VOTE: Who was the best Northwestern QB over the last 25 years?

[lou v]

This should be fun. We want to identify Northwestern's best quarterback over the last 25 years. And we're going to let YOU decide.

First, read the WildcatReport story: Who was the best Northwestern QB over the last 25 years? It summarizes the careers of our five top QBs.

Then, cast your vote here.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Where's Kafka?

 

[lou v]

Where's Kafka?

Read the story. You can write him in.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Initially seemed like an easy vote for Thorson with all his records and bowl wins. I still voted for him, but your article reminded me how good some of the others were, particularly Basanez.

 

[DaCat]

I went with Schnur, because of he won games but also was the star in 1996, first team All Big.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I'm going with Baz. Not an easy choice, but I think he was the best at making plays with his arm. He didn't have great talent at WR, and that defense was atrocious. He led us to 41 points in the second half of that 51-48 win over a good WI team.

 

[GOUNUII]

I went with Schnur, because of he won games but also was the star in 1996, first team All Big.

Basanez beat the Buckeyes. Add that to his other achievements and it's game over in my book. If you had to win one big game ... or you were putting together your all star team from the last 25 years ... and you needed your best play maker under center ... Basanez is the guy. In my opinion he had everything the others had and more.

Ranking the top 5 in order of who gives you the best chance to win big games:

1. Basanez ... capable of beating anybody with his arm, his legs and his head. Had a near perfect game in beating the Buckeyes in Evanston.
2. Persa ... 2nd by a nose to Basanez as described above. Did more with less of a roster than any of the others.
3. Thorson ... A consistent winner. But like Schnur, opposing defenses did not have to make scheme adjustments to account for his talents.
4.. Schnur ... Became a play maker passer in his 5th year with the benefit of the best overall roster of any QB on this list. Was never asked to do a lot, but did everything asked of him very well.
5. Kustok ... A warrior and a winner, but too scheme dependent to be ranked higher.

Funny how the 2 that won the most games didn't rank higher. But then I plugged Basanez and Persa into the Schnur and Thorson years and felt very comfortable they would have upgraded those teams.

GOUNUII

 

[DaCat]

Basanez beat the Buckeyes. Add that to his other achievements and it's game over in my book. If you had to win one big game ... or you were putting together your all star team from the last 25 years ... and you needed your best play maker under center ... Basanez is the guy. In my opinion he had everything the others had and more.

Ranking the top 5 in order of who gives you the best chance to win big games:

1. Basanez ... capable of beating anybody with his arm, his legs and his head. Had a near perfect game in beating the Buckeyes in Evanston.
2. Persa ... 2nd by a nose to Basanez as described above. Did more with less of a roster than any of the others.
3. Thorson ... A consistent winner. But like Schnur, opposing defenses did not have to make scheme adjustments to account for his talents.
4.. Schnur ... Became a play maker passer in his 5th year with the benefit of the best overall roster of any QB on this list. Was never asked to do a lot, but did everything asked of him very well.
5. Kustok ... A warrior and a winner, but too scheme dependent to be ranked higher.

Funny how the 2 that won the most games didn't rank higher. But then I plugged Basanez and Persa into the Schnur and Thorson years and felt very comfortable they would have upgraded those teams.

GOUNUII

I'd have to agree with most of what you say. Hypothetically, if you took the best team, say the 1995/6 Cats, and plugged in other QB's, then any one of the five would be outstanding.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Basanez beat the Buckeyes. Add that to his other achievements and it's game over in my book. If you had to win one big game ... or you were putting together your all star team from the last 25 years ... and you needed your best play maker under center ... Basanez is the guy. In my opinion he had everything the others had and more.

Ranking the top 5 in order of who gives you the best chance to win big games:

1. Basanez ... capable of beating anybody with his arm, his legs and his head. Had a near perfect game in beating the Buckeyes in Evanston.
2. Persa ... 2nd by a nose to Basanez as described above. Did more with less of a roster than any of the others.
3. Thorson ... A consistent winner. But like Schnur, opposing defenses did not have to make scheme adjustments to account for his talents.
4.. Schnur ... Became a play maker passer in his 5th year with the benefit of the best overall roster of any QB on this list. Was never asked to do a lot, but did everything asked of him very well.
5. Kustok ... A warrior and a winner, but too scheme dependent to be ranked higher.

