On Saturday, Thomas Hammock felt every emotion wash over him, except one.
Hammock, the Northern Illinois coach, had observed his team, representing his Alma mater, he defeated No. 5 Notre Dame in the state where he grew up. His parents were there. So was his wrestling coach and 15 to 20 teammates from Bishop Luers High in Fort Wayne, Indiana, located about 95 miles from Notre Dame Stadium.
“I couldn't find them after the game, but they sent me pictures,” Hammock told ESPN on Saturday night, as NIU's team buses approached the Indiana-Illinois state line. “All my friends are Notre Dame fans. But for this day, they rooted for the Huskies.”
What a day it was for Northern Illinois, which stunned Notre Dame 16-14, earning its first win against a top-five AP opponent and the first such win by a Mid-American Conference team! The upset earned the Huskies the No. 25 ranking in the AP poll; prior to this week, they hadn't been ranked since 2013.
Since 1983, NIU has maintained a record of “Boneyard wins” — victories against major-conference opponents and other notable rivals with bigger brands and budgets. As a running back for NIU in 2002, Hammock helped secure one by rushing for 172 yards in a 42-41 overtime win against Wake Forest. He would never play again after experiencing symptoms of what would be diagnosed as a career-ending heart condition.
The following year, Hammock watched as NIU piled up points at the Boneyard with wins over Alabama, Maryland and Iowa State (prior to Saturday, the Alabama game was NIU’s last win against a ranked nonleague opponent). After returning as coach in 2019, he led the Huskies to wins over Georgia Tech in 2021 and Boston College last year. But no win would mean more than one over Notre Dame, which is why it struck all of Hammock’s chords.
“When you've been with the guys for a long time and you think about all the hard work and sacrifice they've made, that we've all made, and working together to find a way, the emotions just came over me,” Hammock said. “It's huge. Obviously, I'm very proud of NIU.”
How much exactly?
“He named his son after a dorm on campus,” athletic director Sean Frazier said, referring to the middle name of Hammock's son, Thomas Douglas. Thomas Sr. met his wife at Douglas Hall.
“This guy is a Huskie,” Frazier continued. “He came home. I'm so happy for him and his family. He deserves this moment. Our kids deserve this moment.”
The only emotion Hammock didn't feel Saturday was surprise. He knew when he studied Notre Dame six days before the game that Northern Illinois would have a real chance to win. Hammock especially liked how the Huskies matched up at the line of scrimmage.
He started NIU's week with more demanding practices on Monday and Tuesday, giving players' bodies time to recover.
“The more we watched the film, the more we realized this is a beatable team,” quarterback Ethan Hampton told ESPN. “I prefer our offensive line over any other in the country.”
The Huskies outscored Notre Dame 388-286, converted twice as many third-down opportunities and allowed just two plays of more than 19 yards. They also blocked two field goal attempts, including a 62-yarder in the final seconds.
While Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love had the game's highlight, a hurdle touchdown run, NIU running back Antario Brown had the top offensive performance with 126 receiving yards and 99 rushing yards.
“It wasn't a fluke win,” Hammock said. “We played well in the trenches and those guys made the difference in the game. We build our program from the inside out, so you have to be able to win there to have a chance in games like this. Those guys gave it their all.”
Hammock's players also understand the magnitude of what they accomplished. Hampton said he's looking forward to telling his future children about the win. He also acknowledged what it meant to his coach.
“Nobody loves NIU more than Coach Ham,” Hampton said. “He instills that in us. He played here and wants to be here, so when you have a coach who believes in you and is proud to be a part of the NIU program, it makes you play better.”
Northern Illinois still had to mount a drive — and overcome a highly questionable throwing spot — to secure the win. Gavin Williams appeared to clear the board on a third-and-2 run from the Notre Dame 20, which would have allowed NIU to get closer for a field goal and buy more time. But the officials saw the ball was short, forcing a fourth down and a Notre Dame timeout with 36 seconds remaining. Hammock asked to challenge the spot but was told a review — which upheld the spot — had already been initiated.
“We were already in field goal range, so I wasn't going to let that play determine the outcome of the game,” Hammock said. “I was confident that our special team could make the kick, and then we just had to go back to playing defense one more time.”
Kanon Woodill scored his third field goal and the defense kept Notre Dame out of realistic field goal range to secure the win.
“This is a very important statement for the program and for NIU,” Frazier said. “There are a lot of people talking about the Group of 5, Power 4, money and resources and NIL. It's about the players and it's about lining up and banging heads and [may] The best man wins. You saw that. [Saturday].”
Frazier knew Hammock from their time together at Wisconsin — Hammock was an assistant with the Badgers from 2011 to 2013 while Frazier served as the school’s assistant athletic director — and gave him a head coaching opportunity that likely wouldn’t have come anywhere else. NIU went winless in 2020, won the MAC in 2021 and then went 3-9 the following year. But Hammock has stabilized the program. NIU won a bowl game last season. The team has posted a 3.0 grade point average or higher in nine straight semesters, which isn’t a surprise since its coach was a two-time Academic All-America selection when he played.
NIU faces typical Group of 5 challenges, including staff turnover and resources. The program's motto is “the hard way.” But victories like Saturday's have a long-term impact.
“My vision and my goal was always to get the university back to what it was in terms of enrollment, fundraising and all those things,” Hammock said. “To do that, you have to win games like this, where alumni get excited. They want to contribute, they want to be a part of a program. I know how important that game against Alabama was in helping build facilities and things like that.
“Hopefully this one can do the same.”
