Since I arrived at NIU in August 2021, I’ve seen my fair share of football thrillers.
In the first NIU football game I watched as a student, the Huskies eeked out a Boneyard Victory in a nail-biter with the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Two months later, I stood in the stands of Huskie Stadium and beheld the heroics of John Richardson in real time as NIU defeated Ball State University to claim the Bronze Stalk Trophy.
But nothing comes close to the events that transpired in South Bend.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, NIU shocked the college football world Saturday by knocking the University of Notre Dame off its No. 5 pedestal – and getting $1.4 million to do it.
It was the first top-10 victory in school – and Mid-American Conference – history. It stands as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, upset victory in school history.
And I got to witness it all first-hand from the press box at Notre Dame Stadium.
NO CHEERING IN THE PRESS BOX
In the sports media industry, it’s considered taboo to cheer in the press box. Doing so is almost certain to get you barked at by a sports information director. In some cases, it can get you removed from the press box entirely.
With each big play, my face had to be veiled by a cloak of objectivity. But deep down, my inner dialogue parroted my thoughts.
“Holy s–, we could win this thing.”
By halftime, it was clear the Huskies held the momentum. The vibes were good – and were just about the only thing better than the macaroni and cheese served in the press box.
NERVE-WRACKING ENDING
As a Chicago Bears fan, I’ve experienced the bad ending of a game-winning field goal attempt in the final stages of a big game. (See: the “Double Doink”). So when NIU trotted out senior kicker Kanon Woodill to attempt the 35-yard go-ahead field goal with 36 ticks remaining, I couldn’t help but hold my breath.
Thankfully for NIU (and my cardiac health), Woodill connected to put the Huskies ahead 16-14. But there was still game left to be played.
On the ensuing Notre Dame drive, senior quarterback Riley Leonard hit graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell over the middle for a 19-yard gain, putting the Fighting Irish in NIU territory.
“Oh no, this is where it begins,” I thought. “One more big play and they’ll just walk it off.”
But the latter never came to fruition. Leonard spiked the ball and missed his next pass to force Notre Dame to try the game-winning field goal from 62 yards away. Graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter – who’d already had a kick blocked at the end of the first half – then came out with the game resting on his right foot.
“He’s got to hit it from 62 yards,” I thought. “He’s got the wind at his back. It’s not an impossible kick.”
But I knew better: Jeter would save the day and send NIU home empty-handed. At least, I thought I knew.
BEDLAM IN IRISH COUNTRY
My attention remained focused on the space between the ball and the goal posts, waiting to see if the ball would somehow stray. But it never got that far.
Instead, the ball ricocheted off the left hand of senior defensive tackle Cade Haberman and was scooped up by senior linebacker Jaden Dolphin. Somehow, the Huskies had blocked a second field goal to seal the upset. NIU’s sideline spilled onto the field.
It was chaos – the good kind.
My hands were shaking as I typed my final game update on social platform X before beginning the quest down to field level.
Eddie Carifio, the sports editor for the Daily Chronicle, and I navigated through a sea of Fighting Irish faithful to find the room for NIU’s postgame press conference. There wasn’t hardly enough time to pay attention to the expressions coated on the home crowd.
Even after the presser had ended, I could still hardly believe what I’d seen.
“We really beat Notre Dame?” I thought. “Like, the Notre Dame with one of the most prestigious football programs in the country?”
When I emerged from Notre Dame Stadium, the surrounding area was as dead as the Fighting Irish’s College Football Playoff chances.
On the ride back to DeKalb with Northern Star photojournalist Totus Tuus Keely, it took at least a half hour for me to be able to process the win enough to discuss it in length. There’s still a small part of me in disbelief as I write this.
Now, I’m still 22 years young, and there’s a lot more football games I plan to watch in my lifetime. But that’s not a game that’ll escape my memory anytime soon.
