It was 14-13 in favor of Notre Dame. Northern Illinois lined up on the Irish’s 20-yard line on third-and-2 with 43 seconds to play. NIU quarterback Ethan Hampton handed it off to operating again Gavin Williams, who supposedly bulldozed his well past the chains.
Williams seemed to clear the primary down by practically a full yard. NIU appeared to be in prime place to drag off its first top-10 upset in program historical past. (The varsity was 0-14 towards top-10 opponents earlier than Saturday.) However the aspect decide marked Williams’ run quick, giving NIU a fourth-and-2 with 36 seconds left on the Notre Dame 19. After video overview, the decision stood.
The clock was operating on the failed third-down conversion play. The refs then stopped the clock to measure and re-spot the ball. The clock ought to’ve restarted on the referee’s ready-for-play sign, but it surely didn’t, in the end saving Notre Dame its final timeout it in any other case would’ve needed to burn throughout its potential game-winning drive.
So NIU was completely screwed by refs not operating the clock after the third down spot on offense proper?
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 7, 2024
“It makes having 31 seconds to go markedly totally different,” NBC broadcaster Jason Garrett stated.
GO DEEPER
Notre Dame suffers beautiful upset to NIU: How did the whole lot go so unsuitable for Irish?
Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter a lot. NIU kicker Kanon Woodill hit the game-winning discipline aim earlier than NIU defensive sort out Cade Haberman blocked Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter’s 62-yard game-winning try with 5 seconds left on the following drive. NIU upset Notre Dame 16-14 to earn its highest-ranked opponent crushed in program historical past.
A MONUMENTAL WIN FOR THE HUSKIES
NIU beats No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 marking the highest-ranked opponent crushed in program historical past #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 status.
“I’m so happy with our youngsters, the coaches, simply everyone,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock stated postgame. “They believed. They believed. And we got here right here and obtained it executed.”
“We don’t want luck, we simply obtained to be our greatest. We was capable of get it executed.”
Required studying
(Photograph: Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photos)
