Notre Dame score: How Antario Brown, blocked FG clinched Northern Illinois' upset of No. 5 Irish

Daniel Mader

Notre Dame score: How Antario Brown, blocked FG clinched Northern Illinois' upset of No. 5 Irish image

Down goes No. 5.

Notre Dame was upset by Northern Illinois, 16-14, on Saturday afternoon, after the Irish missed a would-be game-winning last-second field goal attempt.

It was a shocking loss for Notre Dame this early in the season, but that's the chaos of college football — there's top-tier teams on surprise upset watches every Saturday.

Here are the details to know about Northern Illinois' upset win over Notre Dame, including the box score, biggest plays and a huge performance by running back Antario Brown.

MORE: Texas QB Quinn Ewers' stats from statement win vs. Michigan

Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois box score

Here's a look at the final box score by quarter between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois.

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4F
Northern Illinois1030316
Notre Dame707014

Field goals wound up being the difference in this matchup.

The Irish got on the board first, as senior QB Riley Leonard took one in himself to put his team up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Soon after, the Huskies returned the favor with an 83-yard receiving touchdown for Brown, who showed off his hands while lined up as a receiver.

Northern Illinois took the lead with a pair of field goals before halftime. But in the third quarter, Notre Dame took a 14-13 lead on a 34-yard rushing score for Jeremyiah Love. And for a while, that seemed destined to be the deciding score.

With less than a minute remaining, though, Northern Illinois knocked a field goal through. Suddenly, an upset seemed more than possible.

The Irish scrambled to put together a game-winning drive, but ultimately, kicker Mitch Jeter's attempt at a 62-yard field goal was blocked, ending the game.

Leonard finished with 163 yards and two interceptions for Notre Dame, while Huskies quarterback Ethan Hampton had 198 yards and a touchdown pass. However, the game's biggest star was undoubtedly Northern Illinois' running back. 

Who is Northern Illinois star Antario Brown?

Brown is a senior running back at Northern Illinois, and he certainly made an impact on a national scale in the matchup with Notre Dame. 

On top of his touchdown, Brown finished with 20 carries for 99 yards on the ground and two receptions for 126 yards in the air, ending with 225 total yards.

Brown is a 5-10' running back from Savannah, Georgia, and he posted 1,296 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns for Northern Illinois in 2023. 

While Brown left the game vs. Notre Dame in the second half with an injury, his massive performance could continue making him a potential NFL Draft target in the future.

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader Photo

Daniel Mader joined Sporting News as an editorial intern in 2024 following his graduation from Penn State University. Previously, he covered Penn State, high school and local sports beats for NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. He grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.