Northern Illinois stuns No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 with field goal in final minute

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WLS) -- Saturday marked a big upset for the Northern Illinois Huskies, who took down the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14.

It is NIU's first non-conference win against a ranked opponent since beating Alabama in 2003. That Huskie pride has beamed through campus on Saturday night.

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The Huskie pack went wild in the stands as Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play and Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard try as time expired.

"And, people were coming in, and I was, like, 'We're watching! We're going to watch them win!' And then, the last 30 seconds, we did it. We pulled through," said NIU student Betty Smith.

Notre Dame (1-1), on the heels of an impressive road win over Texas A&M, looked like it was in position to get some separation from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to the Northern Illinois 49.

Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard launched a pass deep up the middle intended for Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten made the interception and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 to play.

Knighten's interception set up the winning field goal from Woodill, his third of the day.

Notre Dame struck first as Leonard side-stepped the defense for an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

It only took five plays for Northern Illinois to answer as Antario Brown broke loose between two Notre Dame defensive backs for an 83-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Ethan Hampton.

A pair of field goals by Woodill from 42 and 21 yards gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had the chance to make it 13-10 before half, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard try from Jeter.

Woodill missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of the second half, and Notre Dame took advantage.

Jeremiyah Love broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run, hurdling a defender on the way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter's extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter.

Head Coach Thomas Hammock took a victory lap, and that same feeling swept over students back on campus in DeKalb.

"It was just great to see the game slowly progress and then we won. It just felt incredible. Walking over here on campus, people were driving. They were screaming. It was a great time," said NIU sophomore Matthew Vanderwater.

NIU now has a total of 19 "Boneyard" wins, which are all victories in games against a Power 5, now Power 4 conference team or comparable.

"It honestly feels like being a part of something that's, like, bigger than I am," said NIU senior Aleah Janae.

Huskie pride howled from South Bend as the team looks ahead to pounce on their next opponent.

"You see all those years that they won, year after year. So, it's really good to see us get back into that, you know? Get back into that Huskie grit; that Huskies never quit. And it really shows our perseverance," said NIU junior Becca Katz.

NIU is now 2-0 heading into their next game against the University at Buffalo Bulls, scheduled for Sept. 21 on home turf at Huskie Stadium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.