On Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hosted the Northern Illinois Huskies for a Week 2 matchup. Realistically, it should have been a very easy and calm game for Notre Dame after upsetting Texas A&M last week.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the Huskies took down Notre Dame by blocking a field goal up 16-14 at the line of scrimmage with time expiring. The burn of the loss for Notre Dame is only worsened when reports of how much they paid the Huskies to come to play them.
According to Front Office Sports, Northern Illinois received $1.4 million to travel to Indiana and win.
Notre Dame paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to play in South Bend today.
The Huskies just beat the #5 Fighting Irish 16-14—the biggest upset in NIU HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/wDd5IqiDFZ
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 7, 2024
The Huskies’ win was historic, as they beat a top-10-ranked school for the first time ever.
On the other hand, this might have completely unrailed the Fighting Irish’s season. Going into the season, there were serious aspirations for this team to be a top seed in the College Football Playoffs.
For that to happen, though, even a two-loss season could have ruined that all. Losing these games that shouldn’t be competitive can knock you right out of it.
As of now, they still have to face- off against Louisville, Georgia Tech, and USC, who are all currently ranked in the top 25. A perfect rest of the season is now a must for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Quarterback Riley Lenoard Did Not Impress In Week 2
Against Northern Illinois, the Fighting Irish’s starting quarterback, Riley Leonard, should have put up amazing numbers.
However, he played extremely poorly. He only completed 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards, a whopping zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. His longest pass of the game was just a 19-yard completion.
Through the first two weeks of the season, he has yet to throw for a single touchdown for Notre Dame.
