No. 5 Notre Dame vs. NIU live updates, game score

No. 5 Notre Dame’s 2024 home slate starts now, as the Irish are set to take on Northern Illinois at 3:30 p.m. ET in South Bend. Follow along below for live updates and a running game score of the Week 2 afternoon matchup.

First quarter

• Northern Illinois has won the toss and elected to defer. Notre Dame will start with the ball.

• A methodical first possession for the Irish ends in a touchdown. Riley Leonard takes it on a QB sweep with a convoy in front of him, and he dives across the goal line for six. It’s Leonard’s first touchdown in a blue and gold uniform. Notre Dame 7, Northern Illinois 0

• NIU strikes back. Somehow, quarterback Ethan Hampton snuck the ball into tight coverage against running back Antario Brown, who broke free. Eighty-three yards later, Brown was in the end zone. It looked like Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison gambled on the play and missed. Notre Dame 7, Northern Illinois 7

• The Irish went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, which ended in a sack on which freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp got beat. Two plays to junior running back Jadarian Price went nowhere, setting up third-and-long, and this Notre Dame offense is still not super well-equipped to deal with obvious passing situations right now. NIU will start with the ball at its own 45-yard line.

• Massive break for Notre Dame, as NIU ran a double-pass that fooled everyone but Trayvon Rudolph missed the throw. Kanon Woodill’s ensuing 42-yard field goal is good, giving the Huskies their first lead of the game. Northern Illinois 10, Notre Dame 7

• Leonard’s late, dangerous throw intended for sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse is tipped and intercepted by Northern Illinois’ Christian Fuhrman. NIU football, and the Huskies are in business.

• Brown finished with 37 yards rushing and 126 yards receiving in the first quarter.

Second quarter

• Faced with fourth-and-2 at the Notre Dame 3-yard line, NIU kicked a field goal to go up by 6. It’s a curious call, letting an Irish defense that sleepwalked through the first quarter off the hook. Northern Illinois 13, Notre Dame 7

• Notre Dame is not dealing with obvious passing situations well, with Leonard not finding open receivers and the pass protection not holding up. This time, on third-and-10 from around the NIU 40-yard line, Leonard tried to scramble up the middle but was swarmed by Huskies. This is a big drive for the Irish defense here, which will start at the NIU 11-yard line.

• Notre Dame’s defense gets off the field, albeit with help from some more poor Northern Illinois decision-making. Despite winning the line of scrimmage — Brown is averaging 7.1 yards per carry — Hampton threw incomplete twice on the Huskies’ last series and NIU is forced to punt. Irish nickel back Jordan Clark made a great play to break up Hampton’s third-down attempt, and Notre Dame takes over at its own 30-yard line.

• Nothing is going well for the Irish at the moment, as Leonard’s best throw of the day on third-and-4 goes in and out of Greathouse’s hands. NIU takes over with just over three minutes to play in the first half.

• Huge third-and-1 run stop for Notre Dame against Brown, and head coach Marcus Freeman uses his first timeout of the half with 1:49 to go in the first half. The Irish will get the ball at their own 39-yard line with 1:41 left.

• Graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal with time expiring was blocked, and that’s his first career miss from under 50 yards. Notre Dame trails 13-7 at halftime, and the Irish are frankly lucky it’s not more.

Third quarter

• Northern Illinois starts with the football. This is a critical possession for Notre Dame.

• After NIU drove into Irish territory, someone on the Notre Dame defense finally made a play. Junior defensive end Josh Burnham comes screaming off the backside to make a third-down tackle for loss, and Woodill’s ensuing field goal is wide left. Irish offense takes over with great field position, still down 13-7.

• Touchdown, Notre Dame. The Irish finally got into an offensive rhythm, with Leonard making a couple throws and sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love reaching the second level. Then, Love reached the third level and jumped clean over a NIU defensive back, putting nothing but green grass between him and the end zone. The Irish take the lead. Notre Dame 14, Northern Illinois 13.

• NIU again had some success moving the ball, but a holding penalty pushed the Huskies back too much to recover. For the second time in the game, Clark broke up a pass on a key third down, forcing a pooch punt that went for a touchback. The Irish take over on their own 20-yard line.

• Notre Dame goes three-and-out, and Northern Illinois takes over with excellent field position at its own 40-yard line.

Fourth quarter

• It took a couple tries, but the Notre Dame defense got a stop. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, who is having a heck of a game, broke up a pass with perfect coverage on a short crossing route on fourth-and-2. The Irish get the ball back at their own 30-yard line.

• After another three-and-out for Notre Dame, NIU has it back just inside its own 30.

• The Irish got off the field again, thanks to a pass breakup from junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The Huskies’ punt was fair-caught by Greathouse at the Notre Dame 25-yard line, with 7:49 to go in the game.

• Notre Dame’s “let’s ice the game” drive was going well… until Leonard woefully underthrew Kris Mitchell for an easy Northern Illinois interception. The Irish defense will have to win this one, and NIU will start its drive at midfield.