AUSTIN, Texas — With 31 seconds left, the kick heard around college football went through the uprights at Notre Dame Stadium, giving the upstart Northern Illinois Huskies a 16-14 lead over the then-No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a lead that held when NIU blocked a desperation 62-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds.
The upset was all the more shocking because the Fighting Irish had just gone into College Station the week before and beat the Aggies, 23-13.
It was the type of big early-season win Notre Dame had previously been unable to achieve under third-year head coach Marcus Freeman.