SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kanon Woodill made a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard attempt as time expired and Northern Illinois surprised No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday.

Haberman blocked Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter’s 55-yard attempt, giving the jubilant Huskies their first non-conference win against a higher-ranked opponent since a 19-16 victory over No. 21 Alabama in 2003.

It was also the Huskies’ first win over a top-10 opponent and the first by a Mid-American Conference team against a top-5 AP team; previously, the MAC was 0-51 against such opponents.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock was emotional after the dramatic win.

“We didn’t need luck,” Hammock said. “That was our motto. I didn’t think we needed luck. We just had to play our best. It wasn’t the cleanest for us, but we played hard for four quarters and stayed together. They worked together, they believed and they made enough plays to win a game.”

“This is a program-changing win, no different than some time ago (2003) when we beat Alabama.”

Hammond said his Huskies could have competed with Notre Dame.

“I think we were stronger than they thought,” Hammock said. “In my opinion, we’re not a normal MAC team. We’re strong on offense and defense and we’re strong physically. I didn’t see it as a mismatch in that regard.”

According to ESPN BET, the Fighting Irish were 28.5-point favorites. After entering the day with a 16-1 record and looking to win the national championship, they fell to 75-1 after the loss.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the loss was disappointing, especially after an impressive road win against then-No. 20 Texas A&M.

“You know, it’s our job as coaches to make sure these guys are ready. You go from the highest highs to the lowest lows in two weeks, but we’ve got to get a handle on this thing,” Freeman said. “As coaches and players, we’ve got to get a handle on this and get it right.”

Notre Dame (1-1) appeared to be able to pull away from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and moved from their 25-yard line to the Northern Illinois 49-yard line.

Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard threw a pass intended for Kris Mitchell deep down the middle, but Amariyun Knighten intercepted the ball and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 left.

“That was a completely wrong read,” Leonard said of the interception. “That single high safety was attached to the inside post. I thought he wasn’t going to get it again. Bad eyes, bad feet, bad ball. That led to a pick. Can’t happen. Totally my fault.”

The Huskies ran out the clock and drove to the Notre Dame 19-yard line, setting the stage for Woodill’s field goal. A key play on that drive was converting a fourth-and-2 attempt with a three-yard run by quarterback Ethan Hampton to the Notre Dame 28-yard line.

The first-down conversion by Hampton, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, set up Woodill’s winning field goal, his third kick of the day.

“It’s unbelievable,” Hampton said of the win. “It’s something I’ll always remember. I grew up a Huskie fan. Playing here was a dream for me.”

Notre Dame struck first when Leonard outsmarted the defense and scored an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

Northern Illinois needed only five plays to respond: Antario Brown broke free between two defensive backs and scored an 83-yard touchdown after a pass from Hampton.

Two field goals from Woodill, from 42 and 21 yards, gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had a chance to increase its lead to 13-10 before halftime, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard attempt by Jeter.

Woodill missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of the second half and Notre Dame took advantage.

Jeremiyah Love broke free and scored a 34-yard touchdown run, leaping over a defender on the way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter.

Leonard finished the game with 20 of 32 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.