In the first-ever meeting between the Irish (1-1) — ranked No. 7 in the U.S. LBM Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the upcoming AP poll — and the unranked Huskies (2-0) of the Mid-American Conference, NIU surprised ND with a 16-13 victory.

Notre Dame lost at home to another MAC school, Marshall, in 2022. It was Marcus Freeman’s first game in Notre Dame Stadium as head coach.

Here’s your instant summary:

Live score: Notre Dame football vs. Northern Illinois

Point: Jeremiyah Love 34-yard touchdown run at 8:34 (Mitch Jeter kick)

Motivation: Six plays, 64 yards, 2:43 elapsed after Northern Illinois missed a field goal

Keys to the disk: Love’s run included a leap over a Northern Illinois defender on the way to the end zone. The only other play that yielded 10 or more yards was a 10-yard completion from Riley Leonard to Kris Mitchell.

Point: Cannon Woodill 21-yard field goal at 13:39

Motivation: Five plays, 51 yards, 2:08 elapsed after Notre Dame’s turnover (interception).

Keys to the disk: A 43-yard pass from Ethan Hampton to Antario Brown on the first play of the drive put the Huskies in scoring position.

Point: Cannon Woodill 42-yard field goal at 2:13

Motivation: Five plays, 30 yards, 1:27 elapsed after Notre Dame punt.

Keys to the disk: A 28-yard run by Antario Brown put the Huskies in field goal position. They had a wide-open touchdown chance on a trick play, but wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph threw a bad pass intended for a Northern Illinois wideout near the end zone.

Point: Ethan Hampton 83-yard touchdown pass to Antario Brown at 5:35 (Cannon Woodill kick)

Motivation: Five plays, 98 yards, 2:51 elapsed after Notre Dame kickoff

Keys to the disk: Two Notre Dame defenders collided as they attempted to break up the pass to Brown, with the ball landing between the two and into Brown’s hands. He then ran 60 yards untouched for the score.

Point: Riley Leonard 11-yard touchdown run at 8:28 (Mitch Jeter kick)

Motivation: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:25 elapsed after the opening kickoff.

Keys to the disk: The drive featured four designed runs by Leonard, the Notre Dame quarterback, including the last one for the score. A 14-yard pass from Leonard to tight end Mitchell Evans on a 3rd-and-12 was the biggest play of the drive.

Injury Report: Notre Dame Football Rules Out Tosh Baker (Shoulder) Against Northern Illinois

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