DALLAS (FWAA) – The NIU Huskies knocked off a team ranked in the top five of the polls for the first time in school history Saturday, toppling fifth-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend with a final-minute field goal, 16-14. The Huskies outgained the Irish, didn’t commit a turnover and made decisive plays on defense and special teams to earn the upset and become the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Sept. 7, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is only the second time for NIU (2-0) to earn the national team of the week honor from the FWAA and its first since the week of Sept. 16, 2017, following a 21-17 win at Nebraska. Since the 2002 season, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Each honored team receives a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
Kanon Woodill’s 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left was the winning play, but it wasn’t until Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard field goal attempt at time expired that the Huskies could begin their on-field celebration. It was Haberman’s second blocked kick of the game.
Antario Brown gained 225 total yards from scrimmage (126 receiving, 99 rushing) with a touchdown and Ethan Hampton was 10-of-19 passing for 198 yards and a touchdown as NIU notched the first win by any Mid-American Conference team over a team ranked in the Associated Press Top Five. NIU head coach Thomas Hammock now has three wins over so-called Power 4 programs in the past four seasons.
“We were bigger than they thought. We’re not a normal MAC team in my opinion. We’re big on the offensive and defensive line and we’re physical,” Hammock said. “I didn’t look at it as a mismatch. Our kids went out there and played hard, tough and physical. I told them all week ‘you can make a mistake, but you can’t lack physicality.’ We won the battle up front.”
Trailing 14-13, Huskies safety Amariyun Knighten picked off Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, returning the turnover to midfield with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter. NIU converted a third down and a fourth down to get to the Notre Dame 19 in 10 plays to set up the winning kick. Woodill then split the uprights with a 35-yard game winner with 31 seconds left.
“We put a lot of emphasis on special teams. I told our coaches that I had a dream last night that the game would come down to a field goal,” Hammock said. “Kanon nailed that game-winner. He’s going to have that moment engraved in his mind for the rest of his life.”
Notre Dame drove to the NIU 44 on its final drive before lining up a 62-yard field goal attempt with five seconds remaining, a kick Haberman blocked. Haberman also blocked an Irish 48-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half.
The Huskies outgained the Fighting Irish 388-286 with a balanced attack of 190 rushing yards and 198 through the air. Antario Brown recorded the first 100-yard receiving game of his career after entering the game with only 59 career receiving yards on 13 catches. Brown had 199 total yards in the first half alone and finished with 225.
NIU’s previous best win against a ranked opponent was a 20-13 overtime win against No. 15 Maryland in 2003. It defeated a ranked non-conference opponent for the first time since a win at No. 21 Alabama on Sept. 20, 2003, and earned its first win over any ranked team since 2015.
The Huskies are idle this weekend prior to hosting their MAC opener against Buffalo on Sept. 21.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 7 were:
- Iowa State (2-0): Cyclones kicker Kyle Konrady made a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left to give Iowa State a 20-19 victory over No. 21 Iowa on Saturday. Taking the ball at his own 22 with 34 seconds left, Rocco Becht connected on three passes to drive 42 yards and set up the kick. Iowa State rallied from a 19-7 deficit with 4:47 left in the third quarter, started by a 75-yard touchdown pass from Becht to Jaylin Noel. The Cyclones have won back-to-back games in Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 2012 and 2014.
- Texas (2-0): The No. 3 Longhorns quickly silenced most of the 111,170 fans inside Michigan Stadium by rolling to a 24-3 halftime lead, and later finished off the No. 10 Wolverines 31-12 to earn another September win over a top 10 team on the road. Texas won at No. 3 Alabama in the season’s second week last year. Texas outgained Michigan 389-284 with 246 passing yards from Quinn Ewers. It was the Longhorns' first win on the road against a reigning national champion since 1998 when they beat Nebraska, 20-16, to end the Cornhuskers' 47-game home winning streak.
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Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Camping World Kickoff, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic and the Florida Cup & FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
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2024 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle (Chair)
Frank Bonner, Daily Memphian
Travis Brown, KBTX.com
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Emily Leiker, Syracuse.com
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal
Sean Reider, Albuquerque Journal
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Magazine
Dusty Thibodeaux, Rivals: Warhawk Report
John Wagner, Country News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group