Ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish received a message from the one team they couldn't defeat this season -- the Northern Illinois Huskies.
The Mid-American Conference side posted a mini movie of its shocking upset win against Notre Dame in Week 2. The miraculous 16-14 victory marked the Huskies' first nonconference win against a ranked opponent since 2003 and first ever over a top-10 opponent.
Set to Frank Sinatra's "My Way," the video included highlights and commentary from the matchup with the caption: "Good luck tonight."
Good luck tonight. 🤘🏽🐾🫱🏼🫲🏽☘️#NoLuckNeeded 🦴 | #TheHardWay pic.twitter.com/XauG6YcEE3
— NIU Football (@NIU_Football) January 20, 2025
It was the lone loss for the Fighting Irish heading into their meeting with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national title game (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman credited the moment as a way to build the "necessary strength" to have success in the College Football Playoff.
"We had to learn how to handle success and we had to learn to trust each other and trust our training no matter what the situation is," said Freeman after defeating Penn State in the CFP semifinal. "I mean, you're 1-1 and just had probably one of the most embarrassing losses in college football. And so, that moment helped build the necessary strength to do it in this moment."
The Fighting Irish amassed 13 straight wins after that defeat, including three in the College Football Playoff to set up the matchup against Ohio State. A win would give Notre Dame its first national championship since 1988.
The Huskies finished the regular season 8-5 with a win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
