David Braun receives massive praise for leading Northwestern to Las Vegas Bowl win, 8-5 record
David Braun and the Northwestern Wildcats completed what was as surprising of a season as you’ll ever see in college football.
The Wildcats – after being the center of an offseason scandal, losing their head coach of just under 20 years and being projected to finish last in the Big Ten – are 8-5 for the 2023 campaign following a 14-7 win over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl Saturday night.
It wasn’t the most flawless bowl victory in the history of football, but it was won how all of Northwestern’s games were won this season. The Wildcats played harder than the Utes Saturday night and were rewarded for it.
Ben Bryant had a strong game at QB, completing 23 of his 34 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. On the other side, Utah’s Bryson Barnes struggled to carve Northwestern’s secondary and finished with a pair of interceptions and less than 60 passing yards.
Following the game, fans took to social media to praise the Wildcats and HC David Braun for an incredible season. Here’s some of the best reaction:
“They weren’t supposed to win more than maybe one game. Then along comes David Braun with almost no time to prepare and turned them into an 8-5 Las Vegas Bowl winning team…” pic.twitter.com/r1tA2rK4HL
— Casual Big Ten (@casualbigten) December 24, 2023
Colorado went from 1-11 last year to 4-8 this year. No bowl game
Northwestern went from 1-11 last year to 8-5 this year. With a Bowl win.
David Braun> Deion Sanders
— FFBuck (@FFbuckCLE) December 24, 2023
What David Braun did this year was remarkable.
In an impossible, unexpected situation, Braun led Northwestern to 8 wins, capped by a bowl victory.
The Cats’ 8 wins in 2023 doubled their 4 total wins in 2021, ‘22.
It’s the best coaching job in college football this season. pic.twitter.com/QdsYYjCL37
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 24, 2023
One of the biggest turnarounds this season didn’t happen at Colorado, it happened at Northwestern.
1-11 in 2022 to 8-5 in 2023. All of this after Pat Fitzgerald was fired. They might not have gotten all the publicity, but those players bought into David Braun
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) December 24, 2023
Don’t care who they played, don’t care how they won. This was one of, if not the best turnaround in all of college football by David Braun and the Wildcats. https://t.co/2xKrzO2dpq
— Dub Jellison (@DubJellison) December 24, 2023
What an incredible job this year by this team and 1st year head coach David Braun. Congratulations. https://t.co/3S32kBGE1H
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 24, 2023
What an amazing season for @NUFBFamily! Congrats to all the players, coaches and support staff over there. Not sure how David Braun wasn’t the national coach of the year.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) December 24, 2023
What an unbelievable season for Northwestern. They were projected to win a MAX of 2 games. They went 8-5. Congrats to David Braun.
— Penn State Talk (@PSURecruitTalk) December 24, 2023
What David Braun did this year was amazing as I’ve said before. Tonight wasn’t pretty but Northwestern showed that when you consistently play hard good things happen. What a night for the ‘Cats! What a season! https://t.co/GAeS9dbjRW
— Ryan Lindley (@RLins12) December 24, 2023
From 1 win to EIGHT WINS AND A BOWL VICTORY.
David Braun and Northwestern. Insane.
— CaptainBugeater (@CaptainBugeater) December 24, 2023
