By Michael Berger

It ultimately evolved into the beginning of the end for former Northwesternquarterback Gavin Hoffman, who had thrown 11 passes in the first 13:17 of theWildcats' 1998 tilt against intrastate rival Illinois.

The Fighting Illini, as it were, had nabbed two of them.

top: Gavin Hoffman throws a pass that most likely was intercepted by Illinois in 1998. bottom: Nick Kreinbrink takes a quick nap after being sacked by Wisconsin in 1999.

Hoffman then plodded his way over to Ryan Field's east sideline, knowing that hewas about to be yanked for a scrambling young southpaw who, a week-old hail marytouchdown pass against Wisconsin notwithstanding, hadn't lit up a scoreboardsince his high school glory days.

Adrenaline was Hoffman's scapegoat on this particular afternoon, claiming that hewas "too pumped up, too fired up." His apparent chemical imbalance aside, Hoffmancould only watch as former NU coach Gary Barnett shuffled he and Nick Kreinbrinkin and out of the lineup on that dreadful October afternoon, when the Wildcatsbecame Illinois' first Division 1-A conquest in 20 games, falling by a score of13-10.

The shuffling and the sloppiness endured the better part of that abysmal 1998campaign. And with little hope in sight, Hoffman finally shuffled his way out ofEvanston on July 14, 1999, transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

If only he knew.

Now it was Kreinbrink's turn to toil in the futility of a program that had seenthe reverie of a Rose Bowl bid effectively disappear altogether. In its place, a1-7 Big Ten mark a year ago and a transfer quarterback from Notre Dame that, fromall accounts, was less of liability than he was.

So like Hoffman before him, Kreinbrink bid farewell to the Cats. Good riddance.

If only he knew.

Fast forward to, well, right now. The Cats have pulled off a resurrection ofbiblical proportions and are just one win away from going Bowling once again. NoHoffman. No Kreinbrink. There's some Golden Domer named Kustok runningthe show.

But it does beg the question: Whatever happened to NU's own dubious duo, thestale signal-callers that seemed to bail out at precisely the wrong time?

As for Hoffman, we can't really say. He declined our extensive requests for aninterview. According to Rich Schepis, a spokesman from the Penn AthleticCommunications office, "It's not that there's anything negative between Gavin andNorthwestern. He's just trying to focus on what he's doing here at Penn."

That focus has led the Quakers to a 3-2 record this season, including a 336-yard,four-touchdown performance against Dartmouth on Sept. 30. In the next two weeks,Hoffman should become Penn's all-time leading passer after just two seasons.Imagine that.

Kreinbrink, on the other hand, says he hasn't been anywhere near a football fieldsince tiptoeing into retirement during the offseason.

"Last year for me, it wasn't about losing," he says. "I just didn't enjoy playinganymore. I really didn't even enjoy playing football in high school, but howcould I turn down a four-year scholarship to Northwestern?"

Indeed. But with football having gone by the wayside, Kreinbrink still hadbaseball. That is, until he found out he no cartilage left in his pitchingshoulder.

"I pitched an inning this summer and my arm just tightened up," Kreinbrink says."I've been playing quarterback and pitcher since I was in sixth grade. So thatwas it."

That was it, insomuch as his exploits on the playing field were concerned. Now,Kreinbrink has quite a different agenda. The giggling on the other end of thephone spoke volumes.

"I'm getting to do all the things I couldn't do when I was an athlete," he saysdiplomatically. "I'm finally living the life of a normal college student."

His schedule still resembles that of an NU sports slave - those god-awful earlymorning classes and an afternoon of work that stretches often well into theevening hours.

Except now, Kreinbrink doesn't spend those six hours at the end of the daysweating himself silly in the shadows of Ryan Field. Instead, he works forChampion Technologies, Inc. in Franklin Park.

"They've already offered me a full-time job after I graduate," Kreinbrink says.

And at night? Let's not kid ourselves, folks. Kreinbrink's got a lot of catchingup to do. "I can drink beer whenever I want," he says. "I can go out onweeknights. Never before."

But if NU does indeed secure itself a postseason bid this winter, Kreinbrinkswore he'd put his social schedule on the proverbial backburner. After all, somethings are more important than others.

"I'm really happy for the guys on the team," he says. "One more win and they'rein a bowl game. And I'll be there."

Michael Berger is having serious doubts about whether sports journalism is the right career for him. What do you think? Let him know at m-berger2@northwestern.edu.