Why Northwestern football earned respect from No. 4 Oregon in their failed upset bid

David Braun wasn't too happy with Saturday's result. No coach would be. Moral victories don't exist in football, let alone for Northwestern football.

The only result that mattered was the final score: No. 4 Oregon 34, Northwestern 14. It wasn't complete dominion by the Ducks, but the game wasn't in question at all. Even with Oregon up 17-0 at halftime.

"We got our butts kicked by a really good football team," Braun said. "Oregon is a really good football team."

The bad news is that Northwestern's offense struggled on Saturday. Quarterback Preston Stone threw for 135 yards and was intercepted twice. It was decidedly over when Centralia, Illinois, native Dierre Hill Jr. darted 66 yards for a touchdown.

But, compare this to last week. Oregon scored 69 points on Oklahoma State, and racked