"As we write a special story".

That is at 16 or so minutes in.

I hope he wins 10 this year and gets the job, heck even seven or so would do it. More? Less? Five? Eight?

That having been said one cannot possibly watch the postgame on not be moved by a guy doing his best in incredibly hard circumstances. This guy is really busting his ass for the school and program that I love.

I am rooting for you coach Braun. Go get em!

Go Cats.

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Sorry volume is so low, not sure why that is.

I had the opportunity to make it out to GBN on Friday night to watch Grove and Schaller play each other. Hersey ran away with it, 42-0, but it was still a good game for them both to show why they'll be coming to Northwestern.

Read all about Grove and Schaller's games, what they thought of playing each other and what they think about Northwestern so far this season in this WildcatReport premium story.

So, we can now assume that Braun and the rest of the coaches will not be retained. They're coaching now for a paycheck, pride, and their next job. Good luck at your next stop.

Who's at the top of your wish list? Who's a likely target by Gragg and Schill, that dynamic duo?

NFM

Down 21-0, outgained 235-47 with a little left in 2nd. Kansas has looked like Georgia so far.

Cheering for Braun and staff to earn the job! But if they don't I would like to see either Jim Leonhard ( WI legend) or JaMarkus Shephard ( former Purdue OC and currently Washinton Asst Head Coach) get most of our attention. Big Ten roots and plenty of great attributes. I think we can get competitive a lot quicker than most think with just a little help from the Administration. Hint, hint!!!

Northwestern (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten) hosts UTEP (1-1) at Ryan Field this afternoon. Based on the stadium clock, kickoff will be at 2:40 pm CT. The game will be televised on BTN.

This is the Wildcats' home opener and one of their best chances this season to snap an NCAA-leading 12-game losing streak.

I went to today's game with a lot of trepidation about how the team will do. Few of us could have any idea of what the players and the staff went through this past summer. Coach Braun was from what I see and read was thrusted into this position.

Today's game was a new experience. The last time the Cats won a game at home was in October of 2021. The players today played hard and were enthusiastic. Couple of speed plays were great. On Henning's touchdown to the west side, he made it through a hole into the end zone that our group thought in prior years never would have occurred. Some other fun plays during the game. It as fun to see some actual talent on the field. I am so happy for the players after all the crap they endured this past summer.

As to the coaching, we saw something in the 2nd half that we have not seen in a few years--adjustments. Both the the defense and the offense adjusted. Totally different half. There did not seem to be the usual, stupid penalties. It just seemed, at least on defense, that the players knew where to be. I am not going to say that there were not breakdowns--there were, but our group felt that NU was a much better coached team. This was a game that we lost twice last year, but not this year. Kudos to Coach Braun and the staff.

It was nice to leave Ryan Field with a smiles on our faces.

I wish I had bought one before the store closed. Good representation!

The cats have some guys that aren’t starting, but can play and are better than the players in front on them.

First and foremost, Brus and Soares Jr. should be starting at LB. Don’t embarrass yourself by saying Mueller and Gallagher can play. They can’t. They are champions of bad angles and missed tackles and have proven it for the past two seasons. For every rare play they actually make, there are 100 that they don’t.

On DL Saka and Hubbard should be playing, as should back up DB Brandon Turner.

If Jack Lausch can throw you’ve got your future dual threat QB.

Perhaps Braun will be better than Fitz by playing guys based on ability and performance and not loyalty.

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern’s 38-7 win over UTEP

Wasn’t it just a few years ago that the Duke and NU football teams were kind of considered to be on the same level?
Duke may very well lose this game but right now they are up on #9 Clemson in the 3rd quarter.

I am out of town this weekend, so I won’t be at Ryan Field for Saturday’s game. Instead, I will be watching on TV and tweeting (Xing?).

But fear not loyal WR subscribers, @mshelton33 will have things covered from the press box.

On top of that, Matt will be at the Hersey at Glenbrook North game tonight to watch 2024 commits Carson Grove and Patrick Schaller go head to head. He will interview both of them after the game and write a scouting report that we’ll probably run sometime on Sunday.

One other disappointing bit of news: we found out this week that Austin Siegel has to leave WR for reasons out of his control. So unfortunately, he is no longer with us.

Let’s all be on our best behavior on Saturday while Matt is watching the store. Hopefully, we’ll all be celebrating the end of a gruesome 12-game losing streak.

Go Cats!

6th year looks to be the charm for itinerant QB JT Daniels. The Daniels to Luke McCaffery connection is cooking. I'd take transfers of similar caliber.

The last two years I sat and watched in disbelief. "We cannot be this bad" was my post game rant 20 out of 24 contests. We were. Against UTEP we must show immense offensive improvement or we will fail to be competitive with anyone but Howard. I felt many things were wrong: JON, offensive philosophy, team unity, coaching, and leadership to name a few. Today will be harbinger of just how far we have to go. I would prefer to see us progress and be competitive, but by 4 pm we should know what truly lies ahead. Go 'Cats!!!

Do we take the ball this time and try avoid the start we had at Rutgers? I say yes....

Northwestern thrashed UTEP 38-7 to snap their home and overall losing streaks. Here's my story on the game and Braun's postgame remarks. Takeaways to come later this evening.

Northwestern thrashed UTEP 38-7 to snap their home and overall losing streaks. Here's my story on the game and Braun's postgame remarks. Takeaways to come later this evening.

Weak competition, and we have a serious talent issue, but that was encouraging. No longer a sieve

Of course, Braun will likely be a fine Defensive Coordinator, go to another school, and do a great job.

But our team is terrible

Never heard of him - his name is Jason Ross Jr. I think he’s done a great job. Seems like a promising up and comer.

We wouldn’t be any better with Fitz either.

Is Mr. Saka’s middle name “Fechugs”, by chance?

If so… an anagram of his would be “A ton of huge sacks”.

I know some of you brainiacs can top it.

But two down, and many to go! Thank you Coach Braun & staff for finally unleashing him!

Anyone else notice when the UTEP qb completed a pass and our announcer said “birthday” because birthdays were being announced on our video board? Embarrassing.