Kirk Herbstreit explains what went wrong for Notre Dame in loss to Northern Illinois
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kirk Herbstreit questions whether or not Notre Dame gave Northern Illinois its full respect heading into a Week 2 game that resulted in a disastrous loss for the Fighting Irish.
Entering the weekend, expectations for Marcus Freeman’s squad were on the rise. Notre Dame aced a road test in the SEC against Texas A&M to start the season, and the rest of the schedule appeared to set up favorably for the Irish.
Unfortunately, things went very sideways against NIU with the Huskies delivering an upset for the ages inside Notre Dame Stadium. As for what went wrong, Herbstreit says coaches try but can only do so much when it comes to getting their players to respect every opponent.
“It was one of those games, sometimes you watch Week 1 and Week 2, and as hard as the coaches try to warn players against respect your opponent — it’s just human nature,” described Herbstreit. “Especially Notre Dame had such a big game last week.”
Herbstreit went on to say Notre Dame had to be prepared for the matchup, but a lot of credit goes to Northern Illinois for standing “toe-to-toe” in the matchup.
“I’m not saying they weren’t prepared, of course they were,” Herbstreit said about the Fighting Irish. “You got to give a lot of credit to northern Illinois. That was a massive win, it was not an accident. If you watched that game, they stood right in the middle of the ring and went toe-to-toe with Notre Dame.”
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 8, 2024
What’s next for Notre Dame? The Fighting Irish get a road game against Purdue and a manageable schedule (without a conference championship game) for much of the year.
As it currently stands, a 1-loss Notre Dame likely has a shot at the College Football Playoff, but the program is on thin ice. Another loss, especially with the first one coming to NIU, would all but eliminate the Fighting Irish.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
