How to watch NIU vs. Notre Dame football in Week 2
Notre Dame’s 2024 home opener comes against a team it has never played before — the Northern Illinois Huskies. Something the Irish have also never done before — lose to a Mid-American Conference opponent.
That’s what’s on the line for Notre Dame this week as well as using the huge season-opening win at Texas A&M as a launching point for what could be the program’s first College Football Playoff season since 2020.
Here’s what else to know about NIU at Notre Dame.
Northern Illinois at Notre Dame game information
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024
Site: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
Betting line: Notre Dame -28.5 (FanDuel)
Television channel: NBC/Peacock
Streaming: Watch college football games live – try Fubo for free! Click HERE NOW
Announcers: Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (color analyst), Zora Stephenson (sideline reporter)
Pregame radio: Listen to Blue & Gold’s own Tyler Horka and host Darin Pritchett on 96.1 FM WSBT from 4 to 6:30 p.m. ET on Game Day Sportsbeat
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network football affiliates
Radio broadcasters: Tony Simeone (play-by-play), Ryan Harris (color analyst)
Series facts: Notre Dame has never played Northern Illinois.
Head coaches: Northern Illinois — Thomas Hammock (25-33; sixth season at NIU; Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (20-8, third season at Notre Dame)
2024 team records: Fighting Irish — 1-0 (W, 23-13 at Texas A&M); Huskies — 1-0 (W, 54-15 vs. Western Illinois).
Noting Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish couldn’t have started their season in better fashion than going on the road and taking down then-No. 20 Texas A&M by 10 points in front of 107,315 at Kyle Field in College Station. It was ugly for a while, as Freeman noted, but when it came time to win the game the Irish scored 10 points in the final two minutes. The Irish defense looked the part outside of some penalty problems — Notre Dame had 11 penalties for 99 yards as a team — and the offense got better as the game went on. It truly feels like it was only the start of something special for Freeman and Co., but they have to stay the course. This isn’t the week to have a letdown. None of them are that week.
Noting Northern Illinois: NIU started its season with a 54-15 win over FCS Western Illinois. Quarterback Ethan Hampton was the star of the game in completing 18 of 20 attempts for 328 yards and 5 touchdowns. Fourteen starters return from last year’s Huskies, who went 7-6 (5-3 Mid-American Conference) and beat Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl. Turnovers on both sides of the ball prevented NIU from being better; the Huskies finished 88th in the nation with a minus-0.23 turnover margin per game. NIU operated the 79th-best scoring offense in college football but tied with Kansas State and South Alabama for the 26th-best scoring defense at 21.0 points allowed per game. NIU was the No. 22 team in FBS last year in rushing yards per carry at 5.0. Transfer additions expected to make an impact include linebacker Christian Fuhrman (Southeast Missouri State), wide receiver Kenji Lewis (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) and quarterback Jalen Macon (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
