Before the dust settled on college football's opening weekend, Northwestern had already set the tone for the style of play necessary to excel in the Big Ten this season. That day, Northwestern quashed nationally ranked Stanford 16-6, holding the Cardinal to just 240 yards of total offense and their lowest point total since 2007.
Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald called it one of the finest defensive performances he had seen from his team in 10 seasons as head coach -- words that have been validated as Stanford has won six consecutive games while scoring no fewer than 31 points to crack the AP top-10.