SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Cannon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard try as time expired and Northern Illinois surprised No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday.

Haberman blocked a 62-yard attempt by Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter, giving the Huskies their first non-league victory against a ranked opponent since a 19-16 upset of No. 21 Alabama in 2003.

It also marked the Huskies’ first win over a top 10 opponent and the first win by a Mid-American Conference team over an AP top 5 team; the MAC had previously gone 0-51 against such opponents.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock was emotional after the dramatic victory.

“We didn’t need luck,” Hammock said. “That was our theme. I didn’t think we needed luck. We just had to play our best. It wasn’t the cleanest thing for us, but we played hard for four quarters and stuck together. They worked together, they believed and they made enough plays to win a game.

“This is a program-changing win, no different than when we beat Alabama a while back (in 2003).”

Hammond said his Huskies were on par with Notre Dame.

“I think we were bigger than they thought,” Hammock said. “We’re not a normal MAC team, in my opinion. We’re big on the offensive and defensive lines and we’re physical. I didn’t see it as a mismatch in that capacity.”

According to ESPN BET, the Fighting Irish entered the game as 28.5-point favorites. After starting the day 16-1 to win the national championship, they dropped to 75-1 after the loss.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the loss was disappointing, especially after an impressive away win over then-No. 20 Texas A&M

“You know, it’s our job as coaches to make sure these guys are ready to go. You go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a two-week story, but we’ve got to own this thing,” Freeman said. “As coaches and players, we’ve got to own it and we’ve got to fix it.”

Notre Dame (1-1) appeared to be in position to pull some distance from Northern Illinois (2-0) when it held on to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession on a point with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to Northern Illinois’ 49.

Irish quarterback Riley Leonard threw a deep pass to Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten intercepted the ball and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 left.

“It was a complete misread,” Leonard said of the interception. “That one high safety was stuck on the inside post. I thought he wasn’t going to make another one. Bad eyes, bad feet, bad ball. That resulted in an interception. Can’t happen. Totally my fault.”

The Huskies ran the clock and drove to the Notre Dame 19, setting the stage for Woodill’s field goal. A key play on the drive was quarterback Ethan Hampton converting a fourth-and-2 with a three-yard run to the Notre Dame 28.

Hampton’s first-down conversion, which included 10 of 19 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, set up Woodill’s winning field goal, his third made kick of the day.

“It’s awesome,” Hampton said of the win. “It’s something I’ll never forget. I grew up a Huskie fan. Playing here is a dream for me.”

Notre Dame was the first to score when Leonard evaded the defense and made an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

Northern Illinois needed just five plays to answer when Antario Brown broke free between two defenders and scored an 83-yard touchdown on a pass from Hampton.

A pair of Woodill field goals of 42 and 21 yards gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had a chance to make it 13-10 before halftime, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard try by Jeter.

Woodill missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of the second half, but Notre Dame took advantage.

Jeremiyah Love broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run, running over a defender on his way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter.

Leonard completed 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.