After a three-and-out on the first drive of NU’s Michigan State game, senior quarterback Brett Basanez gave his offense a tongue-lashing on the sideline. He yelled, poised and passionate, as he demanded more from his offense.

After the meeting Basanez said he got the feeling that all was still not right when the Wildcats took the field for their second drive.

“I may have rattled some of the younger guys,” Basanez said.

So the four-year starter had a plan to relax his teammates – he called ‘Deuce right Mississippi.’ And nobody recognized the call.

“Brett asks us, ‘Everyone know what they’re doing?’ We’re all looking around at each other confused,” senior tackle Zach Strief said. “So he asks (freshman center) Joel Belding, ‘You know what you’re doing?’ And Joel nervously says, ‘Yeah, yeah.’

“So finally Brett says, ‘You guys are all idiots, it’s not a real play.'”

Since making his first start three years ago as a redshirt freshman, Basanez has grown into the Cats’ leader – one who knows his team well enough to insert a fake play in a huddle to break the tension – and one of the elite quarterbacks in the country.

After the call, NU scored 49 consecutive points in a 35-point win against the Spartans.

“I think that’s where he’s grown the most,” Strief said. “He’s doing a much better job sensing the mood of the offense. He’s been good at getting us all going in the right way.”

Under Basanez’s command, the offense has gone 3,705 yards in the right direction.

The senior from Arlington Heights, Ill., has surged to third place in the NCAA in total offense (349.9 yards per game) and fourth in passing yardage (311.6 per game) and completions (25.6 per game).

If these days are some of the best of times for Basanez, then his sophomore year included some of the worst.

In a 22-21 loss to Air Force in September of 2003, Basanez saw a 14-point lead disappear in a fourth quarter where he was 1-of-15 for 16 yards and three interceptions.

Then later in that year, he attempted zero passes in the second half of a 37-20 win against Illinois in November.

During that season, Basanez completed just 54 percent of his passes, with four touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

“I learned from it. I’ve learned from everything, good or bad,” Basanez said. “That year, I just tried to stay with what I was doing and tried to pull myself out of that hole. But the good thing about it is that I know what it’s like. I’ve been down, I’ve been up, side to side, everything.”

Coach Randy Walker said it is those experiences that have helped him develop into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country.

Walker said Basanez is a good case study in maturity. Walker has watched as his quarterback has grown significantly since he got his first start as redshirt freshman in 2002.

“I’m reminded how many times I wanted to hit Brett Basanez,” Walker said. “And now he’s everyone’s darling.”

Basanez has cut down on his turnovers and his preparation and film study has allowed the game to “slow down” for him, offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar said.

But Dunbar still finds a weakness in his senior quarterback.

“He’s a terrible slider,” Dunbar said. “He could never be a baseball player, could he? I ask him all the time, ‘Didn’t you play Little League and learn how to slide?’ So he goes down in a variety of ways.

“But we tell him to slide, we ask him to. We’re trying to protect him as best as we can.”

The Cats can’t afford to lose Basanez.

In seven games, Basanez has already eclipsed 2,000 yards passing, with 12 touchdowns and only one interception. He has surpassed five Northwestern career passing records and leads all active division I quarterbacks in passing yards.

His backup, freshman C.J. Bacher, has attempted only six passes in his NU career.

As the media attention has grown and the accolades pour in, Basanez doesn’t revel in the praise.

Northwestern fans chanted “Heisman” to him after the Michigan State game, in which he threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns. Basanez acknowledged them, then quietly jogged off the field. And when he returned to campus, there was no elaborate celebration.

“We didn’t go out really,” said senior wide receiver Mark Philmore, who is one of Basanez’s closest friends on the team. “I went over to his house with my girlfriend, and we just watched TV.”

A simple end to a huge day for Basanez, but the senior quarterback hopes there’s no simple end to the season.

He’s led the Cats to within one game of a bowl appearance, but more importantly, he’s helped put his team in the thick of the Big Ten championship race.

But Basanez said the job is not done by getting five wins and becoming a contender.

“We know how thin the line is between being great and being average,” Basanez said. “If we don’t continue to play this well, it will be a passing thought. No one will care what we did in week seven or week six.”

Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].