The final stretch of Northwestern’s 2025 season has arrived. After enjoying his final bye week, coach David Braun has four games to capture a win and bowl eligibility.
The Wildcats’ (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) late thrust begins in Los Angeles to take on USC. Last week, the Trojans (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) beat the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Nebraska, a feat NU struggled to achieve the previous Saturday.
“The way that USC went into a hostile environment at Nebraska and found a way to win a football game, I think, is reflective of where Coach (Lincoln) Riley has this team,” Braun said at his weekly press conference Monday.
Here are three storylines to keep in mind from Braun’s press conference ahead of Friday’s bout with the Trojans:
Preparing for a tough USC squad
The Trojans present a real challenge for the ’Cats in all phases of the game. Braun called them a balanced team that can run the ball effectively and throw the ball at a high level.
“It’s a scary operation,” Braun said. “If they’re able to find rhythm, watch out.”
For Braun, it is not a question of if USC will find rhythm. Rather, the question is when it does find rhythm, how can NU knock the hosts out of it?
To slow down USC, the ’Cats will need to win the rushing battle and prevent their foes from possessing the football, according to Braun.
Last week, Nebraska even provided a bit of a blueprint for slowing down a USC passing attack that averages the most yards through the air in the Big Ten.
Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava only completed nine of his 23 pass attempts for 135 yards and an interception.
“There’s always opportunities as you evaluate film and evaluate what other people have done,” Braun said. “Taking context and taking information on things that we can utilize.”
Traveling to play in the Coliseum also means NU will face another hostile environment. The ’Cats’ loss to Nebraska shed light on some things that Braun wants his team to improve on in Los Angeles, such as limiting false start penalties and starting the second half on the right foot.
Braun said that the team’s prep in terms of crowd noise is similar to that of their matchups against Penn State and the Cornhuskers, though he is throwing in some curveballs to force his squad to respond.
’Cats come off a bye week, Trojans come off a short week
While it seems NU has the upper hand having more time to prepare, Braun talked about the rust a bye week can bring and the advantages of a short week.
However, Braun said he was proud of the way his group handled last week’s game-break. The challenge for the team was to move on from Nebraska and fine-tune the engine. In terms of health, Braun said he is hopeful redshirt sophomore defensive back Damon Walters, redshirt sophomore defensive back Josh Fussell and graduate student defensive back Ore Adeyi will be available for Friday.
On the other hand, having dealt with a short week heading into Western Illinois earlier this season, the NU staff knows what it is like to be in USC’s shoes.
“Sometimes a short week can also almost be a good thing,” Braun said. “You don’t overthink it and you get out there and you get your guys prepared to play.”
Navigating new coaching landscape of college football
2025 has been a difficult year for college football head coaches around the country. Just this fall, top programs such as Penn State, LSU, Auburn and Florida have made midseason coaching changes.
According to Braun, college football is more of a business than it’s ever been before, and he just hopes that people holding head coaching positions are in it for the right reasons.
“Our ultimate task in charge is to help young men develop into men,” Braun said. “When you get a person that has that in mind… you hope that they have the time and the runway to do that.”
Braun said that the situation is typically a progression, and he referenced former North Dakota State coach Craig Bohl as a fitting example.
Braun also said that as people go through the hiring process, he hopes they look for someone who is going to build it the right way and give the program time to do that. Braun named Mark Jackson as someone who understands this progression in football.
Recently, Braun and NU have taken steps to grow, such as hiring Christian Sarkisian. He said that the program is not where they need to be, but there have been improvements.
Email: annawatson2027@u.northwestern.edu
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