5 under-the-radar plays from NIU’s historic upset of Notre Dame

Northern Illinois never had beaten an opponent ranked in the Top 5 before. Heck, no team in the Mid-American Conference ever had.

That ended Saturday when the Huskies stunned Notre Dame, ranked fifth at the time, in South Bend, Indiana.

The 16-14 win not only dropped the Irish to No. 18 in the latest AP poll, but placed the Huskies at No. 25 for the first time since 2013.

There was no shortage of dynamite plays in the game, from an explosive 83-yard catch and run by Antario Brown that set the tone early, to an interception by Amariyun Knighten that set up the Huskies’ winning drive, to a pair of blocked field goals by Cade Haberman.

Here are five plays that may have been overlooked in the win.

Devonte O’Malley’s first-quarter sack of Riley Leonard

O’Malley was a disruptive force, finishing with four tackles, three for loss, and two sacks. But his sack of Leonard late in the first quarter was as much a statement as Brown’s touchdown.

NIU had just tied the game at 7 on Brown’s TD catch from Ethan Hampton. Notre Dame was looking to cruise downfield again as it did on the first drive. But the NIU defense had other ideas.

On third and 10, O’Malley got to Leonard for a 9-yard loss. Notre Dame punted. And on its next possession NIU took its first lead of the game.

Christian Fuhrman forces first NIU turnover of the year

When NIU rolled to a 54-15 win to open the season against Western Illinois, the Huskies didn’t force a turnover and managed just one sack. The Huskies doubled that sack total thanks to O’Malley, and although Knighten had a big interception late, Fuhrman got his hands on one early.

The Huskies had just taken a 10-7 lead. The Irish were at their own 49 and already had picked up a first down when Nate Valcarcel tipped the ball into the air and Furhman, a senior transfer from Southeast Missouri State, nabbed it.

On the next play, Brown grabbed a 43-yard pass from Hampton and NIU ended up with a Kanon Woodill field goal and a 13-7 lead.

Haberman, Roy Williams stop Leonard on third down

After NIU pushed the lead to 13-7, the Irish quickly got into Huskie territory looking to regain the lead.

But at the NIU 41 the drive started to stall. Leonard only got 2 yards on first down, with Fuhrman and Jaden Dolphin snuffing out the run. Then, on a credited run, O’Malley got to Leonard in the backfield for a 2-yard loss.

The biggest play was on third down. The Irish had some long third-down conversions early in the game, and a first down here would at least put them in field-goal range. Leonard tried to find something up the middle, but Williams and Haberman were there. He only got two yards.

The Irish then punted from the NIU 39 in a move that drew a few boos from the crows at Notre Dame Stadium. NIU didn’t score on the next drive, but it was still a pivotal series and with the punt definitely a tone-setter.

Valcarcel hurries Leonard, ends a Notre Dame drive

The Irish scored on their first second-half possession to take a 14-13 lead. They stopped the Huskies on the next drive the fourth of six straight drives on which Notre Dame would keep the Huskies from scoring.

But the NIU defense didn’t let the Huskies fall more than one point behind. On a third and 5 from the Notre Dame 25, Leonard dropped back. He didn’t have much time however as Valcacel forced a quick throw. Incomplete. Punt.

Grayson Barnes becomes the next man up

The tight-end sweep isn’t exactly a common play in most teams’ playbook. But Barnes isn’t a standard tight end, used as a hybrid receiver-tight end combo a lot of times.

On the final NIU drive that ended with Woodill’s winning kick, the Huskies were without Brown and Trayvon Rudolph, the team’s top two offensive weapons. On the first set of downs, NIU faced a third and 1 from the Notre Dame 41 after the Knighten interception gave the Huskies good field position.

Rudolph has had a handful of sweeps this year, but the staff went with Barnes instead of a pure receiver. He went left, got 2 yards and the first down. That led to Woodill’s kick shocking the crowd and the college football world.