Northern Illinois shocked the college football scene after defeating heavily favored Notre Dame 16-14 . The game was instantly classed as one of the season's biggest upsets after the unranked Huskies beat the No. 5 Fighting Irish.
NIU defied all odds as 28-point underdogs and became the first team in Mid-American Conference [MAC] history to defeat an opponent in the top five. Huskies head coach Thomas Hammock, an alumnus of the program who played college football for NIU in the late '90s, was emotional due to his team's resilience as he broke down in tears in his post-game interview.
Before the game, Hammock delivered a passionate speech for his team and told them they didn't need to "play like a superhuman" to win; all they had to do instead was be their best. "They listened to what I said. I told them all week, 'We don't need luck, we just gotta be our best.' They were their best today, and we were able to get it done," he said with tears in his eyes.
Notre Dame's offense struggled under head coach Marcus Freeman, who has glaring losses on his resume since taking over the program two years ago. Freeman now has upsets against Northern Illinois, Stanford, and Marshall, all games where at least two touchdowns favored the Fighting Irish.
"All these guys have been with our program, lived through the ups and downs, and have continued to fight. It's like they're my kids," said Hammock. "They pushed through no matter the situation, I couldn't be more proud." The head coach then apologized for his flood of uncontrollable emotion in front of 70,000 screaming fans.
Notre Dame's offense caused concern online in their season-opening 23-13 win over Texas A&M at Kyle Field. Outside of the hardships of facing an SEC program, The Fighting Irish fought from behind and scored ten unanswered points in the final minutes, including Jeremiyah Love's 21-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes on the clock.
Some fans have blamed quarterback Riley Leonard , who completed 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards against the Huskies. The senior QB had zero touchdowns on the ground or through the air and turned the ball over twice with two interceptions.
The last interception came in the fourth quarter when Notre Dame attempted to move into NIU's half. Leonard completed two short games to Beaux Collins but was intercepted by Amariyun Knighten, who returned it for 33 yards. The return set up the game-winning 35-yard field goal by Kanon Woodill before Cade Haberman blocked Mitch Jeter's 62-yard attempt.
Notre Dame will next face Purdue, who won their season opener against Indiana State in a dominant 49-0 performance. Hammock and the Huskies are now 2-0 tied for first place in the MAC standings with Toledo. They will take on Buffalo, who also faced an uphill battle against No. 9 ranked Missouri.
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