knew that I had the talent to play at any level,” Bickerstaff said. “I got calls from my friends in the league. They told me, ‘You’ve got the talent, just keep it up and you’re going to be right here with me.”‘

Before playing last Sunday against Philadelphia, Bickerstaff’s last action at tailback was in 1996, his junior year at North High School in Waukesha, Wis. He was named all-league and was looking forward to a big senior season when he was caught drinking. The punishment was a yearlong suspension.

Forgotten or ignored by colleges, his only scholarship offer was from Division I-AA Northern Iowa. And it was to run track.

Bickerstaff walked on at Wisconsin instead. But the Badgers already had Ron Dayne and Michael Bennett at tailback, so Bickerstaff was moved to fullback.

He paid his dues for four years, a redshirt season plus three more. He paid his tuition, too. Along the way, Bickerstaff had just one carry — in the final minutes of a 59-0 win over Indiana.

In spring 2002, Bickerstaff was preparing for his breakthrough.

Shortly before the annual spring game, running backs coach Brian White came to him, apologizing in advance for some bad news. Although his grades were fine, it was just discovered that Bickerstaff was academically ineligible.

The problem: a low ACT score made him a “partial qualifier” when he got to Wisconsin. That meant he wasn’t allowed to play his first year, then had only three more seasons — not four, like most players. And he’d used them up.