David Braun got his flowers from coach Deion Sanders after a blowout win over his Buffaloes.
Coach David Braun and his Northwestern Wildcats are flying high after a 41-7 win over Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes and a contract extension that will keep Braun in Evanston, Ill. through 2031.
The Wildcats will next take on coach Curt Cignetti's No. 5-ranked 2025-26 national champion Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium Saturday as 20-plus point underdogs according to the opening line.
Following Northwestern's win, controversy swirled after one of Sanders' players was caught on tape dissing the Wildcats' home stadium, comparing it to a library.
Sanders apologized after the game, while also talking up Braun in advance of this Saturday's showdown with the top five Hoosiers.
Sep 21, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun reacts to a goal line play against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Sanders Gives Thoughts on Braun
Sanders gave his thoughts on the job Braun has been doing with the Wildcats, who are now undefeated this season and in search of their third winning season in four years.
He pinned the Buffaloes' loss to the Wildcats on a poor defensive effort and praised Braun's coaching job.
"David Braun came over and spoke to me before the game, Sanders said. "Such a wonderful man, such a wonderful coach, doing a phenomenal job with this school, with this team, and my old buddy Chip Kelly. We shared some tremendous moments before and after the game. Caught a heck of a game, flat out butt-kicking.
"We didn't play the type of offensive and defensive football we're capable of playing, we didn't. And hats off to them for forcing us into that. They did a great job of coaching over there, better than we did."
Big Ten Unkind to Braun's Teams
Momentum is squarely in the Wildcats' favor heading into Saturday's big game at 8:00 PM ET in Bloomington but Braun has his work cut out for him based on recent history.
Braun's Wildcats teams have never finished better than 5-4 in the Big Ten (2023) and have had losing conference seasons in 2024 (2-7) and 2025 (4-5).
A win over Indiana would go a long way toward changing the narrative around coach Braun's team as potential future College Football Playoff contender instead of the also-ran that the Wildcats have been since their last Big Ten title in 2000, when they split with Michigan and Purdue.
Braun and Kelly's team is in many ways an homage to the head coach of the 2000 team, the late Randy Walker, with its clever spread concepts and impressive balance between the run and the pass. Northwestern's 54-51 win over Michigan in 2000 was dubbed 'The Game That Changed College Football.' A win over Indiana could match it for bringing excitement to the Wildcats fanbase, and become the game that changes the Wildcats' football program for the better going forward.
