STANFORD, Calif. _ All that prep time. All those secrets.
And for what?
Northwestern's offense was atrocious Saturday in its opener at Stanford. Both quarterbacks, five-star transfer Hunter Johnson and fifth-year senior TJ Green, made crucial mistakes. The offensive line, under the tutelage of new assistant Kurt Anderson, looked average.
It was a miserable opener on a gorgeous day in northern California.
NU's five-game road winning streak came to an end in its 17-7 loss to Stanford, and three key players _ Green, tailback Isaiah Bowser and left tackle Rashawn Slater _ were lost to injury.
The Wildcats hoped to build on momentum after winning the Big Ten West and wanted to embarrass the AP voters who didn't give them a top-25 preseason ranking. Instead the Wildcats came out flat.
Green exited after a disastrous play. On second-and-goal from the 5 in the third quarter, he missed tailback Jesse Brown in the left flat for a probable touchdown. Green held the ball and stubbornly refused to go down as Stanford defenders swarmed in, forcing a fumble.
Green could not put weight on his left leg and was carted off.
Johnson replaced him for good and looked overmatched. After Northwestern got a Hail Mary in the form of a fumbled Stanford exchange _ the first of two such flubs _ Johnson missed Drake Anderson on a basic swing pass.
Later the heralded Clemson transfer took a delay of game on third-and-2. Faced with third-and-long, he made a poor choice to throw to the far sideline, where All-Pac-12 cornerback Paulson Adebo cut in front of Berkeley Holman for an interception.
It was Johnson's second interception. His second pass of the game was intended for Holman, who dropped it after taking a shot to the back.
Johnson finished 6-for-17 passing for 55 yards and two picks.
Green, whose condition was not immediately known, finished 6 of 10 for 62 yards. He missed Riley Lees on a potential long hitter while getting rocked, but he still looked far more impressive than Johnson.
Fitzgerald declined to reveal his quarterback plan during fall camp and swore all observers _ especially his players _ to secrecy.
The big reveal was finally made in a cheesy 2019 way, via social media video. The 23-second piece ran seven minutes before kickoff.
In terms of formations, NU did employ a new one _ a pistol. The Wildcats ran it with Bowser. He got 1 yard and an apparent left knee injury. He did not return.
Northwestern finally got on the board with eight minutes to play. Johnson led the Cats on a 12-play, 50-yard touchdown drive without completing a pass. He did rush five times for 21 yards.
The Cats caught a huge break at the end of the drive. Johnson fumbled while reaching for the pylon and the ball sailed out inside the 1. Had it hit the pylon, Stanford would have taken over at the 20.
Northwestern also lucked out when lineman Earnest Brown IV came in high on a slide from K.J. Costello, Stanford's standout quarterback. Costello got knocked out of the game, and the Big Ten officiating crew flagged Brown for a late hit, not targeting. So while Costello's day was done, Brown was not ejected.
The Wildcats caught another break when Stanford backup Davis Mills fumbled a second exchange in the fourth quarter. But the Cats got only one first down _ by penalty.
It was that kind of day.
Northwestern, which started 1-3 last season before steaming ahead to land in the Big Ten title game, is off next week before facing UNLV.
