2024 CFB What Ifs: What if Notre Dame blocks NIU’s field goal and goes undefeated?

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With 36 seconds remaining in a September 7th matchup against fifth-ranked Notre Dame, Northern Illinois was on the verge of doing the unthinkable.

For the previous 59 minutes and 64 seconds, the David from nearby Dekalb, Illinois had Goliath on the ropes. The Huskies had scratched, clawed and blocked a field goal just to be in this position. Every stone had to matter in this fight; up to that point, it had.

Late in the first quarter, the Huskies launched the first stone with an 83-yard Ethan Hampton to Antario Brown connection that resulted in a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

Three minutes and change later, kicker Kanon Woodill booted a 42-yarder through the uprights to give the Huskies a three-point lead. Before the end of the first half, the Huskies made another dent in Goliaht’s armor, this time when bruising defensive lineman Cade Haberman skied to block a Fighting Irish field goal attempt as time expired.

Woodill knocked down another field goal in the third quarter, but soon after, Notre Dame’s dynamite running back Jeremiyah Love found paydirt to give the Fighting Irish the slimmest of one-point leads.

This is how dreams are squashed in college football.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Notre Dame appeared to be in control. The defense was getting stops, and the Fighting Irish only needed one more scoring drive to more than likely put the fight to bed.

With 6:04 left on the game clock, however, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard underthrew a pass downfield and it was picked off by Huskies’ defender Amariyun Knighten. Suddenly the Huskies had life.

What came next will live in infamy.

Woodill struck for the third time on the day, this time for the biggest kick of his career. His perfectly-struck 35-yarder sailed through the uprights to cap a hard-fought 11-play, 31-yard drive that ate up 5:24 of game clock.

The kick sent the Northern Illinois sideline into a dizzy, and the Notre Dame faithful into depression.