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The 2024 Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame game was a regular season college football game between the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, played at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on September 7, 2024. Going into the game, Northern Illinois and Notre Dame both held 1–0 records, with the Huskies defeating Western Illinois at home and the Fighting Irish defeating No. 20 Texas A&M on the road. Ranked No. 5 in the AP poll, Notre Dame was widely expected to win the game, with the spread favoring Notre Dame by 28.5.[1] Northern Illinois ultimately achieved an upset victory, however, defeating the Fighting Irish 16–14 after scoring a game-winning field goal with 31 seconds left.[2]
| Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Non-conference game | |||||||||||||||||||
 Notre Dame Stadium in 2021, the venue of the game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | September 7, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Notre Dame Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | South Bend, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Notre Dame by 28.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 77,622 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dan Hicks and Jason Garrett | ||||||||||||||||||
While only occurring in the second week of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the upset was significant because it marked the first time Northern Illinois had defeated a team ranked in the AP poll's top 10.[3] The Huskies were rewarded for their victory by being granted No. 25 in the subsequent AP poll, marking the first time Northern Illinois had been ranked since the 2013 season.[4] The victory also siginifcantly improved the reputation of the Huskies' head coach Thomas Hammock among Northern Illinois fans.[5] The rest of the 2024 season was marked by several other incredible upsets, such as unranked Vanderbilt defeated No. 1 Alabama 40–35 and winless Kennesaw State defeating undefeated Liberty.
Upon the game's completition, the upset was called "historic" by several outlets and commentators.[6][7] Sports Illustrated called it "unquestionably the biggest win in program history."[8] The game's commentators on NBC called it the "biggest upset" in the history of Northern Illinois University.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Northern Illinois 16-14 Notre Dame (Sep 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Huskies Stun Fifth-Ranked Notre Dame in South Bend". NIU Athletics. 2024-09-07. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Northern Illinois stuns No. 5 Notre Dame for first-ever win over a top-10 team". Yahoo Sports. 2024-09-08. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "How Northern Illinois pulled off an incredible upset and added Notre Dame to its 'Boneyard'". ESPN.com. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Forde-Yard Dash: Northern Illinois's Upset of Notre Dame Rallied the Base for Coach Thomas Hammock". SI. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ Williams, James H. "Notre Dame upset by NIU: Instant reactions to historic Northern Illinois win". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Northern Illinois Makes All Kinds of History in Stunning Upset of No. 5 Notre Dame". SI. 2024-09-07. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Notre Dame STUNNED at home by Northern Illinois". Notre Dame Fighting Irish On SI. 2024-09-07. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ Morse, Ben (2024-09-08). "Northern Illinois shocks No. 5 Notre Dame in 'biggest upset' in school's history". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
