The last time Northwestern faced Stanford was back in the early days of Clayton Thorson’s quarterbacking career in Evanston. That game’s sole touchdown happened to come from the hands of the signal-caller in the form of a 42-yard scramble.

This time around, Thorson isn’t playing his football in purple, and the game is kicking off a bit farther from Ryan Field. With new faces across the board, and possibly one of Fitz’s most talented groups to date, the clash in Palo Alto warrants all the excitement.

Why Northwestern Will Beat Stanford:

Run Defense

In all four of Stanford’s losses last year, the Cardinal failed to have a rusher surpass 75 yards.