Beware of the letdown.

Notre Dame started the 2022 season at Ohio State and fought the good fight in a 21-10 loss that was far better and tougher than the final score.

The Buckeyes came within a missed walk-off field goal of almost certainly winning the national title, and the Irish held CJ Stroud and company to just those 21 points. One week later, Marshall walked into South Bend, scored 26, and left town with a fat check and a stunning upset win.

This year, Notre Dame starts out the season against Texas A&M in what should be a whale of a fight in College Station. But there’s no need to worry about Northern Illinois a week later, right? It’s just a MAC team, and it’s not even a great one this season like Miami University likely will be.

The RedHawks come into town two weeks later on the Irish slate, there’s a road game at Purdue to prepare for in Week 3, and …

Northern Illinois 27, Boston College 24. That was the 2023 season opener.

In 2021, NIU beat Georgia Tech, the 2017 team shocked Nebraska, and the 2015 version balled out against a LOADED Ohio State team in a 20-13 loss.

Again, beware of the letdown, Irish.

The 5 things you need to know about the Huskies, Irish fans, are …

NIU’s biggest strength should be a deep and experienced group of targets that just got a little bit better.

Grayson Barnes is a dangerous tight end who can stretch the field, Trayvon Rudolph led the team with 51 grabs, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Kenji Lewis averaged 23 yards per catch at his former school. However …

Northern Illinois has traditionally been about a grinding ground game. It has been a long, long time since a Huskie O finished the season with the quarterbacks completing over 60% of their throws – it was 2015.

The Irish can take their chances that NIU won’t hit the short-range shots and worry about the deep plays and third down opportunities.

If there’s a pass rush on this year’s NIU defense, it probably won’t get going here.

The 2023 Huskie defense was good overall, and the 23 sacks weren’t awful, but 15 of them came in four games against bad offensive lines. Northern Illinois might have the best secondary in the MAC, but it won’t matter much if Irish QB Riley Leonard has time.

The Irish should be able to strike quickly and won’t care too much about controlling the clock, but if they can lean on the offensive front to pound out a few long drives, all will be okay.

Last year’s NIU team lived on control and time of possession, and it’ll be more of the same. But bad things happened when the defense got plowed on, going 0-5 when allowing 180 yards or more. It all ties together – run, don’t let the NIU offense get control and make it have to throw.

There’s no need to take a bunch of chances here, and focus will mean everything. It might seem basic, but don’t lose the turnover battle, control the clock, and don’t get hit with a ton of penalties.

How did Northern Illinois beat Boston College last season? The Eagles hit just 45% of their passes, they let the game stay close throughout, and ten penalties for 93 yards were a killer.

That, and the Huskies had the ball for almost 37 minutes.

Early Summer Notre Dame vs Northern Illinois Prediction
This can and will change when we do this for real when the season starts. Call this the soft-opening first call. The Irish lines will overwhelm the Huskies, but it’ll take about a half to get comfortable.

Notre Dame 38, Northern Illinois 13
Full breakdown of Northern Illinois here in the 2024 season preview

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