What Northwestern Coach David Braun Said About Questionable Decisions In Loss To USC

The No. 19 USC Trojans defeated the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday Night, 38-17. The Trojans are 7-2, with their College Football Playoff hopes still alive.

The Wildcats put up a fight in the first half, but the Trojans ran away with the game in the second. After the game, Northwestern coach David Braun spoke about the Wildcats' loss against USC to reporters.

Braun Addresses Fake Punt

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Northwestern Wildcats David Braun College Football Big Ten Najee Story Jayden Maiava Iowa Hawkeyes — Oct 25, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun watches a replay during the second quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

In the second quarter of the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley called a fake punt that successfully gave the Trojans a first down.

“Their executed fake punt. I don’t think Coach Riley has faked a punt since 2017. And ultimately, it 100 percent falls on me. It’s a lesson learned. One of their backup quarterbacks, number seven, is wearing number 80, the same number as their punter. Did not show up on the roster online, hadn’t shown up anywhere else, but they did legally submit that. Was on the game day roster that was here present at the Coliseum,” Braun said.

“And the lesson I’ve learned in that for the rest of my career is when we arrive as a facility, we will go over that … and look for any of those potentially,” Braun continued. “If we knew that their backup quarterback was in the game in that situation, we either would have been safe or would have called a timeout.”

“But credit to coach Riley and his staff. Creative design, well executed, huge momentum at that point in the game.”

Braun On Having To Defend Against USC's Passing Game

"Yeah, we knew Nebraska was an outlier in their passing game. Nebraska had done a great job against USC, but you knew USC was gonna find a way to respond. They're talented. Talented wide receivers, quarterback plays at a really high level. Coach Riley's a great coach," Braun said. "And ultimately, I think we ended up playing on our heels."

"He did a good job of finding open wide receivers. They dialled up a couple creative plays, whether it be double passes or some hands and go stuff. But then there's times flat out times that we gotta do a better job of winning one-on-one matchups."

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Braun on USC’s Interception

“Najee Story makes an unbelievable pick and busted his butt to try and go score a touchdown. Ultimately gets fumbled out of the back of the end zone. We gotta do a better job on defense of just taking a breath, playing the next play. Their net play is an explosive run that ends up leading to a touchdown, 14-point swing,” Braun said.

Braun On Disappointing Second Half vs. USC

“Disappointed with the result, disappointed with our performance in the second half,” Braun said. “Came out here with an expectation of coming back to Evanston with a win. I think some of the things that we saw in the first half are things that are going to be required to win this football game in terms of establishing the line of scrimmage. Controlling the football when we had it offensively and extending drives."

“This game was a story of two things: momentum wings in the second quarter and a poor second half by the cats."

"Defensively, we weren't playing well early on, but found a way to settle in," Braun said. "Defensively, we were just on our heels and out of sorts."

"They are really good in their third and long stuff. I mean, some of the best personnel pass rushers in the country," Braun said. "We've been more aggressive on fourth down this year, but we're not gonna get reckless with it, especially against an offensive opponent like USC."

Number six, who's been their punt returner all year, they put back as a kickoff returner this game. One of the most dangerous guys in the Big Ten. Ultimately, we kick our first kickoff to the right, away from him," Braun said.

Why Braun Wanted To Punt On 4th-And-3

“At the end of the day, it’s still a one-score game at that point. Field position is critical against a team like USC. They started with the ball on their own 10-yard line, and defensively, we have to get ourselves a three-and-out and create good field position back for our offense."

Braun On Northwestern’s Questionable Timeout Decision

“We shouldn’t have called timeout," Braun said. We were okay taking a penalty there,” Braun said. “Ultimately, we hustled to the line of scrimmage. We were trying to draw them off with an aggressive D-line and a fourth-down situation like that. We don't get them to draw offsides."

"Ultimately, Preston ended up calling a timeout. Should not have been a timeout,“ Braun said. "As a coach, I should have gotten on the earpiece well before the 15-second cut-off and told him.”

The No. 19 USC Trojans will next face the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, Nov. 15.