Here's what Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald and Wildcat players had to say after Northwestern's win over Stanford:
Pat Fitzgerald
- Fitzgerald said it was one of the best performances he's seen from his defense in his time at Northwestern.
- Fitzgerald said they expected heat and humidity, but athletic trainer Tory Lindley and strength coach Jay Hooten helped the coaching staff come up with a great plan to handle the weather.
- Fitzgerald: "This is stop one on the train."
- Fitzgerald said Thorson "outplayed a fifth-year senior," Stanford QB Kevin Hogan.
- Fitzgerald said he liked the fact that Thorson was aggressive on a third-down throw to Miles Shuler in the fourth quarter that picked up a key first down for Northwestern.
- Fitzgerald lauded the way his defensive line "controlled the line of scrimmage on every single play," and called it a "dominant" performance.
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- Fitzgerald, in reference to Christian Jones and Miles Shuler: "We've got our weapons back now."
- Fitzgerald said he thought the staff brought Thorson into the game with the right kind of plan to allow him to be successful.
- Fitzgerald mentioned that this is "a statement game about recruiting."
- Fitzgerald said he expected Stanford to utilize play action passes more than they did.
- Fitzgerald on wearing shorts: "That's up to [associate director of equipment operations] Curtis Shaner. Curt-dog makes those decisions. If Curt-dog wants us to wear shorts, we'll wear shorts."
- Apparently some Stanford players, speaking to the media afterwards, were surprised by how calm Thorson was.
- Fitzgerald confirmed that the reason for canceling four of the six scheduled games with Stanford was the Big Ten's move to a nine-game conference schedule.
- Fitzgerald: "There's no reason anybody should've talked about us. We had no evidence from the way that we finished last year. But we had a lot of evidence from the way we worked this offseason."
- Fitzgerald: "This didn't happen by accident."
Clayton Thorson
- Thorson commended the offensive line, especially for the hole they created on his touchdown run.
- Thorson, laughing, on the offensive linemen: "They really hit your head hard when you score."
Thorson: "Hopefully we've got 14 more to play"
— Inside NU (@insidenu) September 5, 2015
Dean Lowry
- Dean Lowry said it felt like the defensive line "unleashed a caged bull" on Saturday. "It's been a long time coming."
Anthony Walker
- Anthony Walker: "Football is a fun game, and playing with a lot of swagger... I'm from Miami, so that's what I'm used to."