Beyond the Boxscore: Notre Dame Suffers Stunning Last-MInute Loss to Northern Illinois

Despite having never beaten a Top 10 team in 14 previous tries, the Northern Illinois Huskies managed to stun the fifth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 16-14, on Saturday. The Irish entered the game as four-touchdown favorites, yet had constant problems throughout the game in dealing with their MAC opponent.

The Huskies captured the win on a 35-yard field goal by Kanon Woodill with 31 seconds left after eating up more than five minutes of clock on an 11-play drive. Notre Dame made a last-ditch effort to get in field goal range after starting its final drive at its own 37. In five plays, the Irish moved 19 yards, which set up a Mitch Jeter 62-yard three-point try that was blocked to end the shocking upset.

Below are some of the key aspects of the defeat:

Costly Decision

Until Northern Illinois’ game-winner, the Irish had been clinging to their one-point lead since the 8:34 mark of the third quarter. Taking over with 7:49 left, a seven-yard run by Jadarian Price began the push. That was followed by quarterback Riley Leonard connecting on two consecutive passes to Beaux Collins for 17 yards.

On a second-and-one play at the Irish 49, Leonard decided to go for the home run ball and paid a huge price for the call. The toss was picked off at the Northern Illinois 17 and returned 33 yards to midfield. That allowed the Huskies to begin their game-winning drive.

First Half Momentum Twist

Last season, Notre Dame often struggled during the first quarter in multiple games. That rut appeared to be fading when the Irish started the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a Leonard 11-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, more luck arrived for Notre Dame when a fluke bounce ended up pinning Northern Illinois back on its own two-yard line.

The Huskies got some breathing room by picking up a first down. Then, after a five-yard end around, NIU stunned both the Irish and the partisan crowd when quarterback Ethan Hampton threaded a throw that was caught by running back Antario Brown for an 83-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at seven. In their next two series, the Huskies managed to add a pair of field goals, the latter tally coming after a tipped Leonard pass resulted in an interception.

Whiplash into Halftime

Notre Dame had an opportunity to get some points on the board in the final 1:41 of the first half when they got the ball back at their own 39. They managed to pick up one first down but soon found themselves facing a third-and-24 after Leonard was sacked.

After appearing to come up short, Notre Dame caught a break when the Huskies were flagged for a late hit, giving the Irish first down at the NIU 37. After gaining just seven yards on the next three plays, the Irish were poised to cut their six-point deficit in half. Instead, Jeter’s 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the deficit remained at six.

Two Shades of Brown

Saturday’s game, Northern Illinois running back Antario Brown had rushed for 2,592 yards and caught 15 passes in his Huskies career. During the first two quarters against Notre Dame, Brown opened plenty of eyes by delivering 199 yards of total offense. Combining 73 yards on 12 rushing carries with two receptions for a whopping 126 yards, Brown was a problem for the Irish defenders.

After the break, Brown’s production began to dip and he was largely out of the lineup after he appeared to suffer from leg cramps late in the third quarter. In those final two periods, he added 26 yards to his final rushing total. That led all rushers, with Jeremiyah Love finishing with 79 on the afternoon.

Defensive Dip

Even though the Notre Dame defense held Northern Illinois to a single touchdown, the Huskies were still able to rack up plenty of yardage during the game. NIU outgained the Irish 388 to 286, with the Huskies picking up nearly half of that amount on the ground. The fact that a school of Northern Illinois’ caliber was able to accomplish that on the Irish’s home field shows that work still remains to keep Notre Dame in the fight for a playoff berth.

Next Up

For the first time since 2013, Notre Dame travels to Ross-Ade Stadium to face the Purdue Boilermakers next Saturday. The meeting between in-state rivals will be the 88th in the long history of this matchup. Yet, the only time the two teams have played in the past decade was in 2021, when the Irish notched a 27-13 victory in front of a home crowd. The Irish have won the last eight meetings and 10 of the previous 11, with the Boilermakers coming off both an easy 49-0 win over Indiana State to start the season that was followed with a bye week.