On the one day it would have been most expected, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz put aside his usual doom-and-gloom demeanor.

Holtz said Sunday that the Irish would recover from losing to Northwestern 17-15 after one of the most shocking upsets in college football history.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Holtz said after reviewing film from Saturday’s game. “We’re not a bad team, but we’re not a very consistent team.”

Even so, Notre Dame isn’t supposed to lose to a team like Northwestern. Entering the season, Notre Dame had the highest winning percentage of any major team (.760), the most national championships (eight) and the most Heisman Trophy winners (seven).

Northwestern, on the other hand, had the fourth-lowest winning percentage (.418) and owned the Division I-A record for most consecutive losses, 34 from 1979-82.

The loss dropped the Irish from No. 9 to No. 25 in The Associated Press poll.

“It’s devastating because the players expected to win and everyone else expected you to win,” Holtz said. “But Northwestern was a good team and they played well and they deserved to win.”