Fortuna Files: How Northwestern shocked Penn State
“This has been a long time coming," Wildcats coach David Braun tells The Inside Zone.
Northwestern’s Rose Bowl reunion is next Saturday against Purdue.
On this Saturday in Happy Valley, though, the Wildcats channeled Gary Barnett, the coach who took the purple to Pasadena 30 years ago.
“I think we’ve got a group right now that isn’t wandering, isn’t hoping,” current coach David Braun told The Inside Zone minutes after upsetting Penn State. “Going back to Coach Barnett: We’ve got a team that expects to win, expects victory. We’ve gotta remind ourselves what got us to this point throughout the season and what got us the win today.”
What got them this 22-21 road win, exactly? A lot of belief, for one. Continued improvement from a horrific start — yes, this same Northwestern team that opened the season with a 23-3 loss at Tulane just beat a Penn State team that was ranked No. 2 in the country back then.
But now the Wildcats are 4-2, the Nittany Lions are 3-3 and anything seems possible in this upside-down college football season.
“This has been a long time coming, a lot of work since January,” Braun said. “I’m really proud of the leadership on our football team. This is a player-led team, Matt, and it showed up today for sure.”