In a stunning upset, the Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0) defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-1) by a score of 16-14 in South Bend, adding to Notre Dame's recent history of losing to underdog opponents. Entering the game as 28-point favorites, the Irish were outgained 388 yards to 286, with quarterback Riley Leonard struggling to lead the offense. Leonard completed 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards but threw two costly interceptions. Despite a rushing touchdown, his performance, coupled with a stagnant running game, left Notre Dame unable to seize control.
Northern Illinois, which Notre Dame paid $1.4 million to play in South Bend, managed to hold the Irish to just 14 points in front of their home crowd, evoking painful memories of previous upsets in 2022. That season saw the Irish suffer a 16-14 loss to Stanford and a 26-21 defeat to Marshall, both of which came when Notre Dame was heavily favored. Marcus Freeman was the Notre Dame head coach for all of those upsets.
The loss leaves Notre Dame with no margin for error for the rest of the season if they hope to make a College Football Playoff (CFP) run. With a demanding schedule ahead, including games against ranked opponents like Louisville, Georgia Tech, and USC, as well as traditional rivals such as Navy and Stanford, the road forward is far from easy.
Notre Dame must win out to keep any hope of making the CFP, though even that may not be enough to secure a spot. Based on their early-season form, maintaining an undefeated run against the remaining competition looks like a longshot.