Notre Dame football didn't just cost themselves a playoff berth with their embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois

Notre Dame football suffered a disheartening loss on Saturday night, losing 16-14 to Northern Illinois in their home stadium. Losing on your home field is bad enough, but losing to an inferior opponent, that’s just plain horrible. Not only did you just nearly shatter your chances at making the 12-team playoff this season, you paid the Huskies a ridiculous amount to embarrass you.

That amount is estimated at $1.4 million that Northern Illinois earned just for playing the Irish. Not only did they get that money, and the experience of playing a proud tradition like Notre Dame football, but they also left with their biggest upset in school history. That was their first win over a top-10 team for the program.

Losing is bad enough. Paying a team a lot of money to embarrass you is even worse. Hats off to the Northern Illinois program. They truly earned this victory. They were by far the best team at Notre Dame Stadium today.

For the Irish, panic mode is now going to ensue. Yes, technically the season isn’t over, but there is a bigger issue than just one football game. The offense is a mess, and there is a larger problem than just personnel. There is something foundational as a program that needs to change, a philosophical belief.

Notre Dame could be in some trouble here. They need to find a fix quickly, both for the short and long term future of the program.