SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play and Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard attempt as time expired, giving Northern Illinois a stunning 16-14 victory against No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday.
Haberman blocked the 62-yard attempt by Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter, allowing the jubilant Huskies to claim their first nonconference victory against a ranked opponent since a 19-16 upset of No. 21 Alabama in 2003. They had never beaten at top-10 opponent.
Notre Dame (1-1), on the heels of an impressive road win over Texas A&M, looked like it was in position to get some separation from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to the Northern Illinois 49.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard launched a pass deep up the middle intended for Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten made the interception and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 to play.
Knighten’s interception set up the winning field goal from Woodill, his third of the day.
Notre Dame struck first as quarterback Riley Leonard sidestepped the Huskies defense for an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter.
It took only five plays for Northern Illinois to answer. Antario Brown broke loose between two Notre Dame defensive backs for an 83-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Ethan Hampton.
A pair of Woodill field goals (42 and 21 yards) gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had the chance to make it 13-10 before half, but Haberman blocked Jeter’s 48-yard attempt.
Woodill missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt on the first possession of the second half, and Notre Dame took advantage.
Jeremiyah Love broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run, hurdling a Northern Illinois defender on the way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter.
The takeaway
Notre Dame has plenty of work to do on the offensive side as a young line struggled to establish command of the line.
A veteran Northern Illinois team has now firmly established itself as a contender in the Mid-American Conference.
Up next
Notre Dame: Travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue on Saturday.
Northern Illinois: Gets a week off and then hosts Buffalo on Sept. 21.