Randy Walker likened it to a 15-round heavyweight bout, but Northwestern’s dramatic 54-51 win over Michigan was truly an offensive marathon.

Though Sam Simmons broke the tape with his game-winning 11-yard touchdown catch, the Wildcats’ victory was due to a steady — and deadly — offensive pace maintained throughout the contest.

“If you execute, defenses can’t stop you,” Walker said. “You stop yourself before they do and that’s been the story of our season.

“When we execute and we do the things we do on offense we’re awful hard to stop because we’ve got too many weapons.”

NU’s 654 yards of offense set a school record and was also the highest total Michigan has ever allowed. In addition, the teams’ combined 105 points was the most ever in an NU game.

“I’ve been in some big scoring games, but nothing like this,” Walker said.

When Michigan opened the game by scoring six touchdowns on its first seven possessions, NU was in dire need of a second-half burst. Led by Zak Kustok and Damien Anderson, the Cats responded with 31 points — 18 in the final quarter — in the second half to edge the Wolverines at the wire.

“We knew Northwestern’s offense was good, but we didn’t expect them to score at will against us,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.

NU’s late surge stemmed from its play in the final five minutes of of the first half. After Michigan took a commanding 28-10 lead on David Terrell’s third touchdown catch of the afternoon, the Cats stormed back for 13 unanswered points before halftime.

With a 7-yard run, Anderson scored in his ninth consecutive game, capping an impressive 77-yard drive that brought NU within 11 points. On the ensuing kickoff, the Cats stunned Michigan with a perfectly executed onside kick, as Harold Blackmon leapt and snatched the Tim Long kick.

“We practiced it all week,” Long said. “We saw something on our film where a guy left early, I think it was the front left guy, number 45 (linebacker Phillip Brackins). We planned to have the kick about eight feet off the ground above his head to Harold.”

Taking over at Michigan’s 43-yard line, NU marched downfield before the drive stalled and Long nailed a 22-yard field goal. After the Cats defense forced Michigan into its first punt of the game, Kustok found Simmons on a slant, setting up Long for a 43-yard field goal as the half expired.

“The biggest part of the game was in the second quarter when it was getting a little farther away than we wanted it to,” Walker said. “We made some plays, got the momentum back and we went into halftime with a little ‘mo’ coming back out, heads high and ready to play.”

Anderson toyed with Michigan’s defense all game, accumulating 181 yards on 20 carries in the first half.

His biggest gain came after NU fell behind 42-29 in the third quarter, when Anderson darted through the line, cut left and rocketed to the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown. It was Anderson’s 18th rushing touchdown of the season, setting an NU record. Anderson’s fourth 200-yard game this season is also a school record.

Anderson’s 268-yard total was the highest individual rushing total Michigan has ever allowed, shattering the old record by 67 yards.

“We worked hard all week and we knew we had to establish the running game early so we could complement the pass,” Anderson said. “(The offensive line) did a great job giving a lot of running lanes and I tried to take advantage of them the best I could.”

As both teams traded touchdowns, NU turned to its passing game down the stretch, employing a series of effective slants, posts and sideline streaks. Kustok took command in the fourth quarter, completing seven of 10 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

“We’ve just been having a lot of confidence on offense and we feel like we can score every time we get the ball,” Kustok said. “That’s the mindset that we have to have. Even though we were down we thought we were playing well, we didn’t give up.”

Kustok has gained Walker’s trust for his late-game poise.

“He makes a difference every time we say hike,” Walker said. “He looked at me after the game and said ‘Coach, I never had any doubt. I knew we were going to do it.'”