In search of dramatic, arching themes to connect the last two seasons, fans and analysts have been quick to point out the similarities between last Saturday’s win over Michigan State and last season’s dramatic comeback victory over Michigan. But nobody understands the differences between those two games better than David Wasielewski.

Wasielewski, who launched the game-winning field goal for No. 14 Northwestern (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, was sitting in the stands cheering with his classmates when Sam Simmons caught an 11-yard slant to win last year’s game.

Although technically a member of the football team, the only action Wasielewski saw on the gridiron that day was when he stormed the field with the rest of the NU faithful.

“It was a little different, more like being a regular student,” Wasielewski said. “It’s like I was part of the team during the week, but on the weekends I wasn’t.”

Wasielewski was sitting in the stands serving his required year out of competition after transferring from Florida. He spent the season suiting up and doing situps at practice. But he didn’t travel with the team. And he wasn’t in the locker room celebrating after the Michigan game.

“I think that was kind of difficult for him, but you have to take that into account when you’re transferring,” said quarterback Zak Kustok, who transferred to NU from Notre Dame three years ago. “But I think he knew his time was going to come this year.”

Wasielewski has found his niche this season, already making a considerable impact as NU’s new placekicker. But he came a long way before becoming Saturday’s hero — and in the past year even found himself converting to a new position.

Wasielewski made the Southeastern Conference all-freshman team as a punter at Florida, where he averaged 40 yards per boot and played in the 2000 Orange Bowl. But in his second season he began to butt heads with Gators coach Steve Spurrier over playing time. Soon after, he left the team.

That’s when former NU offensive line coach Aaron Kromer found him. Kromer recruited the potential transfer through Wasielewski’s high school coach, and the sophomore jumped at the opportunity to come to NU, despite the team’s 3-8 record in 1999.

“There aren’t many people that’ll take a transfer punter,” Wasielewski said. “Not to say that I didn’t have options, but I thought this was my best chance to play.”

The first time around, Wasielewski didn’t even send an application to NU, because J.J. Standring appeared to have a stranglehold on the punting job through at least the 2000 season. He said he was looking for a school where he would see action immediately. While at Florida, he didn’t even take time to redshirt — a factor that later made transferring and sitting out a year at NU easier.

Walker recruited the transfer to inherit Standring’s job, but when Standring decided to remain at NU as a fifth-year senior, a showdown began to shape up for NU’s 2001 punting job.

“I was kind of worried,” Standring said. “I wanted to check him out because I figured he had to be pretty good playing down in Florida.”

Wasielewski spent preseason camp in Kenosha, Wis., competing with Standring for the punting job. But Walker complicated things last spring by suggesting that Wasielewski should consider a new position altogether.

“I told him it’s going to be hard to beat J.J. out, unless he just falls flat on his face,” Walker said. “But now the kicking job’s wide open…”

A week before the season opener at UNLV, Wasielewski was named NU’s placekicker, beating out sophomore Brian Huffman.

Standring kept his job and got off to his best start in four years, largely due to Wasielewski’s competition. And Wasielewski was finally given the playing time he sought back at Florida.

The fight for his job behind him, Wasielewski still had his greatest challenge ahead. With two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first quarter at UNLV on Sept. 7, he stepped up to make the first extra point of his college career.

But the ball hooked left for an inauspicious start.

Wasielewski redeemed himself at the end of the second quarter when he made his first field goal attempt, a 45-yarder.

“I could punt in front of a million people, but for my first field goal, I was nervous,” he said.

The jitters didn’t last long, and Wasielewski nailed every attempt at Duke on Sept. 22. Against Michigan State last Saturday, he was again perfect on extra points. The nerves were virtually gone that day — until a brief appearance at the end of the game.

But as we all know, that turned out well, and this week Wasielewski finds himself the hero of a nationally ranked team, a far cry from the aimless punter looking to transfer to a 3-8 squad.

“I figured we’d be ranked pretty high, but never with me as the kicker,” he said. “That’s what’s new to me.”