For a program that underwent extreme turbulence, dysfunction and adversity, the place Northwestern enters the 2024 season couldn’t be any better.
They say “When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in.” That’s apparent with this Northwestern football program under the new leadership of coach David Braun, who has sparked a new sense of hope in the Wildcats after a season and a half of detrimental results.
It would have been understandable that this team would have spiraled and folded amid turmoil. The 2022 season wasn’t pretty for the ‘Cats as they finished the season 1-11 before a 2023 preseason media poll voted 36 out of a possible 37 for NU to finish last in the Big Ten West .
On top of that, longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after 17 seasons at the helm following an investigation into widespread hazing within the program.
That’s when things shifted for Braun and the football program, as he was tabbed with the interim head coaching role.
“I never could have imagined, nor did I desire, to become a head coach under these types of circumstances,” Braun said in his Big Ten Media Day press conference. “We have an opportunity to firmly commit to the values of Northwestern University, and that is the holistic development of the young men that we mentor and coach.”
And it did take some time, but eventually the ‘Cats got things rolling into a successful trajectory.
Through nine games, NU found itself just under .500 with a 4-5 overall record. Then after going into the hostile pit that is Camp Randall Stadium and knocking off Wisconsin to end Northwestern’s 14-game road losing streak, the ‘Cats found life under Braun.
A week later NU removed the interim tag and named Braun its new head coach, marking a new long-term outlook for the program, especially Braun’s commitment to his student-athletes.
NU ended the season on a four-game winning streak with highlight wins against Wisconsin and Illinois to propel to a second place finish in the West, an 8-5 overall record, a Las Vegas Bowl win, and Braun taking home the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.
Braun’s eight victories marked the most by a first-year Northwestern football coach since 1903 and the five Big Ten wins the most by any first-year coach in program history.
The ‘Cats finally have nine lives.
As Northwestern enters the 2024 season with all of the momentum from last season’s finale, Braun said he’s excited about his squad and the development of the offseason.
“This team has had a great camp,” Braun said in his presser on Monday. “There’s areas of experience on this team, areas where experience may be lacking, areas of great depth, areas where we’ve need to develop depth, but really excited about where this group is today.”
Repeating last season’s magical run is certainly going to be tough, especially with the additions to an expanded Big Ten Conference, but the principle of where they find themselves currently is pretty promising, and it gives a new hope; the hope that something special is being built in Evanston.
NU has had its own additions during the offseason to even the load, which brought a new face behind center in graduate quarterback transfer Mike Wright.
The first order of business was taking care of the Mid-American Conference reigning champions Miami (OH) to kickoff the 2024 season, in which the ‘Cats knocked off the RedHawks, 13-0, in the season opener where Wright got his first start as a Wildcat.
“I use the word exciting a lot, because that’s what I was when coach Braun called my phone the day after getting in the portal,” Wright said. “It’s really easy to make that transition whenever we have great men and women in this building. They make that transition much easier.”
Don’t get it twisted, ultimate success is going to take some time, but NU is trending in the right direction to being so back.
Email: [email protected]
X: @b_mcqueary6
Related Stories:
— Rapid Recap: Northwestern 13, Miami (Ohio) 6
— Football: The Daily’s Gameday Staff gives its 2024 season predictions
