Sean Gallagher

I wrote about how Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman got his first signature win back in 2022 when the 18th-ranked Fighting Irish blew out No. 13 Clemson 35-14 in South Bend. A moment that saw students storm the field, as a season that began 0-2 felt salvaged after bad losses to Marshall and Stanford at home, with optimism that things would only get better.

2023 saw a 4-0 start before Notre Dame lost to Ohio State 17-14 in the final seconds at Notre Dame Stadium, as the Irish defense was short a man when the Buckeyes scored the go-ahead touchdown, which didn’t dash playoff hopes.

That changed a few weeks later when Notre Dame was outplayed on the road by Louisville, bouncing back from that loss with a win over USC by 28 points at home, and a 58-7 thrashing of Pitt.

But, it was all for nothing as Notre Dame went to Clemson, and like when they played Louisville, laid an egg, ruining any chance at a bigger bowl game after playoff hopes were dashed by the Cardinals in early October.

So with two 9-3 season to start his tenure, Freeman and his team had a golden opportunity to start the season off strong with a signature win in a tough environment on the road against a ranked opponent. Exercising demons of the past, Notre Dame actually won this game, knocking off Texas A&M 23-13 with a strong 4th quarter. At 1-0, moving up to No. 5 in the AP Poll and a favorable schedule going forward, the Irish looked like a playoff team.

Then Northern Illinois came to South Bend.

In that week 1 matchup, Notre Dame had to avoid making mistakes on offense and not give up big plays to the Aggies when on defense.

All that made an unwanted appearance in the home opener, as NIU stuck around, took advantage of miscues, and won 16-14 in a game that doesn’t reach then-FCS Appalachian State upsetting Michigan in Ann Arbor back in 2007, but it felt pretty damn close.

In less than a week, Notre Dame went from having a high probability of making the new, 12-team College Football Playoff, to many feeling the season ended on that sunny afternoon in South Bend.

Marcus Freeman’s big wins before this season only offered a brief feeling of euphoria, especially when waking up that Sunday, realizing it wouldn’t help their playoff chances.

This season, it was the opposite. A big road win against a ranked opponent followed by a loss in which your opponent was as four-touchdown underdog.

There’s the old saying that losing early is better than later. But this wasn’t Ohio State. Northern Illinois is not a good loss to the committee. Even with an 11-1, or worse, 10-2 record, it could cause them to miss out on one of the seven at-large spots.

There’s a lot to like about Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, and there were signs of progress in Year 2. But losing to the teams that you’re not only expected to beat, but also paying to come in and lose never sits well. And this NIU loss has a lot of Irish fans sick to their stomach.