Northwestern wins home opener before smaller Ryan Field crowd to give David Braun his 1st win: ‘The people that were here were heard’

Silver bleachers appeared to “outnumber” purple jerseys at Northwestern’s opener against UTEP on Saturday at Ryan Field.

Attendance was announced at just 14,851, not that it seemed that sparse to interim coach David Braun.

It was the first home game since a hazing scandal rocked the Wildcats community.

“Support from our alumni, our supporters, from the greater community — that’s what we’re paying attention to,” Braun said. “And we feel it, whether it be letters, whether it be people out at practice. The people that were here today were heard.”

He heard that and the cheers from his players after Northwestern snapped a 12-game losing streak to give Braun his first win with a 38-7 rout.

Braun took over after Northwestern fired Pat Fitzgerald in July amid a hazing and abuse scandal.

“I don’t know if we needed (the win),” Braun said. “What we need is just continued support and (we) need one another. And that’s what we’ve leaned on. But my gosh, does it feel good to see those guys have big smiles on their face and celebrate like they are.”

Defensive lineman Anto Saka, who had the Wildcats’ first sack of the season, gave Braun his laurels.

“He’s handled things with great class,” Saka said. “And one thing that I love about him even the first day he walked in here as a defensive coordinator, he is a player’s coach, he will make sure that you’re right, even before we start talking about ball.

“We’ll talk about life at home, what’s going on and making sure your mental (approach) is right. And that’s what makes him such a great coach.”

Fitzgerald was fired July 7 after the football program became embroiled in hazing allegations, a scandal that crested into an avalanche as multiple lawsuits were filed and Northwestern President Michael Schill hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an inquiry.

At least one fan hasn’t wavered in his support.

Boston retiree and Wildcats alumnus David Lark showed up early and brought wife Michelle as a belated birthday present to himself after turning 70 last week.

“I planned the trip before the firing (of head coach Pat Fitzgerald),” Lark said. “I had plenty of time to cancel it. There was no need to. … I want to be part of a group that supports them trying to get over this hump.

“It’s kind of unfair the way it came down: a suspension for two weeks and then two days later a firing without any real proven evidence. It’s a lot of innuendo from people.

”So I’m a little upset that Fitzgerald didn’t get his day in court, so to speak.”

Former Bears quarterback Henry Burris also brought his family to the game.

“Of course, everything that happened in the offseason with Northwestern is unfortunate, but hey, the kids, they stayed together, they bonded as one,” said Burris, who recently attended the L.A. Rams’ training camp under the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. “Sometimes when those things happen, that builds the chemistry within, so we’re going to see how they respond, especially when it comes to them having their first home game in front of their home faithful.

”And it’s all about coming out and responding to the critics now, because you know, the critics are out there, they’re saying that this season is over before it started. When you go through such an emotional toll of dealing with what they dealt with during the offseason, and all the changes that occurred, a lot of times it’s hard for teams to bond together and maintain that focus.”

Attendance at Ryan Field drew about 9,700 fewer than last year’s opener of 24,622. Braun said he focused more on the passion players showed on the sideline, “how contagious it was.”

“But it started with that Wildcat walk,” he said. “We got off that bus, the band, parents, supporters, cheer our guys on as they’re going in the locker room we we invite, this entire community be a part of that.”

A cloud might hang over the university — their season started with a 24-7 loss at Rutgers, their 18th in 19 games — but for one afternoon they celebrated.

UTEP QB Gavin Hardison connected on a 4-yard pass to Zach Fryar on the game’s opening drive, but the Wildcats responded with Jack Lausch’s 6-yard keeper. Offenses struggled through the rest of the half, which ended at 7-7.

In the second half, Northwestern established the ground game and scored on four straight possessions. Quarterback Ben Bryant connected with Thomas Gordon on an 18-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play drive.

With the Miners facing second-and-22 deep in their territory, linebacker Xander Mueller intercepted Hardison and returned it to the 3. Bryant punched it in from the 1.

“His eyes were on him so I was pushing through that ball and then I just jumped it,” Mueller said. “Probably should have played a little more offense growing up, played a lot of linebacker, so I couldn’t find the end zone but that’s the goal next time.”

On Northwestern’s next possession, Joseph Himon II caught a Ryan Hilinski pass and scampered 85 yards to make it 28-7 with 2:51 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth, A.J. Henning ran it in from the 4 to cap off an eight-play drive that featured four Cam Porter rushes for 31 yards. Porter ran for a game-high 90 yards, and Bryant completed 11 of 17 passes for 116 yards.

“Coach came in at halftime and said that we were going to get back to pounding the rock,” Porter said. “The offensive line did their job and … I was able to find some creases and just keep the ball rolling. Yes, some little adjustments, but we were just running our same schemes.”

“Those 5-, 6-yard runs, they’ll start to wear on defenses.”

The scrutiny the football program has been under since July has worn on the players, so it’s natural to wonder whether Saturday was cathartic. Porter said players have been dealing with the scrutiny for what feels like “a long time.”

“A lot of ups and downs throughout the offseason, man, but we stuck together,” he said. “And we’ve just found a way to find a way to win.”

Added Mueller: “We’ve been grinding for this moment for a while. And now it feels good to be here.”

Mueller said that throughout the months of public criticism, “the huge emphasis for us was just brotherhood. We know who we are, we know our character.”

Added Saka: “It started to quiet down once we started to really come together as a team.”

Still, the football team — and NU athletics — are facing a process of reforms. Braun said he’s charged with being a steward for the program.

“Regardless of how this plays out in the long term, my wife and I, this group, is going to hopefully look back and say, ‘You know, we’re proud of the way that we did that.’ ... We navigated it through a really difficult time and set it up to have success moving forward.”