Bears capped an impressive weekend of football in Illinois

Football is back. That applies to college and NFL action as our nation will witness greatness every weekend. This weekend was the first with both back in action, and folks who live in Illinois may have enjoyed it slightly more than those elsewhere.

First of all, the Green Bay Packers lost Friday night to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil. Chicago's arch-rivals are 0-1 to start the season, which isn't a great start. Unfortunately, Green Bay also suffered a blow with quarterback Jordan Love suffering an MCL injury, which will hold him out for a few weeks.

On college football Saturday, some magical things happened to keep the good vibes going. The Northern Illinois Huskies went to South Bend to take on No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where the four-touchdown underdogs emerged victorious. They suffocated Notre Dame’s offense all game and did just enough with their offense to win, 16-14.

This will go down as the biggest win in the history of Northern Illinois. Taking down power five/four teams is something they’re somewhat used to but nothing comes close to this win over Notre Dame. It's the first win over a top-five team in the history of the MAC conference.

Later that day, the University of Illinois Illini faced No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks, where they pulled off the upset with a 23-17 victory. Now, after that big win, Illinois is 2-0 in the Big Ten, which is not something they are used to.

Then Sunday came, where rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears were looking to take down the Tennessee Titans. While it was a rough first half -- and overall rocky outing for Williams -- the defense and special teams mounted a second-half comeback to defeat the Titans, 24-17, at Soldier Field.

There were points throughout the weekend where things felt bleak in Illinois. but everyone pulled out a win with their backs against the wall. It was amazing to witness the Bears cap off a great weekend, and it may go down as one of the best football weekends in the state’s history. All of these teams are now looking to turn their big weekend into an impressive run.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears capped an impressive weekend of football in Illinois