STANFORD, Calif. — Just one game into a long season, Stanford’s long flight home to the Bay Area from a six-point outing at Northwestern in their opener seemed to weigh on the Cardinal unlike any other loss in recent memory.
Written off by pundits, criticized near and far by fans and media alike, Stanford was 0-1 on the season and gone from the national conversation. A dark-horse contender in the Pac-12 turned into a mere afterthought by Week 2 thanks to an offense that looked incoherent, uneven and unorganized against the lowly Wildcats.
But like every boulder teetering on a hill, all the determined and still-talented Cardinal needed was a push.