Northern Illinois stuns No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 with field goal in final minute

Just a week after getting a huge win over Texas A&M on the road, No. 5 Notre Dame was on the wrong end of the biggest shocker in the first two weeks of the 2024 college football season.

Northern Illinois took down Notre Dame in South Bend, defeating the Fighting Irish 16-14. It’s one of the largest upset victories in recent college football memory, with Notre Dame entering Saturday as 28.5-point favorites.

After Northern Illinois took a six-point lead into halftime, Notre Dame battled back to regain a 14-13 edge in the middle of the third quarter. Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love hurdled a defender on his way to a 34-yard touchdown run. But the Huskies wouldn’t go away.

With 6:07 remaining in the game, Northern Illinois picked off Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard for the second time of the day. Leonard launched a pass deep up the middle intended for Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten made the interception and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 to play. The Huskies then grabbed a 16-14 lead on an 11-play, 31-yard drive as kicker Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left.

Notre Dame was able to move the ball into Northern Illinois territory on the following drive. However, Cade Haberman blocked Mitch Jeter‘s 62-yard field goal attempt as time expired, securing the win for Northern Illinois.

Prior to Saturday, the Huskies were 0-14 all-time against opponents ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll. The win was the Huskies’ first nonconference victory against a ranked opponent since a 19-16 upset of No. 21 Alabama in 2003.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock was emotional after the dramatic victory.

“We didn’t need luck,” Hammock said. “That was our theme. I didn’t think we needed luck. We just need to play our best. It wasn’t the cleanest for us, but we played hard for four quarters and stayed together. They worked together, they believed, and they made enough plays to win a game.

“This is a program-changing type win, no different than when we beat Alabama a while ago.’

For Notre Dame, it was one of the biggest upsets in the storied history of its program and its first loss as a top-five team against an unranked opponent since 2002. It also marks the second time Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has lost as a 20-point or larger favorite, falling to Marshall as a 20.5-point favorite in 2022.

Freeman said the loss was disappointing, especially on the heels of an impressive road win over then-No. 20 Texas A&M.

“You know, it’s our job as coaches to make sure these guys are ready to go. You go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a tale of two weeks, but we’ve got to own this thing,” Freeman said. ‘As coaches and players, we’ve got to own it, and we’ve got to fix it.”

Notre Dame (1-1) looked like it was in position to get some separation from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to the Northern Illinois 49.

Notre Dame struggled offensively throughout the game Saturday. Leonard completed 20 of 32 passes for just 163 yards to go with his two interceptions.

The Irish struck first as Leonard side-stepped the Huskies defense for an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter. It only took five plays for Northern Illinois to answer as Antario Brown broke loose between two Notre Dame defensive backs for an 83-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Ethan Hampton.

A pair of Woodill field goals (42 and 21 yards) gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had the chance to make it 13-10 before half, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard try from Jeter.

Notre Dame has plenty of work to do on the offensive side as a young Fighting Irish offensive line struggled to establish command of the line.

A veteran Northern Illinois squad has now firmly established itself as a contender in the Mid-American Conference.

In previous seasons, Notre Dame’s loss would’ve likely sunk its playoff chances. It’s still unclear how Saturday’s result will impact the Fighting Irish’s playoff hopes this year with the expanded format, though. Entering the week, Notre Dame were favorites to make the inaugural 12-team playoff.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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