The best upsets are the ones no one sees coming.
Northern Illinois‘ stunning defeat of Notre Dame certainly fits the bill. Just a week ago, the Irish looked like a surefire playoff team after upending Texas A&M on the road.
The best upsets aren’t about luck.
There was nothing unconventional in NIU’s game plan. The Huskies were the more physical, more fundamentally sound, more deserving team Saturday.
The best upsets cast our collective consciousness backward, toward the other moments when the seemingly impossible suddenly became real.
In this case, NIU didn’t have to work too hard. Notre Dame is good for one of these every few years.
OK, so maybe Saturday’s stunner didn’t check every box — much of the game felt like watching two aging walruses attempt to nudge each other off a rock — but after a Week 1 that was mostly chalk, it served as the first serious twist in the story of the 2024 season.
(Technically Florida State‘s Week 0 defeat was the first big upset, but the Noles’ lawyers have filed a motion to quash any mentions of the 2024 season.)
It was a fitting release for a nation primed for chaos after Saturday’s early slate teased so many near misses.
In New Orleans, Tulane had No. 17 Kansas State on the ropes well into the second half, and only a controversial penalty kept the Green Wave from tying the game in the final moment.
Just watching that OPI call against Tulane that may have cost them the game and I can’t imagine anyone in Louisiana has been so angry about a football game since… oh, not that long ago actually. pic.twitter.com/cPelsC822r
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 7, 2024
In Happy Valley, James Franklin tried to put to rest the narrative that he beats all the pushovers but can’t win the big one by, instead, losing to one of those pushovers. Bowling Green took a 24-20 lead well into the third quarter before No. 8 Penn State finally found its footing.
In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Bobby Petrino’s subtle attempt to orchestrate his own Macbeth-like takeover at Arkansas took some wild turns, as the Razorbacks looked poised to actually win on the road against No. 16 Oklahoma State. But the Cowboys reeled off 21 straight points to open the second half and finished off the come-from-behind win with an Ollie Gordon II touchdown in overtime.
Shortly after kickoff in South…
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