Northern Illinois trolls Notre Dame with pregame post featuring highlights from upset

Northern Illinois was just being nice, right?

Well, maybe so or maybe not.

Northern Illinois football social media tweeted a 3-word message to Notre Dame just a few hours before Monday night’s national title game against Ohio State in Atlanta. The post read: “Good luck tonight” with some emojis afterward mixed in.

But what seemed like a nice gesture on the surface might not have been so nice, as the post also included a 2-minute video highlight reel of the Huskies’ stunning 16-14 upset victory over the Fighting Irish way back on Sept. 7.

The highlight video showed all the greatest moments from Northern Illinois’ landmark victory, which now has grown in stature with Notre Dame reeling off 13 straight wins since that loss and getting all the way to the precipice of a title. Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way” played as background music to the video, which was a gentle reminder to the Fighting Irish that although they might win the national title, they will always be second fiddle to the Huskies in the 2024 season.

So, the final verdict on the social media post is that it was a nice “good luck” message but also a little dig at the Fighting Irish because, well, nobody expected the Huskies to ever win in South Bend in Week 2.

Cory Nightingale

Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.