Funny how the 2 that won the most games didn't rank higher. But then I plugged Basanez and Persa into the Schnur and Thorson years and felt very comfortable they would have upgraded those teams.

GOUNUII

1. Basanez - for the reasons you say. Our O was perhaps at it’s best during his senior year. Felt we could score on anyone. Wisconsin game comes to mind.
2. Persa - actually voted him #1 first, before thinking it over again. Close. Real close.
3. Kustok - just the next best QB in my book - who would I want to pick for my team. Led one of the best offenses we ever had. Could throw, could run.
4. Schnurr - First Team B1G and two rings. Great game manager, but at the end of the day, we had rings more because of our D and other players than because of Schnurr, though his 2nd ring puts him in the conversation for 3. OTOH, I could see others ranked ahead of him too, for the reasons mentioned above.
5. Not sure, but probably not Thorson. The offense just didn’t hum the way it did with other QBs. Some of it was maybe on the OC, but Thorson would miss throws, we’d go 3 and out more than we would have with other QBs, and I feel the team succeeded more because of Hankwitz than the O. If he had progressed on a better trajectory from his sophomore year which was arguably his best, at least statistically, maybe it’s a different conversation. But, outside of his sophomore year, our O was largely pedestrian during his four years at the helm. Siemian maybe had the worst supporting cast of anyone and is playing in the league and bailed us out of games in relief of the WR our coaches insisted on playing in front of him. He also had the ND game which got him drafted. Bacher was a gun slinger who put up yards and points, had the greatest game stretch of any QB where he threw for 900 yards and 8 TDS and 0 INTs. Kafka had a great senior year. At their best, they were better than Clayton in my opinion.

 

[corbi296]

Persa for sure. He carried those teams on his back. His junior year, pre injury performance was unparalleled in my opinion.

 

[FloridAlum]

I’ll go with Basanez for a combination of career performance and best year performance. He also seemed to get better and better, and worked to improve.
Alert- I might be prejudiced because his parents were really great and provided me with more than one pregame bloody Mary

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

1. Basanez - for the reasons you say. Our O was perhaps at it’s best during his senior year. Felt we could score on anyone. Wisconsin game comes to mind.
2. Persa - actually voted him #1 first, before thinking it over again. Close
3. Kustok - just the next best QB in my book - who would I want to pick for my team. Led one of the best offenses we ever had. Could throw, could run.
4. Schnurr - First Team B1G and two rings. Great game manager, but at the end of the day, we had rings more because of our D and other players than because of Schnurr, though his 2nd ring puts him in the conversation for 3. OTOH, I could see others ranked ahead of him too, for the reasons mentioned above.
5. Not sure, but probably not Thorson. The offense just didn’t hum the way it did with other QBs. Some of it was maybe on the OC, but Thorson would miss throws, we’d go 3 and out more than we would have with other QBs, and I feel the team succeeded more because of Hankwitz than the O. If he had progressed on a better trajectory from his sophomore year which was arguably his best, at least statistically, maybe it’s a different conversation. But, outside of his sophomore year, our O was largely pedestrian during his four years at the helm. Siemian maybe had the worst supporting cast of anyone and is playing in the league and bailed us out of games in relief of the WR our coaches insisted on playing in front of him. He also had the ND game which got him drafted. Bacher was a gun slinger who put up yards and points, had the greatest game stretch of any QB where he threw for 900 yards and 8 TDS and 0 INTs. Kafka had a great senior year. At their best, they were better than Clayton in my opinion.

Thought for sure you'd have written in Colter.

 

[CatManTrue]

Thought for sure you'd have written in Colter.

He’s holding out for Brewfka.

P.S. @EvanstonCat , the OL that Thorson played behind was probably the worst of all the QBs (except for maybe Persa). Could that be why they didn’t hum?

