Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Sports

EAST LANSING, Mich. - In a 12-game football season, coach Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern entered Michigan State territory with the clock ticking towards the end of the first half.

Through five games, the Wildcats had preached that a lack of execution, not team ability, led to their mistakes in an early three-game losing streak. And after a seismic, 48-41 overtime victory at Michigan State, it appears they were right.

Pillaged by opposing defenses over the last three weeks, junior quarterback C.J. Bacher led NU (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) into Spartan Stadium with the task of facing the nation's second-ranked sack defense. But from the onset, it appeared the focus was Bacher himself, on the verge of the most immortal performance of his career.

Somewhere, Brett Basanez was smiling, or screaming.

He and the rest of the NU faithful tuned into the newest edition of a quarterback who took a team of 100-plus on his own set of shoulders.

Bacher completed 38-of-48 passes for a school-record 520 yards, breaking Basanez's mark of 513 yards set against TCU on Sept. 2, 2004.

"Things are definitely opening up and slowing down," Bacher said. "I think the (offensive line) did a great job against the strong Michigan State pressure. Our guys really got open and found holes in the defense.

"It makes my job pretty easy: just give them the ball."

Bacher and the Cats' gameplan showcased a myriad of quick passes, screens and swings, which are all familiar sights in NU's spread offense.

But there were two factors that brought the Cats from offensive competitors to finishers - pass protection and downfield blocking. Michigan State (4-2, 0-2) only managed to reach Bacher once, on a broken three-yard scurry for a loss that was charged as a sack.

Continued...

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