Notre Dame paid a ridiculous amount of money to lose to Northern Illinois in South Bend

Notre Dame got hit with a double whammy on Saturday. Losing to Northern Illinois at home was already bad enough, but what’s arguably worse is the fact that they paid the Huskies to do it.

Notre Dame handed over $1.4 million to Northern Illinois to roll into South Bend for what was supposed to be an easy win against a MAC team. It’s common that the NCAA schedules “buy games,” where the big schools basically pay smaller programs to show up and take an expected loss.

That typically leads to one school being embarrassed during Week 1 or Week 2 of College Football and this year, it warmed my heart to see Notre Dame fall on the sword.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have 1.4 million reasons to be embarrassed.

NIU collects $1.4 Million from Notre Dame & lands their 1st Top 10 Win in Program History….

Not too bad

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) September 7, 2024

Notre Dame (1-1) had a chance to put Northern Illinois (2-0) away in the fourth quarter, clinging to a slim 14-13 lead. After getting the ball back with 7:49 to go, the Irish started marching from their own 25, inching toward putting the game on ice.

But things went sideways when Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard went for it all on a deep shot to Kris Mitchell. Northern Illinois’ Amariyun Knighten had other plans, snatching the interception and returning it 33 yards to midfield with 5:55 left on the clock.

From there, the Huskies played it smart.

They worked the clock and methodically drove down to the Notre Dame 19-yard line. The turning point? A gutsy fourth-and-two conversion, with quarterback Ethan Hampton barreling ahead for a three-yard run to the Notre Dame 28. That play kept the drive alive and set up Kanon Woodill’s game-winning 35-yard field goal—his third of the day.

Woodill drilling a 35-yard field goal with just 31 seconds left. Notre Dame had one last gasp, but Cade Haberman swatted away a 62-yard field goal attempt as time expired, sealing the Huskies’ stunning 16-14 victory over the No. 5 team in the country.

Notre Dame misses 62-yard field goal attempt with time expiring

NIU's local radio call of the win over Notre Dame is electric. pic.twitter.com/qJGHzzWlsD

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) September 8, 2024

Hampton, who went 10-of-19 for 198 yards and a touchdown, made the key plays when it mattered most, and Woodill did the rest, sending the Huskies home with a victory for the ages.

This wasn’t just a fluke win either. It marked Northern Illinois’ first non conference victory over a ranked opponent since they took down No. 21 Alabama back in 2003. It was their first-ever win over a top 10 team.

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