 

[Catreporter]

This is a close call, DUH. Schnur had two GREAT years and he was robbed of the Silver Football in '96, losing to a guy who couldn't get his QB into the end zone on the deciding play vs. Michigan. Persa and Kustok both had ONE great season. Basanez had a really bad Sophomore year but bounced back to put up some ridiculous numbers as a senior. In the end, I went for Clayton because he STARTED FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS and won 36 games. The 99-yard drive he directed vs. Nebraska with no timeouts in the final 2:00 is one I never get tired of watching. The only more memorable was Schnur's directing the team down the field in the final 2:00 for the game winning FG vs. Michigan in 1996. Anyway, great idea Lou, that really got the memories flowing as we combat this pandemic.

 

[EvanstonCat]

He’s holding out for Brewfka.

P.S. @EvanstonCat , the OL that Thorson played behind was probably the worst of all the QBs (except for maybe Persa). Could that be why they didn’t hum?

Hey, at least I think Colter was better than Brewfka. Another player that was a better WR than QB.

The OL blew for most of Cushing’s tenure, and was maybe worst during Siemian’s last year. But, he did more against the pressure I felt. Especially against ND.

With Clayton, I just never had the confidence that our offense could move the ball and score with him in there. Perhaps, the OL had a lot to do with it, and surely the inept OC. But, as you pointed out with Persa, other QBs had to deal with crappy OL (and a mediocre OC) throughout their careers and just seemed more comfortable.

Anyway, everyone has their own opinion, and it’s clear from the voting, there is no unanimity on this question.

 

[lou v]

This is a close call, DUH. Schnur had two GREAT years and he was robbed of the Silver Football in '96, losing to a guy who couldn't get his QB into the end zone on the deciding play vs. Michigan. Persa and Kustok both had ONE great season. Basanez had a really bad Sophomore year but bounced back to put up some ridiculous numbers as a senior. In the end, I went for Clayton because he STARTED FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS and won 36 games. The 99-yard drive he directed vs. Nebraska with no timeouts in the final 2:00 is one I never get tired of watching. The only more memorable was Schnur's directing the team down the field in the final 2:00 for the game winning FG vs. Michigan in 1996. Anyway, great idea Lou, that really got the memories flowing as we combat this pandemic.

I agree with you. It was fun researching and writing this story. It was interesting to see how my memory differed from reality in some cases after all these years.

Just one correction: I would say Kustok had two great seasons, in 2000 and 2001. In those two years, he had over 5,000 yards passing, 1,000 yards rushing and 59 total TDs (!). That's a ton. Both of those seasons are in the Top 10 all-time for total offense in NU history.

 

[CatManTrue]

Initially seemed like an easy vote for Thorson with all his records and bowl wins. I still voted for him, but your article reminded me how good some of the others were, particularly Basanez.

Ultimately, I landed with Thorson for a few reasons. It was tough to not vote for the others - especially Baz and Schnur - but I looked at it impartially based on wins, particularly signature / bowl wins, the talent they played with, and coaching they received.

1) Thorson: wins, wins, and more wins. 3 more bowl wins combined than all of the other QBs on this list. The OL he played behind was a sieve, and if not for JJTBC’s brilliance he would have had a miserable first few years - and he still led us to the championship game in our first season without him. Plus, the offensive system we had in place was badly exposed - resulting in massive changes as soon as we saw how much Thorson and JJ propped it up.

2) Basanez: Incredible leader, teammate, and tough competitor. He is the only QB in the past 50 years with a OSU victory, and he nearly had two (2002 was close and that team got jobbed by the refs). He had a productive and fun four year stretch... but also played behind the best OL on this list aside from Schnur. He’d have won many more games with a better DC.

3) Schnur: arguably the most important player in modern NU history. Others have spoken to his transformative 95-96 teams: do we really think they’d have pulled those off with any other quarterback? He had the most talented teams overall and he led them to our first two Big Ten championships in decades.

