No. 5 Notre Dame tries to avoid a hangover in home opener against Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois (1-0) at No. 5 Notre Dame (1-0), Saturday at 3:30 p.m ET (NBC)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 28

Series record: First meeting.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Now that Notre Dame has a big road win and a much more manageable schedule, it cannot afford a hangover. And third-year coach Marcus Freeman almost certainly will remind his players — if they need it — about what happened against Marshall in 2022. For Northern Illinois, it could be the biggest game in school history — and a victory would be the most significant in school history.

KEY MATCHUP

Young Notre Dame offensive line vs. Huskies pass rush. Northern Illinois defensive end Roy Williams made a statement last week by sacking Western Illinois quarterback Nathan Lamb on the first play of the game. He finished with a career-high six tackles. The Fighting Irish line is still growing into the job with a freshman left tackle, Anthonie Knapp, and a sophomore left guard, Sam Pendleton.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Northern Illinois: WR Trayvon Rudolph caught four passes for 104 yards in last week’s season-opening win and QB Ethan Hampton went 18 of 20 for 328 yards and five TDs. It’s a potentially dangerous combination.

Notre Dame: DBs Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison. The play-making All-Americans both have shut-down ability and NFL aspirations. To earn the first-round status they crave, both need to have good seasons and show no regression.

FACTS & FIGURES

Notre Dame is 10-0 all-time vs. Mid-American Conference foes. … Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison, who caught two passes for 12 yards against Texas A&M, will sit out this week with an ankle injury. … The Huskies’ last win against a non-MAC ranked opponent came in 2003, 19-16 over then No. 21 Alabama. ... Notre Dame is one of five power programs to win eight or more game each of the last four seasons. The others are Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and North Carolina State.… Northern Illinois’ starting offensive line includes two sixth-year players and two fifth-year players. The group of five have appeared in a total of 177 games with 119 combined starts. … The Huskies have held 10 of their last 14 opponents to 24 or fewer points.

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