Notebook: Braun preps for Hat game, details faith philosophy
EVANSTON-With a bowl berth now in hand, head coach David Braun cheerfully took the podium for his last regular season game-week press conference of the year.
A matchup with rival Illinois looms on Saturday, with the Land of Lincoln Trophy on the line. Braun has a 1-1 record in the battle for “The Hat”, and would love to bring the trophy back to the Walter Athletic Center.
Northwestern (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) has the momentum coming off a roller-coaster 38-35 win over Minnesota, while the wind has fallen out of the sails of Illinois (7-4, 4-4) after a surprising 27-10 upset at Wisconsin last Saturday.
“We’re really looking forward to our in-state rivalry game and playing for the Hat on the road,” Braun said. “The job that coach [Bret] Bielema has done at the University of Illinois is really impressive. He’s someone I’ve had the chance to get to know over the last three years and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.”
The first time Braun and Bielema met was a chaotic 45-43 Wildcat win at Champaign that knocked Illinois out of contention for a bowl game and cemented Braun’s first season at the helm. Last year, at Wrigley Field, Bielema and the Illini struck back with a 38-28 win that wasn’t as close as the scoreboard makes it seem that sent the Illini to the Citrus Bowl and the Wildcats into a long offseason of reflection.
Now, in 2025, the teams are more evenly matched and both teams will be hungry for the Hat.
“We’re treating this like postseason play,” Braun said. “I know it’s the regular season, but ultimately, we’re playing for a trophy and an in-state rivalry game. Our sense of urgency and the need for execution is going to be at an all-time high.”
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Braun talks about his philosophy on faith
Braun has been increasingly open about his Christian faith this season, and one of the striking anecdotes from the postgame press conference after the Minnesota game was quarterback Preston Stone sharing that Braun prayed over him at half, inspiring him to go out and lead the Wildcats to a comeback.
“I think one of the coolest moments I ever had in college football happened today,” Stone explained. “In the locker room at halftime, Coach Braun came over, I’m sitting down and he prays over me. He prays for a spirit of fearlessness and put it all in God’s hands. To have Coach Braun come and do that for us, that was an incredibly special moment.”
Stone came out of halftime and went 15-for-15 in the second half with 174 yards and two touchdowns. He won co-offensive player of the week honors from the Big Ten for his performance.
Northwestern has historical ties to the Methodist Church but formally became nonsectarian in 1974 and no longer has any official religious affiliation.
The Christian faith has a deep tradition in football and it would be naive to pretend otherwise. Northwestern has many players who have spoken about their faith, or who take part in postgame prayers on Saturdays. At the same time, Northwestern has a student body and fanbase that represent religions from all over the world, as well as many atheists or agnostics.
There’s no doubt the moment of prayer between coach and player was deeply moving for Stone, but not every player, and certainly not every student or fan, is a Christian. Braun explained his perspective on faith in his program, and how he balances that dichotomy.
“Something that’s really important to me is that this program continues to prioritize the holistic development of every single young man that’s a part of our program, every single person that’s a part of our program and part of that is those that are seeking growth in their spiritual life have opportunities to do that, and that is not just the Christian faith,” he said. “There are plenty of guys on this football team that do walk a Christian faith walk, and there’s plenty of guys on the team that don’t. Something that’s important to me is that every single person in this program has the ability to seek their own spiritual journey…
“In the frame of Preston, if that wasn’t something that I had asked for his permission to pray with him, then I wouldn’t have done it.”
Braun’s full response including his individual perspective on his faith is in the post below.
Editor’s note: The post uses the term “non-denominational”. The correct term for no religious affiliation is nonsectarian.
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Injury updates
Braun provided updates on a series of players:
Wide receiver Drew Wagner will be out against Illinois.
Defensive end Anto Saka missed some time in the Minnesota game but is “good to go”.
Defensive end Aidan Hubbard went down on the third play of the game against Michigan on Nov. 15 and did not play against Minnesota.
“Aidan is doing everything he can to get back for this game,” Braun said. “All games mean a lot to ‘Hubs’, but this one specifically, being a rivalry game, he’s going to be a later-in-the-week decision. But there is a chance that Hubs will be available.”
Safety Damon Walters has been dealing with a nagging issue for several weeks and his status is up in the for Saturday.
“It’s probably three weeks ago I was telling you guys it’s day-to-day with Damon,” Braun said. “Unfortunately, it’s not been progressing at the rate we initially anticipated, to no fault of Damon’s.”
