MORE ON THE WILDCATS: The 3-2-1 going into Week 9

EVANSTON-On the heels of a tough 17-9 loss at Nebraska, interim head coach David Braun addressed the media as his team prepares to take on Maryland this Saturday.

The Terrapins stand at 5-2 (3-2 Big Ten) and will be coming into Ryan Field off of a bye week as a 13.5-point favorite. Both teams will be trying to bounce back from tough losses; the Wildcats feel like they let one slip away in Lincoln, whereas the Terrapins lost on a late field goal to Illinois two weeks ago, 27-24.

One of the keys to getting the Wildcats back to .500 will be kickstarting an offense that has struggled mightily over the past two games, mustering just 23 points against Howard and only nine against Nebraska.

Braun talked about getting things back on track on that side of the ball, the starting quarterback situation and the team's goals going forward.

Here are our takeaways from Monday's press conference:

Expect Brendan Sullivan to start his third straight game: After initially seeming like a short-term stinger, Ben Bryant's upper body injury that he suffered against Penn State looks like it will sideline him yet again.

"We're very confident that Ben will be back at some point this season," Braun said. "It's just kind of a fickle thing he's working through and we're hopeful that he's healthy sooner than later."

Expect Sullivan, who has struggled over his past two games with poor protection up front, to start at quarterback against Minnesota. Braun said Sullivan still has his full confidence as a starter.

"I see a young man that battles and that's all you can ask out of your quarterback," he said. "I'm confident, our group is confident that we're going to continue to improve and find ways to protect Sully in the passing game."

Sullivan was sacked seven times against the Huskers, who also sacked backup Jack Lausch once to give them eight on the day. Sullivan finished 12-of-23 passing for 176 yards and one interception on a Hail Mary on the last play of the first half.

"As long as he continues to trend in the direction he is right now, we're very confident that Brendan Sullivan is going to find ways to help us win a lot of games.

Braun continues to give Bajakian room to operate: Coming into the season as an interim head coach who also doubles as the team's defensive coordinator, Braun made it clear from the outset that he planned to give offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian a wide berth to operate. That remains the case, even as the offense continues to struggle and their points per game average threatens to fall below 20.

"Considering the context of the situation and the way this all happened, I was never going to be a micromanager on offense," Braun said. "The conversations and the consistency of those conversations has not changed... In game, it's more strategy, time management, things that I'm seeing."

One example Braun singled out was junior running back Anthony Tyus III, who had six carries for 63 yards last Saturday, including a long of 39. During the game, Braun said he passed along to Bajakian "simple comments like 'keep rolling with it, Tre is running the ball really well right now."

Tyus had five carries for 63 yards, including that 39-yard rush, on Northwestern's 73-yard field-goal drive in the second half. Tyus got just one more carry the rest of the game.

Braun clarified that while he makes suggestions or identifies trends, the personnel decisions remain under Bajakians' purview.

"I'm not mandating who's in and who's out on offense," he said. "I trust our offensive staff to make in-game adjustments and decisions as they continue to manage our offense. I'm going to continue to give feedback on the things I'm seeing, specifically from my role as head coach and years of experience as a defensive coordinator."

Later, he further fleshed out his thought process.

"At the end of the day, I know from calling defense for a long time that one of the worst things you can do as a head coach is being too involved, especially when the offense or defense is on the field. You have to trust that a play-caller is going to find a rhythm."

Northwestern's defense coming together: The Wildcats jumped on Nebraska from the get-go on Saturday, as Devin Turner intercepted Heinrich Haarberg on the first play of the game. The Wildcats wound up with two interceptions and a three-and-out on the first three drives of the game.

Wildcat defenders were flying around, making crushing open-field tackles and limiting the No. 2 rushing attack in the Big Ten to just 163 total yards, almost 40 below their season average.

Braun talked about how experienced players like Coco Azema have led the defense's renaissance this season, and credited the players and existing staff for rededicating themselves.

"It's so easy to get into this facility and be around our guys and pour everything you have into them," he said. "[It's so easy] to coach them hard and mentor them and spend time with them.

"I mean, Coco, the way that dude plays the game, all you have to do is turn on the film. It's contagious, it's energizing, it's awesome. It makes it awfully fun to coach this group."

Uncertainty at center for Saturday: Jackson Carsello replaced Ben Wrather at center early in the game against Nebraska as Northwestern's staff tries to find the right lineup up front.

Braun said the starting job is still under consideration moving forward. But it's important to point out he said to expect a right-tackle-by-committee approach after Josh Thompson came in for Zachary Franks in the UTEP game in Week 2, and Thompson has started every game since.

"We'll evaluate [our starting center] day to day," Braun said. "That decision hasn't been made just yet. Jackson had a great two weeks in practice [before Nebraska] and his performance in practice merited an opportunity for him to start."

Specialists earned a shout out: It was a banner week for Northwestern's special teams. Punter Hunter Renner had four punts downed inside the 20, and kicker Jack Olsen made three of his four field goals, including a career long of 45 yards.

"Their performance warranted it," Braun said. "In terms of [Renner] being able to create advantageous field position, in terms of Jack getting us on the board."

Although Olsen came up just short on a 54-yard field goal try against the Huskers, his steady leg has given Northwestern a reliable kicker for the first time in several seasons. He is now 7-for-8 on the season.

And on a day in which the offense failed to score a touchdown, Renner was a valuable weapon in the field-position game. Two of his punts were downed inside the 5-yard line, and three of his six traveled at least 50 yards.

Braun looking short term with division likely out of reach: With a third Big Ten loss, winning the West division looks like a long shot for Northwestern this season.

So with two of the Wildcats' core three goals likely out of the picture -- winning the West and winning the Big Ten -- Braun is re-establishing the team's focus for the short term. The really short term.

Braun says he only has one goal for his players this week.

"The goal moving forward is to beat Maryland," he said. "We're in the third quarter of the season, we have to set the stage for how we're going to move forward. All of our efforts and energy have to go into finding a way to get a win back at Ryan Field."