RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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David Braun may or may not have a starting quarterback yet.
The Northwestern coach wasn't ready to talk about that Thursday as Big Ten Media Days wrapped up at the Hilton Chicago. But he had plenty to say about where the bar should be set for a program that won its last Big Ten title in 2000.
After paying tribute to the heavy lifting done by previous coaches Gary Barnett, Randy Walker and Pat Fitzgerald, Braun said the Wildcats "have expectations to do it better than we've ever done it before.
"Big Ten championship, why not us?
"Host a College Football Playoff game at new Ryan Field, why not us?
"Aspire to chase down a national championship, why not us?"
A cynic might point to Northwestern's football history. The Wildcats have never won more than 10 games in a season, and they've only done that five times. They've never been higher than seventh in the final Associated Press rankings. Most programs have peaks and valleys over the years, but for Northwestern it's been more hills and canyons.
Still, there's no doubt the Wildcats are no longer the Big Ten also-rans they were in the decades before Barnett arrived in 1992. There were notable highlights under Fitzgerald, including 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2017. And Braun did well just to hold the program together when he took over in 2023 in the wake of a hazing scandal.
Still, a Big Ten championship, a home playoff game, contending for a national title?
Braun said the pieces are in place for a golden age of Northwestern football. He touted the leadership of new president Mung Chiang, athletic director Mark Jackson and megadonor Pat Ryan Jr., the driving force behind the Wildcats' new stadium that will open in October.
Another bullet point: Northwestern returns 88% of the eligible returning snaps from last year's 6-6 team — something of a rarity in the portal age. That includes leading rusher Caleb Komolafe and the top two receivers: Griffin Wilde and Hayden Eligon II.
But who will hand off to Komolafe and throw to the receivers?
Preston Stone, last year's starter, is gone, but there are a couple of transfers who were Power Four QB1s elsewhere. Aidan Chiles lost his starting job at Michigan State two-thirds of the way through a 4-8 season, while Nicco Marchiol was West Virginia's starter until a foot injury ended his 2025 season in Week 4. Ryan Boe, who saw limited action as last year's backup, returns.
"We're not in a position right now to name a starter," Braun said. "But we won't be going into Week 1 worrying about our quarterback."
Be that as it may, all signs point to Chiles being the guy. "He's a freak athlete — 6-5, long, has a cannon," Wildcats safety Robert Fitzgerald said. "He is very fast. So I'm very excited to see what him and the offense and Chip Kelly can do. I think they're going to be very explosive."
The hope is that Kelly — "arguably the best offensive coordinator in all of college football history," according to Braun — can elevate an offense that has often been the team's Achilles' heel in recent seasons.
Then, who knows?
"I feel like we're always overlooked," Komolafe said. "Our mentality shouldn't be just to get to a bowl game or six wins or this or that. Honestly, we should be a 12-0 team that wants to go to the Big Ten championship and then ultimately play in the College Football Playoff."
That's what his coach likes to hear.
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