Coach David Braun's Northwestern Wildcats are 5-1 on the season, 2-1 in the Big Ten heading into Saturday's noon kickoff against Rutgers at the new Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill. 

Braun spoke earlier this week about parity in the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) era of college football that the Wildcats have been greatly enjoying so far this season.

He made a bold proclamation on the current state of college football, comparing it to the National Football League with the Wildcats enjoying a renaissance season and firmly in the College Football Playoff chase. 

Braun spoke about the "new norm" in college football, comparing it to the NFL. 

"I don't like zooming out but, like, this is the new norm. I think people need to adjust to what college football is now. This is so much more like the NFL, just in terms of like, the parity and the quality of players that are on every roster, and the quality of coaching.

"It's just a reminder to us that, like, gosh, you better show up every single week ready to prepare, one day at a time, at a super high level, because the second that you get out of attack mode and you take your foot off the gas, you're gonna get yourself beat, and I think (Week 7) is a very strong illustration of that," he said to Kamran Nia of The Daily Northwestern.

The Wildcats' current conference, the Big Ten, is currently led by Bob Chesney's upstart UCLA Bruins, who are 6-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Indiana won its first-ever national championship last season with Curt Cignetti at the helm of its program, and Northwestern is hoping to follow in the Hoosiers' footsteps this season and beyond. 

Traditional powers Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State find themselves near the middle-of-the-pack to the bottom of the conference with the season halfway over, despite spending more money than several other conference teams. 

The Wildcats' head coach knows that Rutgers could surprise his team this weekend, even with a 2-4 record (1-2 in the Big Ten) heading into Saturday's game. While the Wildcats should have a decided advantage in personnel and coaching on paper, the Scarlet Knights are expected to play loose and fast as always in hopes of springing an upset on coach Braun's team. 

Braun knows the importance of staying in attack mode and not taking anything for granted as well as anyone, which is part of the reason why he's considered to be one of the best young coaches in the sport. The Wildcats are on upset alert headed into the weekend, a mindset that should serve them well as they play for win number six on the season so far.