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If you're a regular reader of Inside NU, you've already seen tens of articles detailing Northwestern football's season-opening home game against Stanford. With the much-anticipated matchup kicking off tomorrow at 11:00 am CST on ESPN, here are some last-minute notes and links on the Cardinal:
- Many people around the program were actually disappointed with Stanford's 8-5 record in 2014. One major cause for the underachievement of David Shaw's team was the running game, which wasn't as effective as many thought it would be. Standout sophomore running back, Christian McCaffrey--the son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey--bulked up this offseason and is determined to lead an improved ground attack in 2015.
- McCaffrey, as many writers have noted, is going to be a huge weapon for the Cardinal this season, even more so than he was in his true freshman campaign. Wide receiver Devon Cajuste and running back Barry Sanders (son of the NFL Hall of Fame Barry Sanders) will be relied upon but maybe not as much as McCaffrey will be.
- Stanford's starting quarterback, Kevin Hogan, had to deal with the death of his father, Jerry, during the 2014 season but is now "at peace" as he looks forward to the new season.
- Hogan, once he ends his college career, is also expected to be a top quarterback prospect for the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft. Cajuste and a few other Cardinal players are also predicted to be viewed highly by teams.
- The Stanford Daily, Stanford's student newspaper, had six writers predict every one of Stanford's games this season. All six choose the Cardinal to beat Northwestern.
- The newspaper also did a dive into the complete football history between Northwestern and Stanford, which goes back to 1933. The score of that game? 0-0.
