EVANSTON-Interim head coach David Braun addressed the media after the electric win over Minnesota in overtime that earned him the first Big Ten win of his career and kept the Wildcats perfect at Ryan Field this season.

They'll face a monumental task in keeping their home home winning streak intact as they host No. 6 Penn State this Saturday. The Nittany Lions are one of the best teams in the country with a ferocious defense that's allowed just five touchdowns in four games, and a prodigious offense averaging 40.5 points per game, 15th in the country.

Braun detailed his coaching style, his team's offensive breakthrough against Minnesota and their preparation for Penn State.

Here are our takeaways from the fifth press conference of Northwestern's 2023 season:

No injury concern for Bryant: Quarterback Ben Bryant left the game in the second half against UTEP on Sept 9. Then, last Saturday, he was limping late in the game against Minnesota.

Braun put any worries to rest about his veteran QB. He said that Bryant is just experiencing the standard wear-and-tear that comes with the position, and there is no concern about a lingering injury.

Bryant will be ready to go on Saturday.

"It's part of playing quarterback at this level," he said. "Ben finished the game, he showed his toughness and his grittiness. He was back in the facility today going through his typical routine and [he's] excited to move on to Penn State."

Braun received a flood of support after the game: The win over Minnesota is Northwestern's best in at least a year and, depending on how you evaluate the win over Nebraska in Dublin last August, possibly since the 2021 Citrus Bowl.

Braun was given the job with less than two months to prepare and he received a well-earned wave of support from family, friends and fans. The Wildcats are 2-2 overall and in second place in the Big Ten West with a 1-1 conference record.

"The outpouring of support has been really neat," he said. "Everyone from alumni, former players, current players, mentors, people I've coached with, high school buddies, the list goes on and on...

"The moments I cherish the most honestly are the time with my family postgame, the time with our players postgame. [I had] a little bit of reprieve Sunday morning with my family, had breakfast with the boys, and then I walked back into the facility and it's, what do we need to learn, and it's a sprint to get ready for Penn State."

Braun trying to avoid distractions with interim title: On the heels of a Big Ten win, in a season where the Wildcats have already exceeded last season's win total, many observers are wondering if Northwestern might start to entertain dropping Braun's title as interim head coach and giving him the head coaching job in earnest.

Braun said he hasn't had any discussions with athletic director Derrick Gragg so far about the interim title or what performance benchmarks there may or may not be to earn the full role.

"I think it can be a very easy distraction or trap to fall into to allow your mind to wander," Braun said. "Myself and my wife feel like we were put in this role for a reason. That's to support our players, to serve our players and be an incredible steward of the program moving forward and let all that take care of itself.

"If that's what's meant to be in the long term, that is an honor and a privilege that we would take on with a great deal of gratitude and humility. But that's not what we're concerned with right now."

Braun reiterated his competitive philosophy and mentality: After the loss to Duke, Braun said that, both personally and as a team, they needed to lean into their competitive side more.

"This group is a group of high-character, quality young men that want to please, they want to do what they're being coached to do," he said. "Sometimes, that can get in the way of just really cutting loose and playing free."

After the win over Minnesota on Saturday night, Braun said in his postgame remarks that the team's performance was in part due to him embracing his competitive side and lighting that fire in his captains and leaders.

He reiterated that sentiment on Monday.

"Again, I truly believe that God has gifted me with patience and poise, and I've done my best to put that on full display over the course of my time at Northwestern," he said. "But I feel like I've also been gifted with an intense competitive spirit...

"I really started to get a sense, post-Duke, [that] I need to do a better job of letting that side of who I am be on display more often."

Braun said that it wasn't just a flip he switched in himself; it was a change led by the captains and leaders of the team that reached across the entire roster.

"I think all that has done is help pull that out of our guys, things that already existed in our competitive demeanor and who they are," he said. "I think when they see a coach that's letting it rip and coaching free with a great deal of passion and energy...that's embodied within your team.

"We didn't just see that on Saturday, we saw in the way that this group practiced [all week]."

The Cats have streamlined their game-day routine: Braun noted after the game that the athletic department and support staff have been very accommodating to differences in game-day routines. He said that a lot of the changes have come from listening to his captains and leaders to streamline the process.

For example, rather than going from the team hotel to the Walter Athletics Center and then to Ryan Field, the team goes directly from the hotel to the stadium now. They've also dispensed with some of the COVID protocols, like using the atrium at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and are back to their old locker room on the north end of Ryan Field.

"I think the way things were structured in the past was really well thought out, but there had been some requests from our leadership and they were looking for a new rhythm at home," Braun said.

Braun broke down the fourth-down difference between Duke and Minnesota: Braun was kicking himself for not going for it on fourth down early in the game against Duke on Sept. 16.

He was faced with a similar opportunity against Minnesota, on fourth-and-1 at the NU 47 on the first drive of the game. Once again, he opted once to punt the ball away instead of take a gamble and go for the first down.

Braun explained the rationale for his decision, and why the situation was much different against the Gophers.

"At that point in the game, with the way Minnesota operates offensively, it felt like it could be a game where possessions were limited, field position would play a critical role and and points would be at a premium. That proved not to be the case," Braun said with a chuckle.

"But at the time of the decision, I felt very confident in the decision that we went with."