Branich was the quarterback of JMU's first football team (1972) and its only unbeaten team (9-0-1, in 1975). He was a four-year starter, one of but two members of JMU's first team to play for four years, and a team captain (1974, 1975). He was a first-team all-state choice in 1974 when he threw for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns and was honorable mention all-state in 1975. The 1,133 passing yards still rank sixth on JMU's season passing yards list, and his 1,468 yards of total offense in 1974 are JMU's sixth-best season total offense mark. He is seventh on JMU's career passing yards list (1,819) and eighth on team's career total offense list (2,528). He was a graduate assistant football coach at JMU in 1976 and 1977.