4) Kafka: 2009 was an incredible year that few saw coming. He also had the most impressive NFL career - including his coaching. He set the QB rushing record in 2008 to save us against Minnesota when Bacher was hurt. Which reminds me:

5) Persa: We only had 10 games of rarely-seen waterbug-esque QB play behind a OL that made Swiss cheese blush. Then that awful Achilles that ruined two seasons. He was undersized and, when healthy, the most entertaining QB to watch of any on this list.

6) Kustok: it’s hard to imagine our last conference champion fell so low, but that 2000 team was loaded and the spread with DA2 caught everyone by surprise. If he had knocked off Iowa in 2000 to lead us to the Rose Bowl, or had a better 2001, he’d be much higher on this list.

7) Bacher: his leadership after Randy Walker’s untimely passing helped “right the program”. Particularly when Fitz was finding his feet as a head coach. Our offense was abysmal without him in 2006: he led us back to respectability in 2007 and his 2008 season is the most underrated season of any QB on this list. Also, look at the rest of his recruiting class to see what he overcame.

8) Siemian - his signature win over Notre Dame stand tall. His ACL injury may have cost us a bowl appearance, but he should have played much more as our featured QB before that - and has been our best NFL QB as a player.

9) Peyton Ramsey (ducks). Seriously though, the Big Ten Network features Nebraska’s past stars and their Big Twelve championship teams - so why doesn’t his performance at Indiana now count for us as well?

 

[CatManTrue]

I agree with you. It was fun researching and writing this story. It was interesting to see how my memory differed from reality in some cases after all these years.

Just one correction: I would say Kustok had two great seasons, in 2000 and 2001. In those two years, he had over 5,000 yards passing, 1,000 yards rushing and 59 total TDs (!). That's a ton. Both of those seasons are in the Top 10 all-time for total offense in NU history.

How in the world was 2001 a great season?

His stats were impressive... but they lost winnable games to Bowling Green, Illinois, Ped State, and Purdue.

They were embarrassed by Ohio State (defensible in the Shoe), Iowa (at home??), and Indiana (...).

If beating UNLV, Duke, Minnesota, and Sparty was once considered a great season, then we truly have come a long way as a program.

That team had a ton of talent and finished 2-6 in the conference. However that was right after Rashidi Wheeler’s awful passing so the entire team may have been demoralized.

 

[docrugby1]

Persa >70% completions

 

[lunker35]

I'm going with Baz. Not an easy choice, but I think he was the best at making plays with his arm. He didn't have great talent at WR, and that defense was atrocious. He led us to 41 points in the second half of that 51-48 win over a good WI team.

Agreed. Baz hands down, with Persa a close second for me. Everyone else is a distant third.

 

[lou v]

How in the world was 2001 a great season?

His stats were impressive... but they lost winnable games to Bowling Green, Illinois, Ped State, and Purdue.

They were embarrassed by Ohio State (defensible in the Shoe), Iowa (at home??), and Indiana (...).

If beating UNLV, Duke, Minnesota, and Sparty was once considered a great season, then we truly have come a long way as a program.

That team had a ton of talent and finished 2-6 in the conference. However that was right after Rashidi Wheeler’s awful passing so the entire team may have been demoralized.

I was talking about Kustok, not the team. The team had an awful year, but Kustok had his best year statistically in 2001 — even with Anderson gaining about 1,300 fewer rushing yards. It’s possible for a player to have a good season during a bad year.

 

[harkesnu]

I was at school for Kustok’s years, and remember never being impressed despite the offensive success. Never liked the ball out of his hands. Thought the numbers would reflect my opinion, but I was very wrong. I didn’t remember how much success he had running. It seemed like Anderson was always running it in, but he sure got his fair share. Still impossible for me to put him at the top, but I am surprised at how favorably he compares.

 

[torque-cat]

Why not include Kafka in the poll rather than a write-in? His senior season was arguable better than any and he was a 5th round NFL pick. I voted Persa, cause that’s who I would start my team with.

 

[CatManTrue]

I was talking about Kustok, not the team. The team had an awful year, but Kustok had his best year statistically in 2001 — even with Anderson gaining about 1,300 fewer rushing yards. It’s possible for a player to have a good season during a bad year.

