No. 5 Notre Dame’s 2024 home schedule begins now, as the Irish face Northern Illinois in South Bend at 3:30 p.m. ET. Follow below for live updates and a running score of Week 2’s afternoon game.
First quarter
• Northern Illinois won the coin toss and elected to postpone. Notre Dame will start with the ball.
• A methodical first possession by the Irish ends with a touchdown. Riley Leonard takes a QB sweep with a convoy ahead of him and jumps over the goal line for six. It’s Leonard’s first touchdown in a blue and gold uniform. Notre Dame 7, Northern Illinois 0
• NIU fights back. Somehow quarterback Ethan Hampton managed to sneak the ball into tight coverage of running back Antario Brown, who broke free. 83 yards later, Brown was in the end zone. It looked like Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison had lined up on the play and missed. Notre Dame 7, Northern Illinois 7
• The Irish had three attempts and were out on their ensuing possession, which ended in a sack that hit freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp. Two plays by junior running back Jadarian Price went nowhere, allowing third-and-long, and this Notre Dame offense isn’t particularly well-equipped to handle obvious passing situations right now. NIU will start with the ball at its own 45-yard line.
• Big break for Notre Dame as NIU ran a one-two that fooled everyone, but Trayvon Rudolph missed the throw. Kanon Woodill’s ensuing 42-yard field goal is good and gives the Huskies their first lead of the game. Northern Illinois 10, Notre Dame 7
• Leonard’s late, dangerous throw intended for sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse is deflected and intercepted by Northern Illinois’ Christian Fuhrman. NIU football and the Huskies are in business.
• Brown finished the first quarter with 37 rushing yards and 126 receiving yards.
Second quarter
• Facing a fourth-and-2 attempt at the Notre Dame 3-yard line, NIU kicked a field goal to take a 6-all lead. That’s an odd decision to let an Irish defense that had sleepwalked through the first quarter get away. Northern Illinois 13, Notre Dame 7
• Notre Dame is not doing well in obvious passing situations as Leonard is not finding open receivers and is not holding the pass defense. This time, on third-and-10 from the NIU 40-yard line, Leonard tried to run through the middle but was surrounded by the Huskies. This is a big attack for the Irish defense that will start at the NIU 11-yard line.
• Notre Dame’s defense leaves the field, albeit with the help of some more poor decisions from Northern Illinois. Although they won the line of scrimmage — Brown averages 7.1 yards per carry — Hampton threw two incomplete passes on the Huskies’ final series and NIU was forced to punt. Irish nickelback Jordan Clark made a great play to thwart Hampton’s third-down attempt and Notre Dame took over at its own 30-yard line.
• Things aren’t going well for the Irish at this point, as Leonard’s best shot of the day on third-and-4 goes into Greathouse’s hands and out again. NIU takes the lead with just over three minutes to play in the first half.
• Great third-and-1 run stop for Notre Dame against Brown, and head coach Marcus Freeman calls his first timeout of the half with 1:49 left in the first half. The Irish get the ball at their own 39-yard line with 1:41 left.
• Graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal was blocked as time expired, his first miss from less than 50 yards. Notre Dame trails 13-7 at halftime, and the Irish are lucky it’s not more.
Third quarter
• Northern Illinois starts with the football. This is a crucial possession for Notre Dame.
• After NIU pushed into Irish territory, someone from the Notre Dame defense finally made a play. Junior defensive end Josh Burnham came screaming from behind to make a third-down tackle for a loss, and Woodill’s ensuing field goal went wide left. The Irish offense takes the lead with great field position, but still trails 13-7.
• Touchdown, Notre Dame. The Irish finally got into an offensive rhythm, Leonard made a few throws and sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love reached the second level. Then Love reached the third level and leapt over an NIU defensive back, leaving nothing but green grass between him and the end zone. The Irish took the lead. Notre Dame 14, Northern Illinois 13.
• NIU again had some success moving the ball, but a holding penalty pushed the Huskies too far back to recover. For the second time in the game, Clark broke up a pass on a key third down attempt, forcing a pooch punt that resulted in a touchback. The Irish take over at their own 20-yard line.
• Notre Dame makes it three and is out, and Northern Illinois takes over with excellent field position at their own 40-yard line.
Fourth quarter
• It took a few tries, but Notre Dame’s defense was able to get a stop. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, who is having a heck of a game, picked off a pass with perfect coverage on a short lateral route on fourth-and-2. The Irish get the ball back at their own 30-yard line.
• After another three-and-out for Notre Dame, NIU has the ball back just inside its own 30.
• The Irish left the field again thanks to a pass breakup by junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The Huskies’ punt was caught fairly by Greathouse at the Notre Dame 25-yard line with 7:49 left in the game.
• Notre Dame’s “let’s end the game” offense was going well… until Leonard threw Kris Mitchell woefully short and Northern Illinois easily intercepted a pass. The Irish defense needs to win this one and NIU will start its offense at the midcourt.
