It was 14-13 in favor of Notre Dame. Northern Illinois lined up at the Irish’s 20-yard line on third-and-2 with 43 seconds to play. NIU quarterback Ethan Hampton handed it off to running back Gavin Williams, who supposedly bulldozed his way past the chains.
Williams looked to clear the first down by nearly a full yard. NIU looked to be in prime position to pull off its first top-10 upset in program history. (The school was 0-14 against top-10 opponents before Saturday.) But the side judge marked Williams’ run short, giving NIU a fourth-and-2 with 36 seconds left on the Notre Dame 19. After video review, the call stood.
The clock was running on the failed third-down conversion play. The refs then stopped the clock to measure and re-spot the ball. The clock should’ve restarted on the referee’s ready-for-play signal, but it didn’t, ultimately saving Notre Dame its last timeout it otherwise would’ve had to burn during its potential game-winning drive.
So NIU was totally screwed by refs not running the clock after the third down spot on offense right?
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 7, 2024
“It makes having 31 seconds to go markedly different,” NBC broadcaster Jason Garrett said.
GO DEEPER
Notre Dame suffers stunning upset to NIU: How did everything go so wrong for Irish?
In the end, it wouldn’t matter much. NIU kicker Kanon Woodill hit the game-winning field goal before NIU defensive tackle Cade Haberman blocked Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter’s 62-yard game-winning attempt with five seconds left on the ensuing drive. NIU upset Notre Dame 16-14 to earn its highest-ranked opponent beaten in program history.
A MONUMENTAL WIN FOR THE HUSKIES
NIU beats No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 marking the highest-ranked opponent beaten in program history #GoHuskies | #TheHardWay pic.twitter.com/bn7ztKFiMl
— NIU Huskie Athletics (@NIUAthletics) September 7, 2024
The Huskies put themselves on the map, and tarnished the Irish’s championship-contending reputation.
“I’m so proud of our kids, the coaches, just everybody,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock said postgame. “They believed. They believed. And we came here and got it done.”
“We don’t need luck, we just got to be our best. We was able to get it done.”
Required reading
(Photo: Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)