PALO ALTO — Blame it on the quarterbacks. The coaching. The playcalling. The injuries. The penalties. The missed tackles. Blame it on whatever you want.
The bottom line is that Northwestern did not show up ready to play to start the season.
Again.
“We have a ton of work to do as a staff,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said after the game, and it sure looked like it. The Wildcats were beaten 17-7 by No. 25 Stanford on Saturday in a game it felt like they never had a chance of winning. The score line was close the entire way, but Northwestern played poorly from start to finish.