Sept. 08--Upon further review, coach Pat Fitzgerald was not nearly as enthused with Northwestern's 16-6 upset of No. 21 Stanford as he was immediately after Saturday's game.
While Fitzgerald appreciated the result, he found plenty of flaws as he watched the game footage.
"We need to get a lot better offensively," he said Monday. "Two trips in the red zone and no (touchdowns) ... our inability to run the ball first-and-goal at the 5 ... some decision-making with the ball in the red zone at quarterback -- those are things that will get you beat."
Fitzgerald seemed most critical of the offensive line, even though the Wildcats churned out 225 rushing yards, including 134 by Justin Jackson.
"That is a group that I was probably most disappointed in," he said. "We didn't stick to our plan to play more linemen. We didn't play enough. Because right now we don't have a consistent five.
"We had too many one-man breakdowns that left a lot of yards out there. Our inefficiency in the red zone ... we come up with just (two) field goals and no touchdowns. That is going to be a recipe for disaster and an area that we have to get cleaned up."
The film review wasn't all thumbs down. Fitzgerald singled out the play of Jackson, wide receiver Christian Jones, linebacker Anthony Walker, defensive end Dean Lowry and cornerback/special teamer Keith Watkins. And he acknowledged that the Wildcats tackled well while limiting the Cardinal to 85 rushing yards.
But his overall expectations are higher, and he said he delivered the same sobering message to his players Monday morning.
"I'm done with potential. I want to see production," he said. "As you look at the big picture, you are ecstatic that you won. Absolutely you want to win the opener, you want to beat a ranked opponent ... all of the things we've talked about way too much already. But when you go back and watch the video, you see inconsistencies."
NU players seemed to take Fitzgerald's criticism constructively.
"We're trying to be great, not average," wide receiver Miles Shuler said.
Next up for the Wildcats is Eastern Illinois, which comes to Ryan Field at 3 p.m. Saturday.
"We're trying to go 1-0 each week and then back to 0-0," Fitzgerald said of the desired mindset. "I look forward to seeing the leadership and maturity of this team."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
