NOTRE DAME, Ind. – On the eve of NIU football’s first-ever matchup with the University of Notre Dame on a national stage, head coach Thomas Hammock had a dream.
“This game’s going to come down to a field goal,” Hammock said he told his coaches.
By the time the clock hit all zeroes in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Hammock’s dream had become reality.
The Huskies defied the odds to defeat the fifth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14, giving the Huskies their first win over a top-five ranked team in school history.
With 34 seconds left to play, NIU senior kicker Kanon Woodill connected on his 35-yard field goal attempt to put the Huskies up 16-14. Notre Dame marched 19 yards down the field on the ensuing drive to set up the potential game-winning 62-yard field goal by graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter.
After denying Jeter’s field goal attempt at the end of the first half, senior defensive tackle Cade Haberman rejected the placekicker once more to seal the first win over a top-5 foe in Mid-American Conference history.
After the game, Hammock said the Huskies didn’t need any luck to beat Notre Dame in Irish country.
“We just needed to play our best,” Hammock said. “It wasn’t the cleanest for us, but we played hard for four quarters.”
The Huskies’ efforts were led by senior running back Antario Brown’s historic day – as a receiver. Brown finished with 126 receiving yards to become the first NIU running back to record 100-plus receiving yards in a game since Garrett Wolfe in 2006.
Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Hampton was 10-of-19 passing for 198 yards and a touchdown. Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard completed 20-of-32 passes for 163 yards while throwing two interceptions.
The Fighting Irish got on the board first with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by Leonard’s 11-yard rushing score.
Hampton delivered his lone touchdown on NIU’s first offensive drive of the game after being backed up to NIU’s own 2-yard line.
Five plays into the drive, Hampton resisted incoming pressure and dotted Brown on a quick slant route.
“When I ran the route, I got hit, and Ethan still threw it because he got hit too,” Brown said. “I caught it, and I was just like, ‘oh my gosh, this is really happening right now.’”
Brown took Hampton’s pass 83 yards to the end zone for his first touchdown of the season and the longest reception of his career.
The NIU defense followed up the score by forcing a three-and-out against the Irish. Brown took off for 28 yards on his first carry of NIU’s next offensive drive to set up Woodill’s first field goal of the game – a 42-yarder.
With 51 seconds left in the first quarter, the Huskies recorded their first turnover of the game. Senior safety Nate Valcarcel tipped Leonard’s pass, which landed into the waiting hands of senior linebacker Christian Fuhrman. Woodill later tacked on a 21-yard field goal to extend the Huskies to a 13-7 lead.
The Fighting Irish responded at the end of the first half with a 31-yard drive to set up a 48-yard field goal attempt that would have trimmed NIU’s lead to three. Haberman recorded the block to become the first Huskie to block a field goal since his teammate senior defensive tackle Devonte O’Malley did so against Georgia Tech in 2021.
NIU received the ball to open the second half and drove 39 yards to the opposing 36-yard line. Woodill went wide left on a 53-yard attempt in his only miss of the day.
Notre Dame jumped back in front in the third quarter with sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love’s 34-yard rushing touchdown. Love burst through the middle gap and leaped over Valcarcel en route to the end zone.
A FINALE FOR THE AGES
After both teams exchanged punts to open the fourth quarter, NIU snagged its second takeaway of the game. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Amariyun Knighten picked off Leonard and returned it 33 yards to midfield.
NIU gained two first downs and 31 yards to put Woodill in position for the go-ahead kick from 35 yards away. With the sold-out crowd watching, he converted his third attempt of the day.
“It didn’t feel much different than a normal kick,” Woodill said. “If anything, it felt great coming off the foot, technique-wise. I smashed that ball. It was a good ball.”
With a 19-yard completion to graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell to position Notre Dame at NIU’s 44-yard line. Leonard spiked the ball and missed his next pass to force the Fighting Irish to try the field goal from 62 yards.
From there, Haberman took care of the rest.
For Haberman, who grew up a fan of the University of Southern California Trojans – Notre Dame’s archrival – it’s “a dream come true.”
While the magnitude of NIU’s historic upset is still setting in for the Huskies, it’s a win they won’t forget anytime soon.
“It’s a real experience,” Hampton said. “It’s something I’ll remember forever.”
