After a disappointing 24-7 loss in the opener at Rutgers, interim head coach David Braun took the podium to answer questions on how he plans to bounce back against UTEP this week.
He stood by his starting quarterback, explained some of the decisions that led to the Rutgers loss and talked about the upcoming game where the Wildcats now find themselves underdogs.
Here are our takeaways from the second press conference of Northwestern’s 2023 season.
Braun pays betting lines no heed: The news trickled out nationally and swept across the Northwestern fandom on X (formerly Twitter) this morning: after the 24-7 loss to Rutgers, Northwestern was a 1.5-point underdog in their home opener against UTEP.
The Miners are 1-1 after a narrow loss to Jacksonville State and a 28-14 win over Incarnate Word last week.
Braun says he isn’t worried that the Wildcats are getting rather than giving points at the sports books against a Group of Five team in his Ryan Field debut.
“I’ve never paid attention to the [betting] lines, never will,” he said. “I think this group is at its best when it’s an underdog, so that’s just fine with me.
Bryant will be the starter going forward: After backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan led a late touchdown drive for Northwestern’s only score at Rutgers, many fans wondered if the dual-threat quarterback might fare better at the helm of the offense than Cincinnati transfer Ben Bryant.
But Bryant won the battle in camp and Braun won’t be swayed so easily by a late game touchdown.
“Ben will be our starter for UTEP,” Braun said. “I’m proud of the way [Sullivan] came in.
“I put stock in everything, everything’s being evaluated. Ben knows he needs to play better, and we know we need to find ways to give him and the offense more opportunities to create a rhythm.”
I asked Braun if the team’s struggles continue if he’ll prioritize the program’s future and give Sullivan, a junior, some starts or snaps instead of Bryant, who is in his final season as a grad transfer. He reaffirmed his faith in Bryant headed into this week.
“Ben Bryant is our starter for UTEP and we plan on Ben being the starter moving forward,” Braun said. “We evaluate everything at all positions, but we’re not going to get into this conversation.
“We don’t want anyone playing with the mentality that they’re looking over their shoulder. We want Ben to go out there and rip it with a bunch of confidence and help this team win games.”
The fake punt was planned in advance: Northwestern had a gutsy fake punt in its own end come up a yard short on fourth-and-8 when punter Hunter Renner completed a pass to Rod Heard II on its second drive of the game. It turns out that wasn't a spur of the moment decision; it was cooked up weeks in advance.
"We had talked about that," Braun said of the fake. "For multiple weeks now, we knew that Rutgers was a heavy pressure team that was going to come after punts throughout the day...
"Felt really good about where we were at from an execution standpoint... Going back and evaluating it, we would have loved to see Rod push it a couple more yards vertical on the route, but Rutgers made a great play... I a perfect world we would have dialed it up on a fourth-and-6."
No update on Lawson: Braun didn't have an update on grad transfer defensive tackle Matt Lawson, who left the Rutgers game with a lower body injury.
The Wildcats' defensive front was an issue as they struggled to create much pressure on Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt.
The four man rotation was Najee Story and PJ Spencer as starters, with Lawson and Carmine Barstone coming in off the bench. Grad transfer DT Reggie Pearson was questionable and didn’t play.
Braun was noncommittal on if he would give any snaps to freshmen tackles Tyler Gant and Dylan Roberts.
DJ Vokolek and Skip Holtz' roles remain vague: Skip Holtz and DJ Vokolek were two late additions to Braun's coaching staff in August, and their responsibilities have been something of a mystery.
With a game under his belt, Braun provided a little more clarity, but their exact gameday roles remain unclear.
"Coach Vokolek is incredibly involved in everything that's going on the defensive side of the ball," Braun said. "He's someone that, along with the rest of the defensive staff, I'm leaning on for perspective and feedback on things going on in the game.
"DJ is certainly taking on a role in terms of game-planning with the organization of everything while I'm wearing two hats right now. We have great minds in that defensive room that are taking on heavier loads than they typically would be just because of the time, and DJ is doing a great job helping me organize that."
Regarding Holtz's role, Braun said, "When it comes to Coach Holtz, it's an extra eye for offense and it's an extra eye for defense in terms of seeing what's going on and relaying the information back to the coaches, most importantly myself.
"Then Coach Holtz being a 20-year vet as a head coach, it's conversations on the plane ride back... He's won big games and he's lost big games, he's dealt with a lot of things sitting in the head coach's chair...
I think those that know me well understand that I'm incredibly self-critical. After a loss like yesterday, I'm going to have a tendency to try and shoulder as much of the burden as I possibly can. A guy like Coach Holtz [says], 'Hey Dave, we're going to be alright. There's plenty of positives to take from this, too.'"
Cam Porter will see a bigger role against UTEP: Starting running back Cam Porter saw only six carries against Rutgers, something Braun said was due to the early 17-0 deficit and something he's eager to change this week.
"We're going to get off the field on third- and fourth-down on defense," Braun said. "We're going to find ways to get the ball back to our offense so that we have more opportunities.
"We're going to find a way to get [a lead] so that we can get our running backs more touches. it's a lot easier to feel comfortable running on a consistent basis when you're not down two scores in the first quarter, or in the first half."
Braun hopes to snap 12-game losing streak this week: Northwestern extended its FBS-leading losing streak to 12 with its loss at Rutgers and is desperate to keep it from becoming 13 this week against UTEP.
On top of the overall losing streak, the Wildcats haven't won at Ryan Field since they beat Rutgers on Oct. 16, 2021. That's just short of two years.
Braun is convinced this team has the tools to turn it around.
"We have plenty of talent," Braun said. "We have a team that can win a bunch of football games this year. Speaking truth to them is making sure they understand that and know that I believe in them. Momentum is a powerful thing and it's time to get the momentum going in the right direction and then let that thing roll downhill."
Braun and the Wildcats will look to start that roll on Saturday at Ryan Field at 2:30 p.m. against the Miners.
