Northern Illinois stuns number five notredam for first ever win over a top 10 team in one of the most shocking upsets in recent college football history Northern Illinois defeated number five notredam 16 to 14 on Saturday securing its first ever win against a top 10 team the decisive moment came with just 31 seconds remaining when kicker Kanan woodill nailed a 36-yard field goal capping off a gritty performance by the Huskies notra dong heavily favored by 28.5 points was unable to muster a response after quarterback Riley Leonard threw a critical interception late in the fourth quarter this loss comes just a week after the Fighting Irish defeated Texas A&M raising questions about their consistency and playoff aspirations we believed in ourselves Northern Illinois head coach Thomas hammock said fighting back tears I'm so proud of our kids the coaches everybody we came in and got it done the Huskies led by a powerful ground game managed to control the clock and limit Notre Dame's scoring opportunities they ran the ball 45 times for 190 yards keeping the Irish defense on the field and wearing them down the final drive saw Northern Illinois slowly March down the field mixing run plays and short passes to set up Wood's game-winning kick controversy in the final minutes asterisk notra Dame's chance for a comeback was marred by two controversial officiating calls in the game's final minute running back Gavin Williams appeared to secure a first down on a third down run but was ruled short a replay review could not conclusively overturn the call forcing the Irish to burn precious time furthermore a clock management error allowed notra to retain a timeout giving them one last shot however a 62-yard field goal attempt by Mitch Jeter was blocked As Time expired questions loom for notra asterisk this loss is the latest setback for head coach Marcus Freeman who has now seen his team lose a critical week two home game for the second time in three season the irish's playoff hopes are not entirely dashed but with a softer schedule ahead they have little room for error if they hope to make the college football playoff