Northern Illinois upsets No. 5 Notre Dame for its biggest win

Field Level Media|published: Sat 7th September, 19:22 2024

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) leaps through the air on his way to score a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

Kanon Woodill drilled a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining, and Northern Illinois blocked a field goal as time expired to stun No. 5 Notre Dame with a 16-14 victory on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Antario Brown finished with 225 yards (99 rushing, 126 receiving) and a touchdown for Northern Illinois (2-0), which was a 28.5-point underdog. Huskies players poured off the sidelines and onto the field as time expired to celebrate the biggest upset in school history.

Riley Leonard completed 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions, including a costly pick in the fourth quarter, for Notre Dame. Jeremiyah Love rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown for the Fighting Irish (1-1).

Before Saturday, Northern Illinois never had defeated a top-10 opponent. The highest-ranked team the Huskies previously beat was No. 15 Maryland in 2003.

After Woodill's kick made it 16-14 in favor of Northern Illinois, the Fighting Irish got the ball back at their 37-yard line with 24 seconds left and one timeout. The drive sputtered across midfield, and coach Marcus Freeman opted for a 62-yard field goal attempt by kicker Mitch Jeter with five seconds left.

Cade Haberman of the Huskies blocked Jeter's kick to seal the outcome.

The Fighting Irish trailed by six points at halftime before they regained a 14-13 lead with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter. Love hurdled a Northern Illinois defender and sprinted for a 34-yard rushing touchdown.

Notre Dame opened the scoring on an 11-yard rushing touchdown by Leonard with 8:28 to go in the first quarter. It marked the first rushing touchdown as a member of the Fighting Irish for Leonard, who rushed for 19 touchdowns during the previous three seasons at Duke.

Northern Illinois evened the score at 7-7 with 5:35 left in the first quarter. Brown caught a short pass from Ethan Hampton across the middle and sprinted across midfield and toward the end zone for an 83-yard touchdown.

Woodill made a 42-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 10-7 lead with 2:13 remaining in the first quarter.

Woodill connected again, this time from 21 yards, to increase Northern Illinois' lead to 13-7 with 13:39 to go before the half.

--Field Level Media