A week after No. 5 Notre Dame was praised for its toughness and big plays in a huge, season-opening win, the Irish folded again at home under coach Marcus Freeman -- and likely disintegrated what seemed a week ago like a sure-fire path to the College Football Playoff.
Northern Illinois 16, Notre Dame 14.
It was not just a hiccup Saturday, it was the result of an underlying disease decaying the bones of the proud Fighting Irish program. Freeman's bunch just can't seem to avoid big bangs and thuds in South Bend. Seemingly able to compete against the nation's best any week but more than willing to slog in the mud the next week against a MAC team, the rash spreads across the program.
Upsets happen, but not like this. Not with a MAC team marching into Notre Dame Stadium, dominating both lines of scrimmage, blocking two field goals and coming up with big third-down conversions again and again. Freeman lost his third game as a two-touchdown favorite at home, the most by a coach in the sport since 2022. It wasn't just bad, it was historic. The Irish entered as 28-point favorites, marking the program's largest upset to any team since 1995.
Give Thomas Hammock and his Huskies their roses and clover leaves. They didn't need luck, as he said after the game, to beat the Irish. They also didn't need blue-chip transfers or a media-grabbing win against Texas A&M in Week 1 to bolster their confidence.
"We've got a veteran team, a bunch of guys who have been through a lot of different things," a teary eyed Hammock said after the game. "They worked together. We are still college football. I know there's a whole lot of other things with the transfer portal, NIL; we still have a family and they believed in that family and doing things the right way. I couldn't be more proud of them."
Northern Illinois didn't just upset Notre Dame, the Huskies were the better team. They pushed the Irish around in the trenches and were so much more physical in the defensive backfield, particularly when their corners played press coverage against the Irish's new crop of transfer receivers. Notre Dame's skill players weren't helped by an erratic Riley Leonard, the quarterback who seemingly lifted the team on his shoulders a week ago in a gritty win at Texas A&M. When things got bad, he just made things worse with his arm.
No throw was worse than his second interception late in the game, when he got the look he wanted with a man running free underneath the free safety. He opted instead to force the ball further down the field, over open receiver Kris Mitchell and into coverage. The costly interception was returned by Amariyun Knighten 33 yards midfield with 6:31 remaining.
Northern Illinois' bullish offensive line, one of the most experienced in the sport, took over from there, pushing the Irish to the second level as they marched down the field to set up Kanon Woodill's game-winning 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining. Notre Dame got one last shot with a 62-yard field goal, but Cade Haberman blocked it to end the game and send the Huskies into a tizzy of celebration. It was a perfectly symmetrical end to the afternoon: both the first and second halves ended with blocked field goals.
"All these guys who have been with our program, been through the ups and downs and continued to fight, it's like they're my kids," Hammock said, battling tears on the field as he spoke to NBC's camera. "I'm happy for the adversity, to push through no matter the situation. I just can't be more proud."
He paused, collecting himself as he wiped away tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Hammock, who also played running back at Northern Illinois long ago, had no reason to apologize. He built this team and kept them together, avoiding the perils of the transfer portal over the last two seasons. The 32 seniors on his roster are the sixth-most in the FBS. Eleven players of his players have played in 40-plus games for NIU.
Freeman, however, has plenty to apologize for at Notre Dame. No coach should repeat the same mistakes in their third year leading a program as proud and talented as the Fighting Irish.
"Disappointing," Freeman told reporters after the loss. "It's our job as coaches to make sure these guys are ready to go. I've always said performance is a reflection of preparation."
The defense was fine, which is Freeman's specialty, but Notre Dame was a mess offensively throughout the day. Mike Denbrock, who coached QB Jayden Daniels to a Heisman Trophy last season for a record-breaking LSU offense, couldn't dial up plays to keep the Irish in rhythm. The worst stretch came in crunch time. After grabbing a 14-13 lead, the Irish's final four drives ended like this:
- Three-and-out
- Three-and-out
- Interception
- Blocked field goal
Notre Dame amassed only 286 yards and were outgained by more than 100 yards at home for only the fourth time in the last 15 years. Northern Illinois running back Antario Brown was a monster, gobbling up 225 all-purpose yards to go along with a touchdown.
Leonard, as mentioned, was a mess, completing 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards with two interceptions. He was bottled up most of the afternoon as NIU limited his most dangerous weapon: his legs. Make no mistake, defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto's blueprint will be studied by every opponent on Notre Dame's schedule, and more talented teams will have a field day with the Irish's offensive line.
For its troubles, Northern Illinois picked up the biggest win in MAC history and a fat $1.4 million check for traveling only 160 miles to South Bend. The Huskies will laugh all the way to the bank after the MAC entered the afternoon 0-51 against top-five teams. Most of the nation laughed alongside them, too, as they picked up one of the program's prized "boneyard" victories -- their 19th against a power-conference team.
Meanwhile, another smudge appeared on Freeman's résumé. He lost his third game when favored by 16 points or more in the last two-plus seasons as coach. Two years ago, he lost two, including a stunner to Marshall as a 20.5-point favorite. Notre Dame was 42-0 against unranked teams from 2017 through 2021, when Brian Kelly led the program.
Too often, coaches are convinced they can correct mistakes by coaxing blue-chip recruits and transfers to fill holes. Sometimes it works. When that's not enough, they'll add the hottest play-caller in the sport. Sometimes that works, too.
But when a program continues to lose games as massive favorites, there's only one man left to blame.
