Notre Dame Must Be Very Careful This Week vs Northern Illinois

Can the Irish avoid a letdown as they return back home against a strong MAC team?

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) breaks free and runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After a massive Week 1 win, can Notre Dame stay focused?

Notre Dame opened up its season in spectacular fashion, upsetting the favored Texas A&M Aggies at their place in College Station. As a result, the Irish have moved up to number 5 in the AP poll as they return home to face the NIU Huskies at Notre Dame Stadium.

For as exciting as last week was for Notre Dame nation, danger lurks in the comforts of home.

There's no taking Northern Illinois for granted.

Should the Irish sleepwalk through the tunnel and onto the field Saturday, all of the hard work that went into the Aggie win could be undone in one embarrassing afternoon. They must stay on task, win, and get better doing so in the process.

.@NDFootball (+3) upsets Texas A&M.

Notre Dame is now 5-1-1 ATS as an underdog in the Marcus Freeman era. ✅pic.twitter.com/ox4Ez6nfAE

— John Ewing (@johnewing) September 1, 2024

Unique circumstances await Notre Dame Saturday

On paper, seeing NIU on Notre Dame's home slate excites nobody outside of NIU fans who live near the Chicago and Indiana areas. But as for Irish fans?

The Huskies coming to town doesn't exactly move the needle. Normally, this lends to a quiet stadium experience without much juice. That vibe sometimes feels like it carries over to the team that then plays sluggish and lackadaisically in these "lesser" opponent games.

My inclination is that Notre Dame will not fall victim to a sleepy day in South Bend against a non-marquee opponent because of the juice created last week.

The Texas A&M win was such a huge moment that instilled confidence, the crowd will be fired up to see Notre Dame play anybody. The energy around the program is different after last week's win and will be felt in Notre Dame Stadium this week regardless of the opponent. Every game is a "big game" when Notre Dame has a 0 in the loss column.

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