Don’t try to remind Northwestern junior center Austin King that Saturday’s weather was the worst he has played in this season. It’s still no excuse.

The downpour that pounded Ryan Field had even the referees struggling to keep the pigskin from getting too slippery.

King said his pair of bad snaps in the second half of the Wildcats’ game against Minnesota – which cost NU a total of 40 yards – were his fault, regardless of the weather. Quarterback Zak Kustok nearly saved another bad snap at the start of the second half, but the No. 22 Wildcats (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) lost three yards on the play.

“There’s no real excuse for it – it’s stuff we practice all the time,” said King, a three-year starter. “Obviously I was pretty disappointed with those plays because (Minnesota) could have recovered either one of those balls.”

Shuffling his feet and keeping his eyes on the turf, King remembers the fourth-quarter snap on NU’s 32-yard line that flew over Kustok’s head and sent the Cats scurrying 24 yards in the wrong direction.

King knows it killed a late-game drive and forced NU to punt, again.

“It was technique and we’re getting it fixed,” he said.

NU coach Randy Walker also could offer no explanation for King’s slippery hands on Saturday. But he pointed out that the three bad snaps overshadowed an otherwise “great” performance. He expects that King will have no trouble fixing the problems and added that he is one of the Cats’ best linemen.

NU’s media guide markets King as “the best center in the country no one has heard of, yet.” That claim is supported by King’s preseason nomination to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the best college center in the country.

So no one expects to see a repeat performance of Saturday’s fumbles.

“It’s like a straight drive in my golf game,” Walker said. “It just pops up. It’s an aberration and I can’t explain it.”

chucking the deep ball: The running game isn’t the only aspect of NU’s offense that has Walker scratching his head and setting aside extra practice time.

The coach is also worried about the long ball, a feature he had hoped the team would improve on this season. But Kustok has had trouble completing deep passes, often overthrowing his targets.

“You can talk about scaring them by throwing the deep ball,” Walker said. “But it doesn’t scare them a lot unless you connect.”

Kustok said he is not too concerned, since the offense has survived through the first five games on shorter pass routes. And he completed the most important long ball of the season – a 54-yard “Victory Right” pass to Jon Schweighardt that set up the game-winning field goal against Michigan State on Sept. 29.

But the added dimension of the long ball could help open up an offensive attack that has struggled to get the Cats to a 4-1 start.

THE ‘I’ HAS IT: Walker hinted Monday that fans will see more of the I-formation in NU’s offense during the rest of this season. The setup would allow a lead blocker to protect running back Damien Anderson and provide more playing opportunities for tight ends David Farman and Trai Essex.

“I’ve never said we want to be an exclusive four-wide team,” Walker said. “I think it’s good to have a lot of diversity.”

He said Anderson doesn’t play significantly better in one formation or another. And offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson added that the team’s continued use of the I-formation would depend on how opposing defenses react to it.

RETURNING FOR GOOD: Walker said he intends to keep using Anderson on kickoff returns.

The Cats had used four other players in the role and took a lowly 15-yard return average into last Saturday’s game against Minnesota. But Anderson stepped up, returning a kick for 34 yards.

“We’re going to stay with him because I think he can be a real threat back there,” Walker said. “He just missed busting one out.”

INCHES TO GO: Kustok and Anderson became the top offensive duo in NU history after playing Minnesota, overcoming the Darnell Autry and Steve Schnur pair with 9,491 career total yards. … The Cats are 4-0 this season when they commit fewer turnovers than their opponent – 0-1 when they commit more.