Wasn’t that the season with a ton of turnovers? I saw that Kustok’s interceptions per game increased by 55% and recall that fumbles were a big issue on that team. However I don’t recall if it was just DA2 in the OSU game (and others) and Simmons’s fumble against Ped State. I couldn’t find the lost fumbles by player for that season.

Regardless, Kustok was a fantastic system QB and we’re lucky Walker implemented the spread with him to change college football.

2001 was an incredibly difficult year for us all, and the team had to cope with Wheeler’s passing and subsequent investigations / lawsuit. So perhaps it should be graded on a curve.

 

[darmok]

Thorson, he accomplished everything he did despite McCall. Persa had McCall also, but before things became really bad.

 

[No Chores]

Too much recency bias here. How many who responded to this poll attended the Rose Bowl or the Citrus Bowl with Schnur at the helm. I did both and that's why I voted for him. My Pa. bias put Persa just behind him, and he probably would have won by even more if he hadn't had the celebration injury. He tailgates right next to us and his leg is still a mess. However, back to back BIG championships put Schnur over the top for me.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I was talking about Kustok, not the team. The team had an awful year, but Kustok had his best year statistically in 2001 — even with Anderson gaining about 1,300 fewer rushing yards. It’s possible for a player to have a good season during a bad year.

Kustok is way under appreciated. Like Baz, a tough warrior type and seemed like he hated to lose more than any of us do.

 

[corbi296]

Too much recency bias here. How many who responded to this poll attended the Rose Bowl or the Citrus Bowl with Schnur at the helm. I did both and that's why I voted for him. My Pa. bias put Persa just behind him, and he probably would have won by even more if he hadn't had the celebration injury. He tailgates right next to us and his leg is still a mess. However, back to back BIG championships put Schnur over the top for me.

Schnur was good but if you put Persa on that Rose Bowl team I think we outscore USC.

 

[No Chores]

Schnur was good but if you put Persa on that Rose Bowl team I think we outscore USC.

Loved Persa, but I don't agree. After we went down 24 - 10 at the half, on a Musso non fumble which was returned for a t.d., we went ahead 32 - 31 in the second half. late in the game, a Schnur to D'Wayne Bates touchdown bomb got called back for a penalty and we ultimately lost 41 - 32. The Los Angeles Times was very complimentary of Schnur Darnell and NU and so was John Robinson. I assume you were not in attendance.

 

[lou v]

Why not include Kafka in the poll rather than a write-in? His senior season was arguable better than any and he was a 5th round NFL pick. I voted Persa, cause that’s who I would start my team with.

I decided I was going to have five candidates, and he didn’t make it. That’s all. He didn’t make the cut because he was great for one year. Persa was a one-great-year guy, too, but it’s because he got hurt. Kafka just couldn’t beat out the guy in front of him. Talent-wise, he may have been the best of them all. I love Mike Kafka. The guy was a stud. I just didn’t think he did enough over his career.

Remember, since ‘95, NU hasn’t had that many starters. The guys on the list cover 14 of the 25 years. I thought five was enough.

 

[Sheffielder]

I think Persa was great, just not as good as everyone says or thinks he was. There is a word for this, but I don't want to say it because I don't think Persa was bad (and I don't want people here to lose their minds); just not as good as everyone likes to think he was, or would have been if not for XYZ.

If we are talking about body of work, he is middle of the pack at best- no championships, no bowl wins...in that regard, you have to admire Schnur's championship teams, Baz's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and OSU win, Thorson's all-time winningest record (and bowl wins).

But honestly, if I'm picking one QB of the past 25 years to lead an "All Northwestern" team into a game, in his prime...I'm taking Baz...to think about what those 04 and 05 teams could have looked like with halfway decent defensive coaching, it gives me chills.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Great thread idea. I voted Persa. Basanez had the best career imo. Persa best season. Best at their peak was Persa and that’s why I voted that way. Granted I was 5-8 years old during Basanez tenure... sooo my opinion on qb’s previous of that is based on my dads stories, this article, and B1G replays.

