EVANSTON-Northwestern interim head coach David Braun knows all about how dangerous FCS teams can be to Power Five teams. He came from FCS power North Dakota State.
Coming off of a 41-13 loss last Saturday to No. 6 Penn State and with a bye week looming next week, the Wildcats have an opportunity against Howard, an FCS and HBCU opponent, to head into their midseason break at 3-3, a better mark than many expected at the start of the season.
The Bison played Eastern Michigan tight to start the season and have proven they can score with a balanced offensive attack. Braun said that he's made sure his staff and his players are locked in and won't look past their FCS opponent.
Here are our takeaways from the sixth press conference of Northwestern's 2023 season:
Expect Ben Bryant to play on Saturday: Penn State's pass rush was living in Northwestern's backfield all day long, recording seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss and pressures on half of quarterback Ben Bryant's dropbacks.
That pressure and those hits added up, and Bryant left with what looked like a shoulder injury towards the end of the third quarter. He didn't return to the game but Braun said he didn't expect it to be a long-term issue.
On Monday, he said he expects Bryant to start the game against Howard.
"I can tell you about Ben, that dude is tough. He's gritty," Braun said. "He's going to do everything in his power to get back to full health and be ready to play... Right now, we're moving forward anticipating that Ben will be ready to go."
Braun is keeping his players and coaches focused on Howard: The Bison are an FCS team but they've shown some competitive traits early. They were within one score of Eastern Michigan in the fourth quarter before losing by 10, and scored 30 or more in three straight games.
Braun, who was a defensive coordinator at the FCS level for North Dakota State last season, is well aware of the threat a team like Howard can pose.
"That is a darned good football team coming in here," he said. "Maybe it's my background, coming from Division II and FCS, but you can put whatever letters and numbers next to a team's name. There's good football at all levels.
"We look at this opponent the same we would look at any opponent. [They're] an opponent that's plenty capable of giving us a run for our money and beating us if we don't show up at our best. We'll put our best foot forward."
Previous head coach Pat Fitzgerald had his share of troubles during his career against opponents from Division I's lower level. He lost three games to FCS opponents in his 17 years in Evanston -- to New Hampshire in 2006, Illinois State in 2016 and Southern Illinois just last season.
Braun is starting to take the long view: Over the past few days, Braun has responded to several questions with responses speaking to the long-term status of the program. It's the first time he's done so as the program's interim, giving a sign that he may have set his sights on dropping that title.
After Penn State, he said he looked forward to hosting the Nittany Lions at the new Ryan Field. That's three years from now, at the earliest. At Monday's press conference, he took a question about Penn State's NFL talent and quickly turned it towards his own recruiting goals, another long-term project.
"There's a great deal of excitement for us as a staff moving forward about recruiting young men that fit the values and the profile here of Northwestern that we can bust our tails year round [for] to help them develop into great NFL prospects," Braun said.
"We may not be able to recruit a bunch of five-stars right now, but we can recruit a bunch of young men that, 36 months from now, can turn themselves into guys that NFL scouts are coming through [Ryan Field to see]."
That doesn't sound like a man ready to pack his bags in three months.
Braun continues to laud alumni support: It's been a turbulent past few months in Evanston, but one constant has been Braun's appreciation for program alumni, and their support of current players.
"I think where [the players] feel tangible support day, in and day out, is from their parents and teammates. But the outpouring of support from former players, the alumni, [has been impressive]," he said.
"What those men have meant to the guys in our current locker room is just...words can't express it. I think we have an opportunity for us on Homecoming, as a team, to honor those that have worn the uniform, worn the jersey and walked in our shoes."
Showtime is coming to Evanston: Howard's famous marching band, "Showtime", will be coming to Evanston this weekend and will perform at halftime of the game.
That's something that excited Braun. It should be a great experience for Northwestern fans to be see one of the best bands in the country.
"I think it's awesome," he said. "That's college football at its best.... I think the band's pageantry, everything that goes on pregame, at halftime, postgame, I mean it's all part of it.
It's a historic opportunity for Northwestern to be playing against an HBCU."
Wildcats are where they want to be: The Wildcats have taken some heavy hits early, with all three of their losses coming by 17 or more points.
However, the opponents that have defeated Northwestern so far have been far tougher than originally anticipated. Rutgers is off to a strong start at 4-1, No. 19 Duke is at 4-1 with a narrow loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, and No. 6 Penn State, of course, remains undefeated.
A win over Howard on Homecoming would set Northwestern up at 3-3 halfway into their schedule.
"We talked about that we're in the third game of our second quarter with a well-timed bye week right at halftime," Braun said. "The challenge is to be our absolute best on Saturday and go 1-0 this week, and if we accomplish that we go into halftime at 3-3...
"All the goals and aspirations that we have for this group are still right in front of us."
