Northwestern's David Braun Takes Strong Stance Against Sports Gambling

Despite the No. 20 Northwestern Wildcats entering the matchup against the Oregon Ducks on a four-game winning streak, sportsbooks still list the Ducks as the favorite.

Northwestern finds itself as 3.5-point underdogs, according to BetMGM.

Northwestern head coach David Braun is trying to block out the ancillary details of the game, but he took the opportunity to address a much larger issue beyond this specific matchup: the rise of sports gambling as an addiction in society.

“The last thing any of us are paying attention to is betting lines,” Braun said. “I will use this as an opportunity (to talk about gambling). Why are those lines placed? To draw what? To draw action.”

With the rise of sports gambling ads all over live sports, gambling has quickly become one of the top addictions, particularly among young men. A recent survey from the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) found that nearly two-thirds of adults aged 21 and older (65%) report participating in at least one form of gambling before age 21.

The issue hits close to home for Braun as a father of young kids who could find themselves influenced by the normalization of sports gambling.

“ I got 11-year-old and 9-year-old boys at home,” Braun said. “I am terrified of how addictive phones are, how addictive gambling is, and this is my opportunity to say, 'Stay off your phone, stay away from gambling.’ It's scary stuff, and it's predatory. It's messed up what's going on. You look at 18-to-25-year-old young men out there right now and the predatory nature of some of this stuff; it's really scary.”

The two programs are trending in opposite directions. Oregon fired its offensive coordinator after a 4-3 start has all but derailed playoff hopes. The Ducks have played three different quarterbacks within the past month. Oregon is coming off a 21-10 loss to Illinois, in which the offense got shut out in the second half.

Prior to this season, Northwestern had been unranked since 2020.  The Wildcats are 5-0 at home to start the season for the first time since 1996, after a 42-14 wire-to-wire win over Rutgers that featured over 500 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns from quarterback Aidan Chiles.

Oregon Quarterback Dante Moore has not seen action since taking a hit against USC on Sep. 26. Oregon has gone 1-2 as both Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas have started games. The Ducks averaged just 14 points per game without Moore.

The Ducks came into the season with all the pressure of making the College Football Playoff for the third straight season, but Northwestern shoulders the burden with a more realistic path to make the 12-team field more than halfway through the season. 

Kickoff for Northwestern and Oregon is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday and will be streamed on Peacock.

The sites encourage responsible gambling and provide resources for help. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. The National Council on Problem Gambling help line can be reached at 1-800-522-4700.