 

[GOUNUII]

Too much recency bias here. How many who responded to this poll attended the Rose Bowl or the Citrus Bowl with Schnur at the helm. I did both and that's why I voted for him. My Pa. bias put Persa just behind him, and he probably would have won by even more if he hadn't had the celebration injury. He tailgates right next to us and his leg is still a mess. However, back to back BIG championships put Schnur over the top for me.

Are you smoking medical weed these days Chief?

I loved Steve Schnur. What a gamer! But he just sneaks in at #10 among the top 10 reasons for those back-to-back championships. In order they go Barnett - Vanderlinden - the DL - the LBs - the DBs - the OL the RBs, the WRs, our kicking game and then Schnur. He was smart, tough and a competent passer in his 5th year. His best quality was that he made very few mistakes. But let's be honest. He wasn't good enough to play his first 3 years in the program. When we were awful. He played his 4th year only because Lloyd Abrahamson beat him out and then abruptly quit just before the start of the season. And he's half the reason that 1995 team ran and punted the ball more than they passed. Give him his credit. He was damn good at all he was asked to do as a 5th year senior in 1996. But again. There's a reason he wasn't asked to do all that much.

Schnur was the starting QB on NU's best teams that won a ton of games and some serious hardware. He was far from the best QB NU has trotted onto the field in the last 25 years. Baz was a stud. A leader that others followed. A player that other teams/coaches feared because he could beat them in so many ways. Persa was special too. Much like Baz. But his body of work was so small he never had the test of time that Baz passed with flying colors.

GOUNUII

 

[lunker35]

Thorson, he accomplished everything he did despite McCall. Persa had McCall also, but before things became really bad.

I don’t have Thorson close to the top because we do forget that he was complimented by one of the best running backs in the history of the Big Ten.

 

[lou v]

I don’t have Thorson close to the top because we do forget that he was complimented by one of the best running backs in the history of the Big Ten.

They all had a great RB, though, didn’t they? Except for Persa. Schnur had Autry. Kustok had Anderson. Baz had Sutton for his best season. Thorson had Jackson. Persa was the guy that had to do the most by himself.

 

[Deeringfish]

Persa was a surgeon. He had very little help in the backfield. I can remember game after game being amazed at his completion percentages. Another thing I remember that hasn't been mentioned; he consistently had a high number of multiple receivers. The defense never knew where he was going and his quick mind found an open man.

 

[DaCat]

Persa was a surgeon. He had very little help in the backfield. I can remember game after game being amazed at his completion percentages. Another thing I remember that hasn't been mentioned; he consistently had a high number of multiple receivers. The defense never knew where he was going and his quick mind found an open man.

Agreed. Persa was dynamic and carried the team that year. The fact that, after he got injured, NU got blown out in the last two games of the season plus losing the bowl game just shows how much Persa carried the team. If you plugged a healthy RS junior Persa into any of the other top teams at NU, he might've squeezed out another +1 or +2 more wins.

 

[CatManTrue]

They all had a great RB, though, didn’t they? Except for Persa. Schnur had Autry. Kustok had Anderson. Baz had Sutton for his best season. Thorson had Jackson. Persa was the guy that had to do the most by himself.

Baz had three great RBs: Wright, Herron, and Sutton. And a lot of solid back-ups like Terrell Jordan (over 5 YPC), Roberson, and Hamlett. People forget how well Walker recruited and QCed the running game.

He also had some really good WRs despite the above suggestion: Schweigs, Patrick, Philmore, Herbert, Jordan, and of course Jonathan Fields (he had some massive games). Plus freshmen Lane, Peterman, and Ward in 2005.

One could argue that Baz had the best offensive supporting casts of all the QBs. Those defensive schemes were that bad.

Persa and Kafka definitely had to elevate their offenses the most.

 

[its_the_sauce]

I'm getting old. I was ready to say where's Len Williams until I realized that's more than 25 years lol.

 

[willycat]

I'm getting old. I was ready to say where's Len Williams until I realized that's more than 25 years lol.

How about Tom Myers or Dick Thornton?