David Braun’s debut didn’t go as planned at Rutgers. Check out my article on his postgame comments and the work that lies ahead.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34206607

"Biggest mover: Kentucky

Four schools -- Kentucky, Northwestern, Tulsa and NC State -- moved up at least 10 spots in our rankings, but none ended up better than 31st (NC State). The biggest mover, however, was Kentucky, which had two O-linemen -- Luke Fortner and Darian Kinnard -- selected in the 2022 NFL draft. The Wildcats aren't exactly knocking on the door of OLU -- they're still 72nd nationally -- but the big jump from 2021 is another reminder of the impressive work Mark Stoops is doing in Lexington."

Like I said, it was only a brief mention...

David Braun’s debut didn’t go as planned at Rutgers. Check out my article on his postgame comments and the work that lies ahead.

I debate if this seven is truly magnificent.

I’d guess that Clemson and VT want to be in the SEC, whereas the rest would do anything to get in the B1G. FSU would get smashed in the SEC, but would hold a unique recruiting advantage in the B1G.

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I've been outspoken in faulting Schill/Gragg for their handling of Fitz's firing. I think they need to be fired before the university can move on.

But I have an even bigger concern. Would NU have won this game with Fitz? The hazing crisis clearly took a huge emotional toll on the team. They're not prepared for the season. It would help to have an experienced head coach, not an FCS coordinator trying to learn on the fly from a USFL coach. Some of the transfers would have helped.

Would it have been enough to beat Rutgers, though? Would the OL have been stronger? Would the QB have made better decisions? Would NU have handed off the ball and made any progress up the middle? Where are the playmaking WRs? Who's supposed to stop the run or rush the passer? How would Fitz have made the LBs faster? I just can't see the talent out there. Skoronski and Hull were missed, and NU was an uncompetitive 1-11 with them.

I wonder if Fitz had not be fired for cause, this game might have put him on the hot seat. NU is looking at 4 of 5 disastrous seasons and maybe even a historic losing streak (again). It's the program Fitz built.

Crisis. Team unwatchable, again. Offense totally incompetent. Defense had a pulse, but still in rough shape. Rutgers isn’t good. Much has and should be made of how the last head coach exited the program. But I can’t stop thinking about the state in which he left this program. Hank retiring really exposed a LOT of weakness, and things have just shattered.

What makes this situation feel worse is that under the Morty / Phillips / Fitz regime, those people at least loved the school and the game. The new regime (Braun excluded) seems to be inept and weak — plus lacking any meaningful connection to NU or even really pretending to care. The president is sports ambivalent at best. The AD is truly awful.

My hope is we will bring in a good head coach next year to totally reboot the program. Root and branch rebuild. But I’m worried strong candidates won’t want to come here / the people in charge will continue to make bad decisions / a solid new hire might get hounded out by our outrage mob for some reason they conjure up.

It’s brutal out there right now. Chris Collins needs to build a protective wall around his program, especially from university “leadership.”

Out-played on both the O and D lines. No defensive pressure on the QB; weak protection from the O line for our passing game. Could not get off the field on defense; could not sustain drives on Offense. Against Rutgers! Trenches play has to improve or this team will go winless in the B1G.

Out-matched; Out-coached; Out-hustled; Out-executed; Out-game-planned in every phase of the contest. Out of my mind with embarrassment. I'm surprised the 'Cats got out of the visitors locker room without getting lost heading onto the field. This train wreck is unwatchable. nfm...

Can someone with ESPN+ share the names Rittenburg posted as potential coaches?

Guessing he has at least some insight on that!

Gallagher is just aweful. He simply can’t tackle. 5’ 9” running back runs him over and he consistent misses tackles.

The season is finally here! Northwestern kicks off its 2023 campaign at Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS, starting at 11 am CT. Stadium clock projects kickoff to be 11:08 CT.

well after watching a little UNL, UMinni, Boilers and Iwahhhhh!wah,wah anyone that concerned that we dont have a chance to be in most games in the West and with a little bit of guts, glue and gumption we wont be able to hold our heads up at the end of the year?
Another point after watching Northern Ill...that if we just tweaked admission requirements a little it would open up a ton of roster opportunities. The Huskies seem to almost always have a solid roster with tons of kids from the Chicago area.....

I’ll allow the more expert fans to analyze the football on the field. Really bad football with very little to hang your hat on (Bryce Gallagher had a nice game).

Observations:

1) Zero energy on the sideline. I understand it was hot, but I did not like seeing backups sitting on the bench and chatting like they were on the beach. For all Fitz’s faults you always saw a very engaged bench. Not the case here. The only player who I thought was really engaged in the action was Cole Freeman. Did not look like anybody else was all that concerned as to what was happening on the field

2) Braun looked like a guy who never played golf before, but was trying to play in a foursome without looking like a fool. He didn’t look like he knew where to be half time time. I didn’t see him talking to anyone. Most of the time he was just pacing back and forth with a confused look of nervous energy. At one point in the 2nd quarter the offense was about to start a drive and he was on the other side of the field talking to the punter. Very weird.

3) Anderson has got to be over 400 lbs. I seriously question if he’s healthy enough right now to do his job effectively. The offensive line play is certainly not diminishing my doubts.

4) Give Bryant credit. He took a beating and was not pointing fingers at anyone.

5) Lausch kept riding the bike. I thought maybe he was trying to stay loose for a package or something. He wasn’t really engaging much with the other QBs either. Definitely an impressive guy from a physical standpoint. Maybe he was just getting a workout in?

All in all going to be a long year and it’s really not worth watching any of these games. Very little talent on the roster (I don’t think any of these players will be part of the next good NU team) and the coaches seemed to have mailed it in aside from Braun and his crew.

If Northwestern wants to turn this program around they need to open up their checkbook and get a really good coach to turn the ship around.

Bryant throws it as good as any QB NU has had in a long long time. Quick release, tight spiral. If they give him some time to throw it, you’ve got a QB they can win.

Unfortunately NU has no defense to give Bryant a chance.

Or at least a Sunday.

Even with outdated references to EJ Manuel, Stevie Johnson, and Doug Marrone, this joke slays.

Enjoy your free Saturdays, Cats fans.

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We’ve been streaming Big Hero 6 today.

is learning what it's like to be a Wildcat. Fast. Sad, the state that Fitz left the offense in.

It's obvious this program isn't prepared right now for Division I football. The chronically weak OL jeopardizes everyone else, especially the QBs. But the QBs under pressure also threaten the WRs. The RBs don't have a chance. The gameplan today didn't even bother to try to run—against Rutgers. This is no way to survive a football season. I'm worried these guys will sustain serious harm in a season that was lost even before it started. How can we protect these guys from life-altering harm? This is the first time I've watched NU and thought, "Oh, now I understand what the Dark Ages must have felt like." It takes some kind of coaching/administration screw-up to make Rutgers look like Ohio State. They looked bigger, tougher, faster, stronger, smarter—and it's not close.

Bryant getting hammered. At least Sully might evade a blitz.

Hahahahaha!

All I gotta say.

Maybe someday NU will have a QB like Toledo's Dequan Finn. Outstanding dual threat. Toledo giving Illinois all they can handle through the half. Coach Candle looks like he is a good one although I don't know his history.