Sept. 25, 2001
Not having its top wideout may be no problem for No. 16 Northwestern, which plays host to 23rd-ranked Michigan State on Saturday in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Wildcats (2-0) suffered an early jolt when flanker Sam Simmons left last week's 44-7 victory over Duke with a broken left ring finger. But quarterback Zak Kustok ran the Wildcats' spread offense flawlessly, and tailback Damien Anderson showed his pass-catching skills in the rout.
"It was a good thing and a bad thing," said Anderson, who had 61 receiving yards to go with 189 rushing yards. "Of course, the bad thing was that Sam got hurt. But at the same time, Zak was able to develop that confidence in throwing the ball to basically anyone that was open."
Simmons, listed as doubtful for Saturday, leads the Wildcats with 13 receptions for 226 yards. But Kunle Patrick and Roger Jordan, who combined to make seven catches for 118 yards against Duke, should help fill the void if Simmons doesn't play.
"I have confidence in all of our receivers," said Kustok, who finished with 305 yards and a touchdown. "I think the great thing about our offense is we're able to spread the ball around. We don't have one go-to guy who, when I drop back, I'm looking for him no matter what.
"I just try to read the defense and throw the ball to the open guy, and I know our receivers will make the plays."
Michigan State (2-0) climbed into the Top 25 with a 17-10 victory over then-No. 23 Notre Dame last week. Backup quarterback Ryan Van Dyke rallied the Spartans, throwing two touchdown passes in relief of the ineffective Jeff Smoker.
Despite his 5-of-10, 59-yard performance last week, Spartans coach Bobby Williams will start Smoker on Saturday.
"That was a significant win for (Van Dyke), but we're going to continue the quarterback rotation the way it has been," Williams said. "Jeff will start this weekend, and Ryan will come in at some point of time during the game."
The Spartans have a standout pass defense, allowing just 246 yards through the air in the first two games. Michigan State opponents have completed only 31 of 60 passes and thrown three interceptions.
Now the Spartans will try to frustrate Kustok, who has completed 45 of 80 passes for 542 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
"This is by far the best team we've faced so far this year - very talented, very skilled on defense, very skilled on offense," Williams said of Northwestern. "They have a very good system, and this will be a tremendous challenge for us this week."
Michigan State leads the all-time series 30-13, but Northwestern rolled to a 37-17 victory at East Lansing last season, as Anderson rushed for 219 yards and two scores.