Where does Notre Dame’s shocking loss rank among the biggest upsets in college football history?

Northern Illinois entered South Bend as 28.5-point underdogs for its Week 2 game against Notre Dame. Defeat seemed all but assured for the nation’s No. 5 team after a season-opening win over Texas A&M.

However, the Huskies turned it around and surprised the Fighting Irish 16-14 thanks to a field goal by Kanon Woodill with 31 seconds left on the clock.

Northern Illinois’ win was certainly impressive when you consider the standings. And a Mid-American Conference (MAC) program beating one of college football’s traditional powerhouses is remarkable. But how impressive was the Huskies’ win in terms of point spread?

Surprisingly, a 28.5-point upset isn’t even among the top 10 biggest point spread upsets of all time. But it is among the top 15 biggest point spread upsets of the past 45 years. Three previous teams have won as 28.5-point underdogs, according to Action Network:

• Illinois over Wisconsin (2019)

• Pitt over West Virginia (2007)

• Nicholls State wins over Western Michigan (2013)

Two of those might not seem all that impressive because they were conference games, but FCS Nicholls State from the Southland Conference beating MAC program Western Michigan is worth circling.

The biggest point-spread upset in college football history was Howard beating UNLV 43-40 in 2017. The Bison were 45.5-point underdogs in that matchup. In 2007, Stanford beat USC 24-23 as 40.5-point underdogs. (No, that wasn’t the “What’s your deal?” game, which took place two years later.)

Syracuse defeated Louisville (2007) and Texas State defeated Houston (2012) as 36.5-point underdogs. UTEP upset BYU in 1985 and Temple defeated Virginia Tech in 1998 as 36-point underdogs. And to round out the top five, Central Michigan defeated Western Michigan as 35.5-point underdogs in 2000.

That they don’t rank among the top five — or even top 10 — worst point-spread upsets in college football probably isn’t much consolation to Notre Dame fans. But at least Fighting Irish fans can say there have been worse upsets.