The Northern Illinois Huskies delivered one of the most memorable moments of the 2024 college football season back on September 7, upsetting a Notre Dame team ranked #5 in the nation at the time by a final score of 16-14. The win gained significance as the season went on and Notre Dame got better, eventually reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship game where they were defeated by Ohio State.
This week, ESPN college football writer Bill Connelly released his list of the100 best college football games of the 2024 season. The Huskies takedown of the Fighting Irish ranked #20 on that list and was the highest-ranked game featuring a team from the Group of Five.
“NIU certainly needed some breaks to win as a 28.5-point underdog, but damned if everything didn’t fall into place…Kanon Woodill drilled a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, and Cade Haberman’s second blocked field goal of the afternoon, on a last-gasp Irish 62-yarder, sealed the deal.” — Bill Connelly, ESPN
Running back Antario Brown totaled 225 yards from scrimmage, with quarterback Ethan Hampton throwing for 198 yards with a touchdown pass.
That win gave Northern Illinois their first-ever victory over a top-five opponent, also being the first such win by any Mid-American Conference program.
The Huskies went on to finish the season 8-5 overall with a win over Fresno State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Other G5 games cracking Connelly’s list, to name a few, included East Carolina’s win over NC State in the Military Bowl (#22), Navy’s one-point victory over Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl (#24), and Boise State’s three-point loss to Oregon in Week Two #33.
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