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.
Notre Dame paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to play them in South Bend today.
Northern Illinois just won 16-14.pic.twitter.com/plADc2lYF3
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 7, 2024
That is the worst loss in Notre Dame football history.
Marcus Freeman losing to Northern Illinois at home in his third season as a 28-point favorite is something that should end his career as Notre Dame’s head coach.
It is something for which you cannot recover.
— Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) September 7, 2024
If it’s another year of 9-3 and a belt bowl, yeah he it has to be considered. Great coordinator, great recruiter, not sure he’s a great head coach. https://t.co/zTUW0TBpHQ
— Andrew. (@ACB716) September 8, 2024
The timing could not be worse. Top recruits are assessing whether Coach Freeman is capable of bringing a national championship to Notre Dame. These catastrophic losses are the kind of thing that stick to the reputation of coaches. https://t.co/B8kk7y8ty0
— DocBarrister (@DocBarrister) September 8, 2024
Can we stop pretending Notre Dame is a top five team?
— Seth Oliveras (@SethOliveras) September 7, 2024
listen i'm definitely a college football casual so this might be a dumb question, but is notre dame losing to a credit union pic.twitter.com/Xqx0FqKv29
— Jon Bois (@jon_bois) September 7, 2024
If Marcus Freeman doesn’t get this thing righted soon, he could find himself on the hot seat.
