Third-year Wildcat head coach David Braun played it as safe as could be in his opening statement about Oregon. Maybe he heard what happened to Mike Gundy.
The former NU defensive coordinator under Pat Fitzgerald, Braun took over in 2023 after Fitzerald was axed after a hazing controversy. He went 8-5 and won the Las Vegas Bowl in 2023, 4-8 last season.
On Monday he said, "Incredible opportunity this weekend with Oregon coming into town, opening up Big Ten play. I’ll tell you what, Coach Lanning has done an exceptional job at Oregon. Not only are they very talented, but they are incredibly well coached. There’s not a single stone that will go unturned by him and his staff."
That's right out of the head coaching manual, not a word about NIL or budgets or unfair advantages. Praise the opponent, control what you can control.
Braun continued. "They’re going to be aggressive. They’re going to try and apply pressure in a lot of different ways in all three phases."
He actually used the phrase "profound respect," praising Oregon as a physical team that plays hard, singled out tight end Kenyon Sadiq for his blocking.
The third-year head coach did everything he could do to not wind up on the Oregon bulletin board. Or Coach Lanning's bathroom mirror. He spoke of the Oregon game as a privilege and an incredible challenge.
So Oregon will have to look elsewhere for motivation this week. They'll have to look within.
After two blowout wins the Ducks have gotten a steady dose of glazing and rat poison from national and local media. Everybody's talking about Heisman odds and national championship potential. Dante Moore has climbed into fourth at FanDuel. ESPN's FPI (generally whacked, still has Texas and Alabama in the Top Four) gives them the best odds to win the national championship.
NEW: Updated ESPN FPI after week 2 of the College Football season📈📉https://t.co/dCnwYXQ9KA pic.twitter.com/H1aK2SFGXp
— On3 (@On3sports) September 7, 2025
Cancel the season and just give them the trophy-- NOT! Instead, the Ducks have to stay beady-eyed focused on executing and getting better. They're favored by 27.5 this week and likely will be next week against Oregon State. Four blowout wins, if they come to pass, can give some teams an inflated sense of their own importance.
Former Oregon four-year starter Jordon Scott urges perspective. Wait until the Ducks play a more competitive team, he urged.
It could be this week; certainly the Ducks have to prepare like it is. Two years ago at SMU the Wildcats' transfer quarterback Preston Stone threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns with just six interceptions, leading the Mustangs to an 11-3 record, the American Conference Championship and a win in the Fenway Bowl over Boston College.
In the Wildcats 1-1 start his best target has been South Dakota State transfer Griffin Wilde, 6-2 200, who's caught 11 passes for 158 yards, no touchdowns, a long of 46 yards. At SDSU last season he was a go-to target, 71 catches for 1,154 yards and 12 scores.
Guys will just sit around and watch Mark Gronowski throw it around the yard to Griffin Wilde (future pro) pic.twitter.com/Pskm2qUux4
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 14, 2024
Stone also ran for 198 yards and four touchdowns for the Mustangs in 2023. A fifth-year senior, he's totally capable of getting a hot hand, although if the Ducks stay on point and stay to the standard they've established in the first two games, they should win by five touchdowns.
Braun's game week posture, genuflecting like an impoverished, battle-weary foreign leader visiting the White House, is entirely judicious.
Another factor is the weather. Winds off Lake Michigan can gust and swirl. The 10-day forecast at weather.com currently calls for partly cloudy skies, winds 5-10 mph, gametime temperatures in the low 70s.
2-0, No. 4 Oregon at 1-1 Northwestern, 9 a.m. PT on Fox TV.