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USATSI

No. 5 Notre Dame was stunned 16-14 by Northern Illinois on Saturday in what stands as the biggest upset of the 2024 season so far. The Huskies are the first MAC team to ever beat an AP top-five opponent, snapping a streak of 51 straight losses by the conference. 

Notre Dame had a chance to ice the game in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Riley Leonard threw an interception to Amariyun Knighten, who gave the Huskies the ball at midfield. NIU then went on a drive lasting more than five minutes, which ended with a controversial spot. However, the Huskies nailed a 35-yard go-ahead field goal in the final minute. 

Notre Dame attempted a 62-yard field goal as time expired to tie, but the Huskies blocked the kick, giving Northern Illinois perhaps the biggest regular-season win in program history. 

The Huskies gave up a lengthy touchdown drive to start the game, but Thomas Hammock's squad was up for the challenge. Quarterback Ethan Hampton connected with running back Antario Brown for an 83-yard touchdown to punch back. Hampton threw for 198 yards, while Brown had 99 yards on the ground and 126 yards through the air. 

However, Northern Illinois kicker Kanon Woodill was the X-factor. Woodill hit all three of his field goal attempts to score more than half of NIU's points in the historic victory. Leonard threw two interceptions in his second start with the Irish. Notre Dame also got 79 yards and a score from Jeremiyah Love but went just 3 of 10 on third downs to kill drives. 

While Notre Dame has generally fared well against ranked teams under coach Marcus Freeman, the Fighting Irish have struggled against unranked opponents. This is Notre Dame's fourth loss against an unranked opponent since 2022. Over that same period, the Fighting Irish went 8-4 against quality ranked opponents.