Now the Braun is officially head coach, we will need a new defensive coordinator. Anyone have any people they like?

I'll probably stay at one of the Hilton properties so I can get my Honors Points. We could do a Purple Party at any of the Vegas Strip restaurants by just agreeing to show up at around noon like we did for the Cal game several years ago. Anybody have any thoughts?

I just wrapped up a call with Carson Grove after his visit last weekend (his fourth since July, including his original visit when he was offered, Minnesota and then Purdue! Giving Eddie Tuerk a run for his money over time). There will be a full story for tomorrow morning.

But my main curiosity from the call was how Braun was handling communication to commits about coaches. NSD is Dec. 20, LV is Dec. 23, and we anticipate there will be a significant shake up but Braun has said he's sticking with this staff through that bowl game. Here's what Grove had to say:

"He hasn't made it clear about anything like that," he said when I asked if Braun had disclosed to commits which specific position groups could see a change of leadership. "He said there definitely could be changes but I'm pretty certain that Coach Binns is going to stay around, so that's probably one of the biggest things for me which is really good."

That's the headliner, couple more initial details/takeaways:

-Jack Lausch continues to be a great recruiter as a player rep. Grove said Lausch and Ricky Ahumaraeze were his hosts and Northwestern "feels a little bit more like home each time".

-Grove gets some kudos from Braun and staff for his leap of faith. "I know I was the first one who took a chance on him and I'm very glad I did." Grove committed on July 31

No, he didn’t give us Lear Jets.

He gave us All in the Family.

So shut up, Meathead.

He's moaning in the post game after losing to Nebraska. He just threw his two bigs under the bus. He has a far different way of dealing with the press than the typical NU coach. I like the inside info but I think he overbakes the negativity with his players.

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@lou v talked with Sean Martin about his decision to commit to Northwestern and become the 13th member of their Class of 2024.

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@lou v talked with Sean Martin about his decision to commit to Northwestern and become the 13th member of their Class of 2024.

All times CENTRAL. All games nationally televised unless otherwise indicated. I will add announcers as they are assigned, except for BTN+ games.

First, the NU games:

Chicago State @ Northwestern
Wednesday, December 13
7:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Jason Ross Jr.
Color: Trent Meacham

Northwestern @ DePaul
Saturday, December 16
4:30 PM, FS1
PxP: Jeff Levering
Color: LaVall Jordan

And the rest:

Tuesday, December 12

Alcorn State @ Maryland
6:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Jason Horowitz
Color: Christy Winters-Scott

IUPUI @ Minnesota
7:00 PM, BTN+ (streaming only)

Thursday, December 14

Jacksonville State @ Wisconsin
6:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Mike Hall
Color: Brian Butch

Saturday, December 16

Penn State vs. Georgia Tech @ New York, NY (Holiday Festival)
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Jason Horowitz
Color: Stephen Bardo

Kansas @ Indiana
11:30 AM, CBS
PxP: Rich Waltz
Color: Jim Spanarkel

LIU @ Rutgers
12:00 PM, BTN+ (streaming only)

Michigan State vs. Baylor @ Detroit, MI (Motor City Invitational)
1:00 PM, FOX
PxP: Gus Johnson
Color: Jim Jackson

Eastern Michigan @ Michigan
1:15 PM, BTN
PxP: Wayne Randazzo
Color: Stephen Bardo

Ohio State vs. UCLA @ Atlanta, GA (CBS Sports Classic)
2:00 PM, CBS
PxP: Brad Nessler
Color: Bill Raftery

Iowa vs. Florida A&M @ Des Moines, IA (Hawkeye Showcase)
3:30 PM, BTN
PxP: Jake Eisenberg
Color: Jess Settles

Purdue vs. Arizona @ Indianapolis, IN (Indy Classic)
3:30 PM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Noah Eagle
Color: Robbie Hummel

Sunday, December 17

Colgate @ Illinois
12:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Connor Onion
Color: Trent Meacham

Nebraska @ Kansas State
2:00 PM, ESPN+ (streaming only)
PxP: Ben Boyle
Color: Stan Weber

Anyone know when the game time will be announced? I have tickets to the game and would like to plan getting lunch or dinner in Evanston before the game.

Today is the fifth anniversary of the passing of Bob Cox, one of the original denizens of this ancient message board.

Bob would have been thrilled with the roller coaster this season has turned out to be.

Go 'Cats!

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Another open position for Braun to fill. Todd McShane was the offensive personnel director. So now they need an overall director of personnel (the old Jonny Kovach role) and a director for offense — though Braun said he is reorganizing the department, so the roles may be different.

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Returning home from work yesterday evening, just as I was preparing to pull into my driveway this ungulate stood waiting to greet me.

Here are @mshelton33's takeaways after the Cats destroyed winless Detroit Mercy.

Will there be a student section at the game today? I know school is on break.

Freshman guard Parker Strauss is out on the WRA court going through a workout as I write my story up on press row. Not atypical at this level at all. Lot of fullcourt running into shooting work, pushing himself hard. Again, not atypical and maybe I'm old fashioned about lauding postgame work, but noteworthy to me.

Not a lot of room in the backcourt this year, but if NU continues to develop guards at this rate then a name to keep track of.

Thought I’d get this started. Our first portaler is DT Matt Lawson, in somewhat of a surprise. Matt played in just one game at Northwestern. He came in this season as a grad transfer from Fresno State and sustained a season-ending injury in the opener vs. Rutgers.

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I was bored by the lull in football news, so I headed over to the Utah site to read their coverage of the Las Vegas bowl draw. As usual, their press release included a list of statistics meant to paint the team in the best light. I must admit that I was impressed.

The Utes finished the season ranked:
#6 in first downs defense,
#8 in third down conversion defense, and
#4 in rushing defense. (Iowa finished #13, for perspective.)

Utah also finished #64 in passing yards allowed.

The disparity between their rushing/passing defensive stats was no doubt heavily influenced by the Pac-12 teams they faced off against.

I wonder how critically the loss of their safeties will affect their bowl game performance on defense. Quite frankly, they looked like a lot for the Cats to handle as they were constituted during the season. How far off from peak performance will they play in two weeks?

@lou v talked to TrueNU's executive director Jacob Schmidt about Northwestern's status in the arena of NIL collectives.

Here's a guy to watch for 2026: Braeden Jones, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore DE from Mt. Carmel. NU coaches have been to Mt. Carmel to check him out. Here's a story from Edgy:

NDSU QB would look very good in Purple. What would it take for him to transfer? At end of q1 Bison up 21-3

1. Will we be ranked. What a win!
2. Where will football go after the BCS Chaos yesterday

Should be fun to track!