Notre Dame helmet Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football season got off to a blazing start. Head Coach Marcus Freeman led his team down to College Station, Texas to face the Texas A&M Aggies and left with what looked like a season-defining win. The Fighting Irish won 23-13 and with what appeared to be an easy schedule moving forward, many people were writing in the Fighting Irish to make the new look 12-team College Football Playoff.

However, that optimism quickly faded on Saturday.

Things took a shocking turn on Saturday when the Fight Irish suffered what is likely going to be the biggest upset of the season in college football, and what’s already being considered one of the worst losses in the storied program’s history. The Northern Illinois Huskies came into South Bend, Indiana, and left with a 16-14 victory.

This loss is made more embarrassing by the fact that Notre Dame paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to come in and beat them. Without a conference championship to compete for, and with not many tough matchups to redeem themselves, this loss could prove to be fatal for Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Fans took to social media to weigh in on the imploding Irish.

If Marcus Freeman doesn’t get this thing righted soon, he could find himself on the hot seat.