Northwestern dominates a Stanford team that was clearly not ready for the season. On both sides of the ball Northwestern dictated the outcome of the game; offensively Northwestern used a heavy dosage of slants and different read options to free up their receivers. Justin Jackson (28 carries for 134 yards) and Thorson (eight carries for 68 yards) led the way on the ground, which Northwestern needed in order to secure this victory.
Redshirt freshman QB Clayton Thorson had an up and down with his first start. He threw (12-for-24 for 105 yards), but was a little hasty with his throws in the first half. In the second half, he was hitting his receivers with accurate throws. Thorson broke open the game with a 42 yard dash to the endzone. Even though Northwestern had completely shut out a dominant team in the opening day, the offensive line needs to block better. Thorson had took some shots when stepping up in the pocket, but overall Northwestern’s defense kept them in the game to seal the victory.
Stanford’s QB Kevin Hogan had a horrendous day, he was (20-for-35 with 155 yards), but his passes did not have enough air on them or he overthrew his receivers. Other than a good running attack by Christian McCaffrey, who ran for (12 carries for 66 yards) there was no other individuals that had helped this team. There were many opportunities that could have kept Stanford in the game, but on both sides of the ball Northwestern had demolished their spirits.