Notre Dame Falls to Northern Illinois Again

Last year it was in football, this year it happened in futbol

Sep 7, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies running back Antario Brown (1) celebrates after the Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

There must be something in the water in DeKalb, Illinois. It doesn't make Northern Illinois athletics great necessarily, but it must possess something that works as a kryptonite for the University of Notre Dame.

2024 of course saw the Northern Illinois Huskies walk into Notre Dame Stadium and upset the Fighting Irish in one of the biggest upsets you'll ever see. Over a year later, that one only looks grander as Notre Dame reached last year's National Championship game, and Northern Illinois has gone just 7-11 since.

Now, in 2025, it wasn't football, but instead men's soccer that saw the pesky Huskies knock off mighty Notre Dame. This one happened Tuesday night in DeKalb as Notre Dame scored just over 12 minutes into the contest, but was held scoreless the rest of the way and lost 2-0.

Notre Dame fell to 7-4-4 with the loss while Northern Illinois improved to 6-3-4 in 2025. Notre Dame will return to action on Friday night at Boston College.

A Year Later: Looking Back at Northern Illinois' Upset at Notre Dame

Northern Illinois linebacker Jaden Dolphin kisses his girlfriend Ruby Mendez Toomey after winning a NCAA college football game 16-14 against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend. | Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK

A year and a month or so after the massive upset, it seems only that much greater. Notre Dame soared to heights nobody thought was possible last year following the loss, making it all the way to the National Championship game.

Meanwhile, things have gone anything but smoothly for Northern Illinois. The Huskies were the sweethearts of America after the upset, but went just 6-5 down the stretch last year, including a 4-4 conference mark.

It was invited to the Mountain West Conference following the massive upset, which will mean more exposure and more television dollars for the proud DeKalb university, but the on-the-field results haven't been there in 2025 as the Huskies are just 1-6, with their only win being a 19-17 nailbiter over Holy Cross.

I don't know how other Notre Dame fans feel, but I find myself rooting for Northern Illinois to this day if I see them on the bottom line during a game or studio show. Without that loss last year, I'm not certain Marcus Freeman adjusts coarse quite like he did, and I'm not so sure the heights the program is currently playing at are reached by this point.

So thank you, Northern Illinois. Perhaps Notre Dame men's soccer will be the next benefactor of your upset ways.

Notre Dame football has this weekend off before traveling to Boston College on November 1.