Preston Stone's Northwestern debut was something out of a nightmare. After throwing eight interceptions combined over four years at SMU, the graduate transfer turned the ball over five times in the Wildcats' 23-3 loss to Tulane in the season-opener.
Despite the career-worst performance, head coach David Braun's faith in Stone never wavered. Braun reaffirmed his commitment to his starting quarterback, telling Stone the team had his back while acknowledging that the 'Cats couldn't win football games with five turnovers and needed him to play better.
"Ultimately, it would've been easy for Preston to hang his head and feel sorry for himself," Braun said after Friday night's game against Western Illinois. "He showed up at Sunday's practice flying around. Was buzzing around on Monday. Confident, resilient, excited to bounce back for his team. It really just speaks to his character and who he is as a competitor."
Stone's encore, albeit against an FCS opponent, showed the player that Braun and the Wildcats knew he could be. The fifth-year QB completed 21 of his 29 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns as Northwestern walloped the Leathernecks, 42-7.
Braun credited Stone's bounce-back outing to his steadiness throughout the entire week.
"Sometimes, you coach a young man and you don't know what you're going to get each day," Braun said. "In terms of Preston, you know what you're going to get every single day. That's a credit to him and his experience. He's done it before. Ultimately, we supported him with a run game today, and that's something that we need to continue to do."
For Stone, Braun's message was simple. Rewatching the tape was going to be sting, but once they got through the Tulane game, it was time to flush it and move onto the next game.
"It's always tough to start the season off with a loss," Stone said. "There were a lot of positives to take from that game. Definitely a lot that we, and myself, needed to work on. As a team, our main focus was our preparation and our processes going into this game. I think we did a great job tonight of being prepared."
Stone will have to rely on his consistency when the 'Cats kick off their Big Ten schedule in a week, hosting the No. 7 Oregon Ducks at Martin Stadium.
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